Don't Go

"You'll love it here, Victoria."

Victoria gave her mother a sidelong glance. Her blue eyes were hidden under her dark lashes. Her mother gave her a huge smile. Victoria's mother had the same blue eyes and dark hair. But that was where the similarities ended. Victoria was tan and freckles dusted across her nose.

"Come on, darling," her mother said. "Sheffield will be a good new start."

Victoria shrugged. Her mom sighed and kept quiet on the way to the new house. The scenery soon faded to homes instead of cars. Victoria shifted uncomfortably in her seat. They stopped in front of a small house.

"Home sweet home," Victoria's mother sang as she got out of the car.

Victoria pulled her jacket tighter against her chest as she stepped out. A gust of wind ruffled her hair. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to straighten it out. It didn't work. She huffed and moved to the trunk. It was already open and her mother was pulling out her bag.

"Make friends, Vicky." She said. "You're 21 years old. I know I made you come with me, but please make the best of it. Good things are happening."

Victoria nodded. "I know."

She grabbed her own bag and shut the trunk. She hung it on her shoulder, following her mother to the door. Her mom smiled and opened to door. Victoria gave her a small smile. Maybe it would be good here. The house was small and quaint. The movers seemed to have put most things in order. Victoria's mom turned and beamed.

"Go out and walk around." She was still looking around, touching the countertop. "I'll fix this up."

Victoria opened her mouth to protest, but a stern look from her mother made her close it. Begrudgingly, she stepped back out to the cool afternoon air. The sun was nearing setting and the stars were going to make their appearance. Victoria walked down the driveway and made a left. She blew into her hands to warm them up, but it didn't work out the way she wanted. She ran a hand through her hair before placing them into her jacket pockets. Ahead of here were men playing football. Though, there was one man who was sitting on the curb. The men paid no mind to Victoria as she quickly shuffled past.

"Oi, Tom get tha ball."

Victoria didn't turn around. She kept her eyes straight and her pace was smooth. That was before a random man stepped in front of her, making her stop. She didn't recognize him from the other men. His eyes were glazed over. His breath was sour. She tried to turn, but his hand shot out and caught hers. Victoria's heart pounded. Not again. Oh, god, not again. She tried twisting out of his grip, but it didn't help any.

"Let go of me, you fucking shit," Victoria yelled, pulling back.

That caught the attention of the other men. This time she turned to face him. She kneed him in the gut and punched him with her right fist. The man staggered back, letting Victoria go. But, he came back, spitting blood. His eyes made her freeze. I shouldn't have hit him. It looked like he wanted to kill her, not just hurt her.

"Yeh lil' bitch," he growled.

His fist connected with her jaw. Victoria was on the ground, lip busted. She could taste the blood as she licked her lips. Without thinking, she shot her foot forward, connecting it with his groin. The man fell backwards, curling into the fetal position. From behind her she could hear running footsteps. Too late, she thought. Victoria stood up and back away from the man. She jumped when she bumped into someone from behind.

"Damn, lil' bird. Yeh got a mean righ' hook."

She turned to the man that spoke the man she had bumped into. His whole body was covered in colored tattoos. Victoria looked down.

"I'm Oliver, or Oli," he said. "Whichever yeh prefer. And, yeh are?"

A colorful hand came into view. Victoria reached for it and shook his hand.

"I'm Victoria." She looked at them all.

She placed her hands in her pockets as they each introduced themselves. The shortest one, same height as Victoria, was Lee. He seemed happy.

"Yeh one beautiful bird," the one with plugs smiled. "I'm Matty."

Victoria felt a blush creep onto her cheeks as she managed to mumble a thank you. The tallest of the group was Matt Kean. He smiled and hugged her.

"Sorry, I'm all sweaty," he laughed.

Victoria's eyes widened. She didn't really like to be touched and by strangers no less. The last of the group stood near the back, farthest from Victoria. He rubbed the back of his neck. He muttered something quietly, keeping his eyes on the ground. Oli swatted the back of his head.

"This is Tom," He said, laughing. "Me lil' brotha. He's a quiet one. Wait tell yeh get ta know him."

Tom, with his bright blue eyes, glared at Oli. But, he turned away and played with his camera that hung from his neck. Victoria looked at the two brothers. The only similarity they seemed to have was the dark hair. Oli had hazel eyes, Tom had blue. Tom had a small birthmark beneath his right eye. Victoria ran a hand through her hair and stood their awkwardly.

"Where are yeh from?" Matty asked.

Victoria chewed the inside of her cheek before speaking. "Uh, San Diego."

He laughed, loudly. "Yeh far away from home, lil' bird. Sunny Cali for cold Sheffield. Why?"

She flinched a bit. "Some problems back home."

Matty nodded. "It's fine. No need ta talk about tha past. New start. Am I righ'?"

She smiled. "Yeah. New start, new beginning. But, this beginning had a rough start."

She turned around. The man was gone. She didn't hear him get up and leave. Victoria licked her lips, wincing at the pain she felt. She closed her eyes for a moment.

"I should go," she said, opening her eyes.

"We'll walk yeh," Oli offered.

She turned to face them and shook her head. "It's fine. I live down the street."

He shook his head also. "No, I don't care. Yeh couldn't even walk down tha street wifout gettin' yehself attacked. We'll walk yeh."

Victoria gave up and began walking back to her house. It was a short walk. On the way there, they spoke little and asked many questions. They asked Victoria simple questions; her age, favorite color, what she did. It was making her a bit nervous. When they reached the driveway, she had to say something to get them away.

"Look, it's nice that you care and all," she fidgeted. "But, I'm fine really."

Oli was going to speak, but Victoria heard her mother squeal. Victoria brought her hands to her face, defeated. She just couldn't catch a break. Her mother stepped out with her pink slippers.

"Oh," she spoke quickly. "I didn't think you'd make five friends already! Hello, hello! I'm Donna, Victoria's mother."

"And, I fought tha two of yeh were sistas," Matty winked.

That caused her mother to blush deeply. Victoria groaned as she rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms. Her mom shushed her and went on talking to the men. Victoria knew how upset her mother would be if she decided to walk inside and leave her with the guys, so she stayed. She decided to sit on the trunk of the car. She sat and watched. The men were being polite enough, asking questions. Though, Tom and Lee just stood back.

"Oliver, Tom," an older woman came from a house adjacent to Victoria's. "I see yeh met my neighbors. Hello!"

Victoria's mother shook the other woman's hand. They began talking of things Victoria didn't much care about. The guys went back to their game of football and Tom stayed with his mother.

"Vicky," her mom called. "Come here and meet Carol."

She did as she was bid and mumbled a hello to the older woman. Her mom shook her head and huffed. Victoria bit her lip and winced as teeth connected with open flesh.

"Wha' happened?" Carol asked.

Victoria tried answering, but Tom interrupted her. "Some drunk was out, tryin' ta hurt her. She defended herself well enough. Are all birds like yeh in Cali?"

Her cheeks burned. "No. I just learned that I needed to defend myself…"

She shook her head from the thoughts and looked away, feeling uncomfortable. She hated being reminded of the past. But, it just kept coming up. And, it hurt her. Not just mentally, she could physically feel what happened. It made Victoria sick to her stomach. Carol looked at Tom, who looked back at her in turn.

"Come ova' for dinner," Carol said suddenly. "My son's a vegan, so don’t get too excited."

She laughed with Victoria's mother. She accepted without hesitation and told the two when they'd be over. Victoria waved by to Tom as she went inside. She didn't see him wave back or the way he looked at her.