Scandalous Niece

[MsBellaNova]

There were times when I hated my life.

This was one of those times.

Sitting here in a jail cell at 3AM is not my idea of fun. But yet, here I was. In trouble.

It wouldn't be so bad if maybe my parents weren't famous.

My dad. He's the asshole you see on the nightly news across America. And my mother? Well, she sells cookbooks and is pretty famous herself.

And me? Well. No, I'm not famous. I'm just a troubled teen. If that's what I'm even considered any more, seeing as how I'm 18.

Wait.

That's not true.

I am sorta famous.

At least with the party scene here in good ol' New York City.

I had quite the reputation of staying out all night, doing whatever the hell I wanted to do.

Since the age of 14.

Now, I was sitting in jail.

It was my first time, you know. They processed me like a common criminal too.

Jerks.

So now, I know my parents had it up to their neck with me and my ways. They were going to be sending a representative down to bail me out. But I wouldn't be able to go home.

Nope.

They were going to be sending me to live with my uncle.

Some uncle who lived on farm in the middle of no where Missouri.

Fuck.

I'm so not ready for this.

But, according to one of the guards, it was this or I could go to court, face the charges, do jail time or whatever it was the judge would want me to do.

Like community service.

Fuck no.

So, off to no where Missouri to clean up my act. Perhaps I should just run away once I get there? Ehh, we'll see. Maybe this uncle wouldn't give a shit about me and let me do what I want.

Like nothing.

"Gemma Anderson?! You're free to go."

Finally. 3 hours was a long enough wait.

*****
OOC: Looking for a male player to play my uncle. So, if you want, please send me a private message and let's get going! Thanks!

 

[TheGrind]

Sitting on the edge of 40 and I still didn't know a damn thing. Plenty of people pretended but nobody really knew. All I knew was that family was family no matter the distance or the time. And if they needed help then you offered it. Nothing else mattered in this world.

What I knew about Gemma was limited and small. I knew her parents well enough but I knew more about them as television personalities if I were to be completely honest. Aside from those few phone conversations we hadn't met in years. There was always the distance but money was never a problem. Its the trouble with living in fly-over country. Nobody ever stops to see real life.

Apparently the girl needed help. Some kind of guiding hand. Or maybe she just needed a little hard work. It isn't anything else anyone hasn't gone through. And a nose to the grind helped put my life into some kind of order even if I did live near Nowhere, Missouri, next to Fuck-If-I-Remember. That isn't to say I didn't get in trouble or that I didn't fall into it a few times but there was a purity to this place if you were willing to find it.

Too many people were off looking for Yamashita's gold in some far off jungle. There were plenty of great things right here.

There were a few pictures of Gemma that arrived a day before I had to pick her up from the airport. I hadn't seen her in years but she managed to blossom into a beautiful woman. It would be an effort to keep the strays off of her but I carried a big stick. I was here to protect her. To give her that sense of direction I had needed years ago.

I pulled out of the driveway in my truck and headed down to the Branson Airport. It was a little drive to get there but that's where they said she'd be and I said I'd be there. Before I left I returned a picture through email and simply put my name "Jack" so she could pick me out. Maybe I should've put Jackson but I didn't want to give her false hopes of overalls and an unintelligible southern drawl.

 

[MsBellaNova]

What sort of animal travels in coach?

It took several ticket agents and the threat of security to finally get me to board the plane because I wasn't flying first class.

I always flew in first class. It was the only way to travel.

In my life, I've been to Paris, Japan, Cairo, but never to any place that wasn't part of Entertainment Weekly's 100 top cities to visit.

But I had never been to Missouri.

Athough that was going to change now. I just hope none of my friends back home would find out.

I looked at the picture of my Uncle that he sent me via email. He looked ok. You could see the resemblence of him and my father so as far as family looks were concerned, it was there. But the thing was, I don't remember much of him. He never came to family gatherings.

When we had them.

Now, as I waited for my one bag, which had been probably been packed by one of the maids and had only 3 pairs of jeans and 4 t-shirts.

I was still in my clothes from the club and the night I got arrested. A skin tight black dress, 3 inch heels and a gold chain necklace.

Talk about first impressions.

At least I was giving some of the locals something to look. To which I flashed them my smile and gave them a wink as I picked up my bag.

Laughing, I turned and headed toward the exit of the small airport to find Jack.

Jack Anderson.

And there he was.

Walking up to him, I had this all planned out.

