Love And Other Drugs

The room before her was very tiny-it only fit a twin bed, a small dresser, a nightstand and a now empty bookshelf. Lucinda Abernathy had spent the entire day packing and saying goodbye to the few friends she had and now it was time to go. This room before her held so much-memories, tears and wishes. Lucinda had grown in this room, she had stared at the walls as the tears streamed down her cheeks while she wished and hoped for someone to come and make her life better. Now she was going to an airport, where she would get on a plane for the very first time and fly out to the other side of the country to meet up with four other girls who had no clue who she was.

The choice to leave had been hard and a lot of thinking had gone in to it. Lucinda had cornered Dani-a girl her age who worked mornings at the diner-and asked her for her opinion. Dani wasn't really Lucinda's friend-Lucinda didn't have any friends-but the girl gave her the best advice she could come up with: get the fuck out of town and don't ever look back. That's when Lucinda knew-there was no love lost with these people who she had been around for two years of her life...they wouldn't miss her in the slightest. It had taken Lucinda all of one second to come up with her choice and then she marched into Marge's office and told the old woman she was quitting.

Shock had laced that old wrinkled face and at first Lucinda thought the old woman would protest. But no, with a heavy sigh old Marge just smirked, snubbed out her cigarette and dug the 'Help Wanted' sign out of the bottom of the filing cabinet. Lucinda hugged Marge tightly, thanking the woman for everything and not getting much of a response in return. Ohwell. Now Lucinda was standing in the doorway of the only place she considered her real home, her few bags at her feet and she could hear the honking of the hired driver outside of her small building.

Lucinda had come in to town with nowhere to go, but then she had passed the diner and saw two signs in the window. The 'Help Wanted' sign and another, smaller sign, that was offering room and board to a female who had no criminal record and could pay a certain amount every month. Lucinda had walked into the diner, applied for the job and then walked over to the house in question and spoke to a very large woman with four kids running around her ankles. The family was nice, but they kept to themselves and while she was always welcome at their dinner table, Lucinda preferred to eat either in her room or at the diner. Now she was waving goodbye to the four kids who had grown up and lugging her bags down the sidewalk.

Immediately the driver smiled at her, took both bags and placed them in the trunk of a black sedan, waving his hand for her to sit in the backseat. Lucinda wasn't used to this-she wasn't used to kindness from anyone, especially not someone of the male species. As she got into the car and pulled out her secondhand iPod that Lucinda had found at the flea market, she couldn't help but feel a little sad. It was small, unwelcoming and run down, but Cornerstown had been her home. People here hadn't known her past-they didn't know her business and she would miss that. There again no one out in California knew who she was either and for that Lucinda was grateful.

What would people be like out in LA? Would they be nice to her? Or would they even notice her? From what she had seen on the television that hung on one wall of the diner, LA had a lot of problems and people seemed to be really self absorbed. Southerners, while not too friendly with outsiders, were at least kind and gave you a smile, but Lucinda had a feeling that wasn't going to be the case out West. As the car sped down the freeway and headed towards the airport, Lucinda dug around in her old leather purse and pulled out a book. To Kill A Mockingbird-a beloved book from her childhood that always seemed to give her comfort. Silently Lucinda thumbed through the pages, finding the last place she left off and soon enough she was lost in the words before her.

Reading had always been an escape for Lucinda-even when her mother was screaming at her or her father was glancing her way in that disgusting manner, Lucinda would just climb in to her tree house and read a book. Books had the ability to take you away from your problems, into worlds that could be seen as perfect or nearly so and that was something very precious to her. Lucinda was currently lost in a world filled with court rooms and intrigue, when suddenly she noticed that her car had come to a stop and she was now sitting in the drop off zone of a place she had never been to-the airport.

Lucinda had never been on a plane before-she had never even been out of the state of North Carolina-and so she was feeling a tad over whelmed when the driver opened her door and told her where to go. Alex would be meeting her at the ticket window for United Air and so carefully Lucinda grabbed her bags, looked around and smiled as she noticed that each counter had a large sign overhead saying which airline it was. Looking around, she finally spotted the United Air counter and Alex so with a smile Lucinda approached both quickly. Alex McFadden greeted her like an old friend-hugging her tightly and commenting on her few bags. Lucinda didn't have much-one bag was filled with all of her clothing and the other with her books.


"Our flight isn't until four, so we have some time to kill." Alex commented to her from over his shoulder as he got their tickets and began to place her bags on a small conveyor belt.

"Oh. Well I have my book if you need to make some calls or something..." Lucinda said shyly, not wanting to be a bother. She always felt like she was in the way and as she looked down at her plain grey Duke sweatshirt and the slim jeans she had found at Goodwill, Lucinda knew that sometimes she was a bother to people.

"Nonsense. I was actually hoping you were hungry-I wanted to get you some lunch and just get to know you a little better. We are going to be friends and a team after all." He was smiling at her now, his black hair glinting under the fluorescent overhead lighting and Lucinda felt a chill run down her spine. Alex McFaden was nice, but there was something off about him.


