Like Nobody Else

After exchanging numbers and giving Matt her address, Marley found herself driving home in a daze. She was humming along to Sublime mindlessly though she was staring at the road dreamily and sighing every now and then. What the fuck is wrong with you? The words finally echoed in her head as she pulled into the driveway.

Just a little over four months ago, she had told herself she was swearing off men for at least a year after coming to California, and she already had a date less than half a year in.

Knowing the type of guy her dad had been, she never had high expectations for men. Even as a child, she had assumed they were all immature, and thought they had one-tracked minds.

Her father, Brett, had been born and raised in Australia—though he seemed to keep his distance from the "slacking surfers". As a teenager he had been dubbed a "manwhore", and with his shaggy blonde hair, olive green eyes, and accent—he thought he could have any girl he wanted. The challenge of "Lucille Tyler" arose his sophomore year of high school, after she moved from Melbourne.

With long, chocolaty locks, a tan that seemed to be natural, and a killer body, she became every guy's wet dream at Pacific View high school. She was the first girl Brett hadn't been able to get, and six years later, he was marrying her. Less than a year after that, she bore his child, and he left her for another woman when Marley was just a baby.

"It was a miracle alone that he married one woman. Crazy that it had to be me, right?" Lucille would always tell her daughter, grinning before adding that, "The best thing that came out of it was you, kiddo."

Lucille had been raised to breathe ocean water on a daily basis, and had learned how to surf when she was just eight. So as soon as Marley was able to walk, she taught her how to surf.

Brett hadn't completely moved off the continent—just to Canberra—which was a little further South than Sydney, and after Lucille's death when Marley was just fourteen, she was forced to go live with him. His girlfriend, Rachael, hadn't known about another daughter—only about Rhiannon, who was four at the time, and living with him due to her mother being in the Sahara desert.

For four years, Brett didn't try to bond with his eldest daughter, and when she announced her career choice to be a professional surfer, he disowned her for "picking a path that would lead to a dead end". He then proceeded to take everything, and move to the States with Rhiannon for a "fresh start"—though Marley was sure it was to cut out any influences to surfing.

Having picked up very little money during her high school years, Marley wasn't able to live on her own, and since a long-time friend of her's offered, she began to crash on his couch. That friend being Auden Conner himself.

She observed how he interacted with people on a daily basis, and quickly discovered that he was nice to everyone—the complete opposite of her father...but when it came to girls, he was oblivious to their feelings, and didn't seem to know the terms "boyfriend, girlfriend, and exclusive".

So whenever he hit on her, Marley ignored his advances...until they were both twenty-three, and she thought they were both adult enough to handle a real relationship. Four years later, they were engaged, and where did that land Marley? Nowhere...with him at least.

Even though Marley didn't know Matt like that, she had a feeling he was different; how—she called it her intuition.

As Marley headed into the kitchen so she could flick through cookbooks, in hopes of figuring out what she would make for dinner tonight, she realized she didn't know what she was going to tell Rhia. "Shit," The twenty-seven-year-old cursed aloud with a shake of her head and a sigh.

How would her sister react to her having a date with her "favorite teacher"? Knowing Rhia, she would probably overreact and cause chaos during his class. Unless I just don't tell her... Marley thought as she took a seat at the kitchen's island, a cookbook in her hand.

There were only a few things that Marley actually kept from Rhia—her career choices, her relationship with their father, and why she wasn't able to visit Rhia after they moved to the States. Had she been able to do the third thing, she may have had a better bond with Rhia.

After sitting at the counter for at least an hour, and finally settling on Salsa Verde Enchiladas, she heard the front door open and slam.

"Dinner will be ready at five." Marley called out, not expecting Rhia to come into the kitchen to acutally talk to her.

Despite the heat outside, Rhia was wearing a beanie, a baggy sweatshirt, and boots.

"Aren't you dying, Rhi?" Marley chuckled with a smirk as she began to get all of the right ingredients together.

"No, but guess who you're looking at?" Rhia was grinning broadly, pointing at herself.

"A seventeen-year-old who finds great enjoyment in harassing others." Marley snorted, making Rhia roll her eyes.

"Ha, ha, ha—very funny." She remarked sarcastically before finally revealing "who Marley was looking at", "The new forward for the girls' Oilers' field hockey team!" Rhia actually squealed in excitement, clapping her hands together.

"Wow, that's great!" Marley exclaimed with a smile.

"Yeah, but anyways—what's with the talk about you being at school today? Emma saw you, and said you were with Mr. S going down the hall. I assume it has to do with my behavior in second period," Rhia took an apple from the fruit bowl before biting into it.

"Teacher's conference—yeah, you're in the clear, though. He's a nice guy. What was with the belief disses anyways?" Even though Rhia insulted people on a daily basis, she stayed away from matters such as beliefs, religion, race, and things of that sort.

"Well, I have no problem with others' religions until they begin to mess with mine. She was openly disrespecting my views about God and church—you know, all of that shit—saying that atheism was wrong and blah, blah, blah—I won't really get into it—and she claims to be such a Christian...yet she goes to church and has sex with the priest? Now, I think that kind of cancels out any chance of her going to "Heaven"." Rhia used quotation marks with her fingers, expressing the word with an eye roll.

Marley was aware that Rhia was an atheist, and Marley had converted to the same religion over a decade ago—after her mother was taken from her.

"Sorry, but uh, do you want a snack or something before dinner? Considering you hardly ever eat lunch at school, I doubt that apple will hold you over." Marley smiled softly, wondering if Rhia making the field hockey team had something to do with her being a hell of a lot nicer than normal.

"Sure, thanks." And that had been the first time that word was uttered from Rhia's mouth, and directed at her sister.

"People can change," Doctor Kilva's words once again found their way into Marley's head.


41 Readers, 23 Subscribers, 6 Comments.

I do realize that I make minor mistakes in chapters, and I often times go back to rephrase certain things. And I just realized that the "ring" with the engravings on it in the last chapter is actually a bracelet set—AWKWARD—but pretend it's rings anyways (:

I thought the family history in this story was necessary; just so everybody could get a better grip on Marley's past family, her relationship with Auden. etc.

The next chapter will be the date, everyone (:

ladyofsorrows101—thank you very much for you comment! I'm glad that you believe she is amazing, I do too (: Rhia may be rude, but eventually, she'll grow on you. She's grown on me already, and she hasn't even stopped being a bitch yet! Haha.

Vanzchyk2011—thank you for taking the time to comment on my story when you didn't have too, it means a lot to me (:

bloodyvengeance—thank you again for commenting (: and he really is (;

Tired of The Lying—thank you so much for the comment (: I hope you were satisifed with the date (: Glad you love the story, cause I do too :D

WhitneySheree—I'm glad you love it (: thank you for the comment!

I love you all (:
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