Flatter him, play the victim. Perhaps he would see things my way and feel sorry for me. Let me lay low for a few weeks or until my parents came to their senses, hopefully in a few days.

Then I would go home.

The end.

"Hello Uncle Jack." I said, giving him my sweetest smile.

 

[TheGrind]

Pictures lie as often as people so when I saw Gemma fully developed I had to hide my surprise. Too often photos are touched up or a certain angle is found to shave off that extra fifty pounds. But there she was in all her modern New York glory dressed down to the very thing that had found her trouble 1200 miles east. She didn't even change. It crossed my mind maybe she didn't want to or maybe her parents were so tired of her they shoved her onto the first plane they could just to wash their hands of her.

I was waiting outside where she eventually found me. As she grew nearer the male instinct took charge and I saw her as anyone else would. As a woman. There was always something about a black dress. A red dress. A white dress. And the tighter the better. That was going to have to be the first thing that changed. I couldn't let her wear it after we got back. There was no way she was going to be able to work in it. And if she thought she was going to have an easy first day, well... meeting her here had already put me behind schedule. Gemma was going to help make up for lost time after we got back.

I reciprocated her smile as she came toward me, “How are you, Gemma?” Then I looked down toward her feet, “You might want to get out of those shoes if you have anything else.”

Reaching down I took her bag, clutching it by the handle. There were only so many hours in the day and while I didn't want to seem rude, there were things that had to be finished. And there was plenty of time to play the Get To Know You game on the drive home. Her new home.

“Now,” I spoke, guiding her towards the parking area, “why don't you tell me what you expect to do while you're out here.”

 

[MsBellaNova]

"I guess I could be better, Uncle Jack," I said, giving him a full on pout. The same pout I used on all guys when I wanted to get my way.

I looked down at my Louboutins and frowned when he mentioned I might want to change them.

"Why on earth would I want to change these?"

It never occurred to me that I was over dressed.

"Well, I guess I could change into my other shoes in the car," I said, not one bit phased by my Uncle's curtness.

I was too busy looking around as I followed him.

This place looked like an absolute dump.

Or, in other words, boring.

"So, what do you all do for fun around here? Count the cows?" I asked, giggling at my own joke.

No laugh from him.

Not even a smile.

Shit.

"What do I expect?" I asked, repeating after him. I probably sounded pretty stupid, but what sort of question was that? "Well, I'm not really sure, Uncle Jack. Perhaps just hang around with you a few days and then go home." I waved my hand dismissively, "This is all a scare tactic from Daddy."

It was. Wasn't it?

We reached his truck in the parking lot.

His truck.

A truck.

I stopped and just stared.

Ok, I could handle this. It wasn't as if I hadn't been in a truck before. I mean, Alex had a truck. But his truck was nice. It was a luxuary truck complete with a killer sound system and not one speck of dirt on it. Chrome rims, tinted windows. The works.

This one. No.

I gasped when my bag, my leather bag, get tossed into the back like it was nothing.

The little voice inside my head told me to just deal with it. This was all something to scare me. It would be over sooner than later.

I just had to deal with it.

I tried not to let i show on my face but the surprise was hard to hide I'm sure.

Getting into the truck was another surprise. But I did myself proud and sucked it up and got in. Fastening my seatbelt, I ran a hand through my hair and fluffed it up a bit, "I can not wait to get some sleep. That flight was pretty rough."

 

[TheGrind]

I let her question slide about what we did for fun. If the girl only knew. And in another kind of meeting I wouldn't have minded to tell her. There was plenty out here but that wasn't what she was here for. No, Gemma was going to see the things that she probably thought she was going to see. She was going to do work that she probably wouldn't think she'd do.

“A scare tactic from daddy, hm?” I repeated. “If he really wanted to scare you he could've left you in a cell for a while, let you see the judge. That would've been scary. And a helluva lot cheaper.” Tossing her bag into the bed of the truck I looked at her. “I could be wrong. Maybe your parents enjoy wasting money but I'm not one to judge.”

Moving around the truck I unlocked her door with my keys. An electronic lock system hadn't made it through my doors just yet but it was an old truck. More importantly it ran and I kept it alive. In a disposable culture where people threw away cars for tiny infractions it might seem old and antiquated. Perhaps so was I. But I didn't have any misconceptions about what I was.

I'd let her climb in as I walked to the driver's side, doing the same. Considering what little I knew about her I wasn't expecting her to bother to lean over to unlock my door.

