The World Beyond Me.

The punishment she received when she returned from being beaten was to do all her and her brother’s chores for the week, including clearing out the garage on Saturday – the one day where she didn’t normally have to do anything. The one day they were going into the city.

Saturday morning came too soon, too. The sunshine filtered in through the net white curtains leading out to the balcony that overlooked the beach. It burnt her irises through her eyelids as she lay as still as possible in bed, hoping that if she laid quietly enough her alarm wouldn’t ring out and spoil that beautiful silence. Her hopes were dashed.

The thumping sounds of her brother stomping from his bedroom and into the bathroom were heard and caused the tranquillity to shatter into a million tiny pieces, like a broken mirror. Groaning, she turned her head into the pillow and willed herself to sleep for just two more minutes, or maybe eternity; anything to get out of clearing out the death-trap that was the Cookson’s garage.

“Wake up, come on!” Annie banged her fist on the door ruthlessly.

Begrudgingly, Adelaide tossed the covers from her body and threw her legs over the side, twisting her hips to an almost painful angle. Her curvaceous frame lazily lolled upwards, her hair shoved into her face during the night. It tickled her nose and choked up her lips.

Too tired to dress properly, she slipped into some old purple jogger bottoms which were growing tight around her thighs and rear and a black and white spotted tank top. After all, who was going to see her but the neighbourhood kids?

Adelaide slipped a hat onto her head and wandered bare-foot down the separate staircase that lead into the kitchen rather than the hallway. The smell of pancakes filled her senses as she neared the sparkling room of the home. Everything sparkled in the kitchen, from the cooker to the counters; it all gleamed like freshly polished diamonds.

“Yum,” she murmured. “Bacon and pancakes!”

“Not for you.” Annie yanked the plate from Adelaide’s father’s hands and placed it on the table.

Her father looked down at his empty hand. “Yes. There’s granola in the cupboard.”

Another defeat. Another blow to her stomach that almost crippled her. Another heart-attack thrumming in her chest like a caged wild animal being tempted by freedom.

Adelaide sighed.

Californian sunshine rose high into the middle of the sky around mid-day. It seared and singed her back as she shifted box after box out onto the front lawn now currently laden by a fortress of cardboard. Children rode passed on their trikes, laughing and giggling and plain annoying her.

Adelaide had resorted to slipping on her flip-flops after pricking her foot several times on stray nails and pins. A plaster now stuck from the bottom of her foot to the top, almost covering the whole side of the small feature. A patch of scarlet speckled the fabricated front.

The garage was almost empty, aside from one box marked DAVID’S STUFF in large black marker diagonally across the side. It was tucked away in the corner of the garage away from all the other boxes – all the other memories. Stacked next to it was a smaller box she hadn’t noticed before with a tattered lining. The aesthetics were worn and bruised.

Curiously, Adelaide opened the larger box. Deep at the bottom laid a wooden square piled with a circle and needle. A vinyl player. A grin played on her plump lips as she stared down affectionately.

After checking that the family were still gone to Los Angeles for the day, Adelaide carefully wrapped her fingers around the edges of the player and lifted it from its hard cradle. She placed it down on the cement flooring and blew away the dust. Underneath was a perfectly varnished instrument longing to be played once more.

She looked towards the other box, hoping to find some vinyl discs.

“Whatcha found, sugar?”

Adelaide jumped almost ten feet in the air and looked towards a figure shadowed by the noon sun. He stepped in closer and closer until she could see the blue speckles invading those green orbs of his. Today he wore a dishevelled leather bike jacket.

“A vinyl player,” she replied shyly.

“Mind if I take a look?”

Jesse kneeled down to sit beside her, running his thick, callused fingertips across the box. A smile of pleasure creased his dimpled cheeks as he traced the edges and the sharp corners. With twinkling green eyes, he looked up at Adelaide.

“Does it work?” he asked hopefully.

Adelaide shrugged. “Dunno. I’m guessing there are discs in that box there, try it.”

Jesse plugged the vinyl-player in and sifted through the box of discs. With a loud ‘Aha’, he pulled out a wide, sleek black circle and carefully wedged it onto the spike in the centre of the box. The disc started spinning, slowly at first, until Jesse pushed up a lever and lay the needle down.

Music played loudly in their ears.

“Bon Jovi,” Jesse explained, smiling.

Adelaide nodded, bobbing her head to the beat. The voice was gravelly and American, something that hit a soft-spot deep in her stomach that was twisted with pleasure. She’d never heard anything like it. After all, she did hang out with Pop Music’s biggest fan.

Jesse looked at her approvingly. “You like it?”

“Love it,” Adelaide corrected, grinning.

Adelaide looked over in the direction of the boxes on the lawn and sighed. She “splatted” her body against the hard floor, creating a starfish shape with a loud groan emanating from her lips. Jesse noted the annoyance on her face and made the connection between the mess and the beauty. He stood slowly from the floor.

“Hang on two seconds. I’ll help you out.”

He left a cold area in her body after he left. The sounds of Bon Jovi weren’t as magical without him. Especially when they started singing about love.

A minute or two passed and he still hadn’t returned. Sadly, Adelaide lifted herself up from the floor and reluctantly trudged towards the boxes to start packing them away. She knew that Annie and the cadets would be home soon. But, as she began to lift the first box it started flying.

A curse almost slipped her lips should she not have covered her mouth first.

“Heaven forbid should angel lips swear!” Jesse grinned at her, his face pushed against the side of the box she was handling only moments ago.

Another guy snorted. “Angel lips, really?”

He was tall and bulky. His arms were accented by the fact that he’d torn the sleeves raggedly off his Iron Maiden shirt which clung to his muscles. A thick layer of gelled, deep brown hair was slicked from his tanned face hollowed with dimples when he smiled.

“I love your hat, can I eat it?”

Another guy appeared. He looked similar to the first but his eyes were almost ebony in comparison. He had a thick goatie on his chin and a ring in the centre of his bottom lip. And his, what she perceived as twin brother, approached to stand next to him. He had a tightly shaved head, glistening in the shine of the sun. They grinned.

“Boo, this is Jake, Lupin and Jason. They’re willing to help for ice cream.”

Adelaide laughed. “Boo, now, eh?”

“Yeah. It’s shorter than Bahari!”

Jesse disappeared off into the garage. The others stood shuffling their feet sort of awkwardly, awaiting a command from their obvious leader of the afternoon. He returned and directed the boys in all corners of the lawn and garage whilst Adelaide stood – dumbfounded.

“I’ll, um, go make some lemonade, then.”

“You’re a babe,” Jake yelled.

Giggling, Adelaide made her way into the kitchen slowly – her flip-flops slapping against her feet rhythmically as she disappeared beyond the white painted door. The garage fell quiet apart from the skipping noises of the finished record.

“You fucking her, then?”