His hair was perfect-gelled and slicked back away from his face with only a few tendrils hanging down and his eyes were a pale green that seemed to hold many secrets that he would divulge in a second. Alex also had various tattoos, which didn't bother Lucinda as she had always thought they were beautiful, but never had the money to get any herself. There was just something about Alex-his clothing was too perfect, his hair, his nails, his teeth and even the way he walked...it was all staged.

They both walked silently through security, which Lucinda found out they had first priority since Alex had a high paying job that sent him all around the world. So within ten minutes they were both seated across from one another in a booth in an Applebees. Lucinda was sipping her water, thankful for a reason not to open her mouth and say something stupid or overly Southern.


"So Lucinda...how old are you?" Alex asked as he sipped his amber colored beer and smiled at her. Their waitress came by and dropped off the chips and artichoke dip Alex had ordered and then disappeared. Alex smiled as he held out his hand for her to eat and so before responding to him, Lucinda took a chip and had her first taste of artichoke dip. Yum.

"I'm twenty." She replied with a softness to her voice and Alex only smiled.

"You're really young to be out on your own and from the looks of it family isn't really something you have much of..." He stated matter of factly. Anyone else would have been offended by the blunt accusation, but Lucinda just took it in stride...it was the truth after all.

"No, no family. I came from the more southern part of North Carolina and needed a fresh start. Cornerstown was the first stop on the bus ride north and so I got off and just stayed there." She responded as she looked around her. Lucinda had never been in an Applebees and could see why people seemed to like it over places like the diner. It was bright, it was happy and everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun.

"Oh, well lucky me. So, did you have any questions for me?" Alex asked as he drained his beer and signaled to the waitress to bring him another. Lucinda thought for a moment, her teeth grinding down against her lip as she did so.

"Yes, actually. You said that the band was a rock band-what kind of rock music exactly?" She asked, feeling stupid but she really wanted to know. Lucinda had heard plenty of rock songs on the jukebox in the diner and she liked most of them. But what were these other girls interested in?

"Well that all depends on what you girls decide. Charlotte is more of a heavy rocker girl, while Penelope and Talula both seem to like more contemporary rock music. Madeline just likes music in general, so really you girls could take it in any direction you wanted." He remarked and Lucinda only nodded her head. She knew nothing about being a singer or in a band and she knew that this was going to be really interesting.


Their food came and as Lucinda bit in to her burger and watched Alex dig in to his salad, she felt more at ease. People always had something in common when they were hungry and so with the silence hanging between them, Lucinda just ate until she felt like she couldn't move. Finally Alex finished off his salad and third beer and with a boisterous wave to get the check, Lucinda knew it was time to go.

They had forty minutes before their boarding and so both the Manager and soon to be singer took off in the direction of their gate, Lucinda making sure that Alex didn't drunkenly bump in to anyone on their way. She had dealt with drunken people before and so with a quick spin Lucinda was able to get Alex seated in the first class section of their gate while she traveled to find a bathroom.

Thankfully there was one just down from their gate and as Lucinda did her business and then stood in front of the mirror, she smiled. Her blonde hair looked good today-naturally straight and hanging down to her shoulder-and her full lips were still curved into that soft smile. This was it-this was her chance and while Lucinda wasn't really sure she was going to be able to pull this off-she was going to try her hardest. Between bites of his salad, Alex had given her a very brief low-down on the other girls, which was basically their ages, names and what they played.

Charlotte Rouse was the oldest at twenty-three and she was also deemed the leader and lead guitar player while Penelope Stuart was the youngest at nineteen and their secondary guitar player. Talula Winters was the bassist and also happened to be the same age as Lucinda. Then there was Madeline, the drummer and over all bad girl from what Alex had said. At twenty-one, the vixen was trouble and Lucinda was sure she was going to piss the tough girl off at some point or another. With a sigh Lucinda exited the bathroom and walked over to where Alex was still sitting, mumbling to himself as he typed something on his phone.

The wait to board was short and as they were in first class, Lucinda and Alex were first to hand over their tickets and enter the ramp on to the plane. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and Lucinda knew that she was probably going to have a rough flight. It was only four hours with no layovers-thank God-but as Lucinda found her seat, sat down and buckled her seatbelt, she knew this was going to be one experience that she may not want to repeat.

A nice stewardess walked around, asking the few people in first class if they wanted a pair of slippers and something to drink. Lucinda quickly accepted and moments later she had a bottle of Evian-whatever that was-sitting in front of her and her feet were sliding into the softest slippers she had ever felt.


"Cheers." Alex said as he turned to her, his Jack and Coke in hand as he held it up. Lucinda grabbed her bottle of water and tipped the lid towards his drink. They cheered, but Lucinda couldn't help wondering why-things may not actually work out with the other girls.

"What are we cheering to?" She asked as Alex took a healthy sip of his drink and then turned to her, his black hair mussed as his head was resting very heavily against the headrest behind him.

"To your future doll...to our future." He said, his voice thick and syrupy from the alcohol.
Soon enough Alex was passed out and Lucinda had her legs tucked beneath her, her slippered feet nice and warm as she looked out the window.

Things were changing, but sometimes change wasn't always good.

Notes

What awaits Luxe in LA? Will the girls like her? Or will she fall flat on her face? Updating again on Friday.

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