As I started the engine and pressed on the gas I heard her say how hard her day had been and I couldn't help but smirk, “Don't worry, you'll get some sleep tonight. And you'll earn it.” As I pulled up to the exit of the garage I rolled down my window, paying the three dollar toll for the forty-five minute stay.

My window remained rolled down as I pulled out of the city and onto Route 160 heading east. “We have about an hour until we get there. So if you want to sleep you're welcome to it. But when we get home you can change out of those clothes into something more suitable. We have some work to take care of when we get back.” Then I pressed on the gas a little harder feeling the wind whipping inside the truck as I hit the radio. Blackberry Smoke would take us home.

 

[MsBellaNova]

My uncle's choice in music was OK, so far.

I guess the ride relaxed me more than I figured. Or I was just extremely tired.

The commotion of the past 36 hours were taking my toll on me and in no time, I fell asleep.

Not that it mattered, it wasn't like I was going to be into the scenery anyway.

It seemed like I just closed my eyes when I was jolted away by my uncle driving on a bumpy road.

I woke with a start and noticed that the road we were on was a dirt road.

How quaint.

Sighing, I carefully wiped my eyes and looked around.

Wow, this was a full fledged farm. Complete with animals.

I never did get along with animals. I didn't even own a cat or dog.

The closest I've ever come to an animal is at the Brooklyn Zoo. Even then, it wasn't a great experience.

Uncle Jack stopped the truck, parking it a bit far from the house.

The house.

It wasn't much of a house. If anything, it was a small house, not a modern design, just a basic square it looked like.

It was also a two story small house.

"This is where you live?" I asked, not meaning to sound full of disdain. It was just a genuine question.

I wonder if it was too late to tell my father I was sorry.

My uncle got out of the truck but I didn't dare move.

 

[TheGrind]

The smell of warm country air filled the truck on one side, mixing with the river on the other. And it didn't take long after that before the air turned distinctly country. It was the scent of home. As we neared closer I looked toward my niece as she lay there sleeping, thinking that finally a woman would be living in that old house again. It hadn't been too long since the last one but it had been long enough. Not that there was ever enough time to get lonely. There was enough work and enough weekends to keep anyone occupied.

A gravel driveway lined from the road to the house. A barn didn't lie much farther which ran up against a long fence, penning in the livestock. There was so much to show her; so much for her to learn. But I was patient and willing to teach her. Judging by what her parents had told me she'd be here for a while so I'd be able to recoup any time I lost for what I'd get out of her later.

Pulling the truck to a stop I looked at her as I killed the engine, “For now. The Ritz is full.” I opened the truck door, planting my feet on solid ground, “But a hotel, no matter how fancy, is always just a hotel. This is home. I'll show you around.”

I pushed my keys into my back pocket as I reached into the bed of the truck, pulling out her leather bag. It wasn't as good as new but it'd be fine. I was sure she'd manage to somehow survive the ordeal. It was then I noticed that she hadn't moved so I walked around to her side of the truck.

I opened her door, “Let's get going. You have to change out of that and we have some work to do.”

 

[MsBellaNova]

I wanted so much to not get out. This was all a bad dream, wasn't it?

No one could live out here like this.

Well, as least my uncle did. And he seemed perfectly fine with that.

"Yeah, but a hotel is modern. This," I said, looking around before getting out, ruining my heels, I'm sure, "is like nothing I've seen before. At least, in person."

It was hard to believe that Daddy had grown up in something like this.

I did want to change but, why? "I think I'm going to sleep a little more and then take a shower before changing. I'm still really tired from all the travel." I said as I followed him up to the house.

It was so quiet. The only sounds right now was that of the trees rustling in the breeze.

Chirps of birds filled the air.

No sounds of traffic, no sirens of emergency vehicles in the back ground.

Fuck.

 

[TheGrind]

As she rattled on about how my home wasn't modern I couldn't help but feel that was the greatest part about it. There wasn't anything else to get in the way. There wasn't anyone to tell you where to go or how to dress. It was freedom in all its Don't Tread On Me glory.

“You can sleep later tonight,” I told her as we neared the house. “You'll have five minutes to change out of that and into something you have packed in this bag of yours.” Moving onto the porch and toward the door I turned the knob, pushing the door open. I didn't need the keys for it. Maybe it felt like an honest place... or maybe nobody wanted to rob a farmer's home in Missouri. If you wanted rich farmers you'd have to go farther north.

“This way,” I told her as I stepped inside, leading her through a hall and toward the bathroom. “You can change in there.” I set the bag against the bathroom wall, giving her enough room to pass me by and to walk through the door. “You have five minutes then we have to get started.”

 

[MsBellaNova]

I could have made and I'm sure I did as I saw that his was serious.

Fuck.

Moving past my uncle, I entered the smaller than normal bathroom and sighed.

Maybe he just wanted to show me around, I wasn't sure so I grabbed my bag to see exactly what was packed.

Three tops. two pairs of jeans, some underwear and a pair of my old tennis shoes.

That was it.

Ok, I could deal with this.

After changing into a shirt and some jeans (which were practically painted on) and went to the other room to join my uncle.

"So, when's dinner?" I asked, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice and not being very successful at it.

 

[TheGrind]

“Later,” I told her as she came into the room. I was surprised it hadn't taken her longer but I was only a family member. There wasn't any reason to try to impress me yet somehow she had. Those tight jeans left little to my imagination which had already been drifting. Even though it wasn't right I couldn't help but wonder. “We'll eat later when we're done here. After you've fed the animals.”

There was enough time to show her the rest of the house but I had a few things to take care of. With any luck she'd be too tired at the end of the day to even want a tour. If she even wanted one now.

“This way,” I told her, opening the door.

I walked the short distance across the gravel path separating my home and a pair of barns which housed a small vehicle, tools, and dry feed, among other things. But it still had the stale smell of a barn. If wind had come through the cracks or an opening, it certainly didn't change much.

Unlatching the door I slid it open, practically making an entire wall disappear. The first thing staring me right in my face was a UTV and a few pallets of food next to it.

“Today you're going to load up a few of these bags and put them on this UTV. You'll only need two, one from this pallet, and one from this,” I spoke to her, showing her the pallets nearby. “They're no more than fifty pounds a piece. Once loaded, drive it farther down the gravel drive here and stop when you see a trough. Take the bag that you got from this pallet and cut it open. There's a line in the trough so stop pouring once you reach that line. And now that I'm thinking about it,” I reached into my back pocket, pulling out a switchblade. “Take this with you. They're easier to open.”

I tossed the closed blade onto the seat of the UTV, “So, pigs and chickens, got it? Once you're done feeding them then dump out their old water and give them new water. There's a spigot out there that you can use. I usually do it a more efficient way but until I have the time to teach you, you can do it like that.”

Looking around one last time, but moreso at her I added, “It isn't difficult, its easy, you'll see where to stop when you come across it and you'll put those tiny arms to work. When you're done just park the vehicle in here and head into the house. If there's any extra feed then I'll take care of it when I get back. The keys are already in your vehicle. If you have any questions then ask them now. If not, I'll meet you back home in an hour or two.”

 

[MsBellaNova]

I could only stare at my uncle. This couldn't be happening. He wanted me to do what?

Fucking feed the animals?!

I took in everything he said and I just stood there as he explained what needed to be done. There was no way I was going to be able to lift 50 pounds of feed, let alone, 50 pounds of anything.

He gave me the knife which I just held like an idiot. As much as I wanted to protest, I didn't because I could see he was dead serious.

Fuck!

And what the hell was a spigot?!

I had wanted to tell him that if he had a more efficient way of doing then perhaps he should continue doing it.

OK, well, I could do this. As he walked away, I stood there for a couple more minutes and just tried to let it all soak in. People still did this? Weren't they supposed to have farm hands or something?

"Well--" I said to myself after my uncle left and I just continued to stand there. I had figured out how to approach this and just thought I'd do what I always did when I didn't want to do it.

Fuck it all up.

What was he going to do? Send me back? Fine! Let him. Jail was starting to look pretty right now anyway.

"Goddamnit!" I said outloud as I went over to the first pallet. It wasn't as hard as I had thought seeing as how the back of the UTV was level with the first bag and it slid on easily on to the back.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed when I finally figured out how to drive the fucking thing and that's when I saw the pigs--oh my fucking God. Pigs. They fucking smelled so much!

I thought I had done pretty good feeding them. I did the same thing for the chickens.

Ugh, why were they all so fucking noisy?!

"I can't believe people still do this shit." I said out loud, talking more to the animals than to anyone, "All I did was party a little too hard and now I'm stuck here with you pieces of shit!" And on top of all that, I was getting my clothes dirty.