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( chapter one. ) the city of brotherly love
GREEDY BY TATE MCRAE ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
Here's the deal: Lyla Marsh did not want to be here. Don't get her wrong, she loved her big brother to death. But being forced to pack the majority of her things in her ( super cute ) cheetah print suitcases — that she only used for trips to tropical places, not Philadelphia — to spend the summer with Brandon was just plain mean. The girl was twenty-two for fucks sake, she could make full fledged decisions without her parents watching over her every little drunken move. Maybe they weren't the wisest decisions but she always made it out alive.
But her parents always worried she wouldn't always get so lucky as the world is a cruel fucking place to everyone ( even if you're Lyla Marsh ). Lyla swore the everyday marathon of the Investigation Discovery channel had rotten their brains, convincing them their youngest child would end up dead in a ditch somewhere.
Depressing, I know.
But truth be told, she was never trusted by her parents. She pondered about it generally, about how she was chosen to carry the weight of her parents worries on her shoulders. Maybe that's how Lyla became the rebellious girl who snuck out every weekend, wanting a taste of freedom. Or maybe she just wanted to spite her parents.
You know that saying: Strict parents raise sneaky kids. She was the product of it. Maybe it's not-so shocking but after the Marsh family plastered Proud Parents of a Georgia Bulldog all over their front lawn along with every social media platform they owned, it was safe to say the town of Buford, Georgia was astounded. Though, it wasn't the fact that Ms. Lyla Marsh had gotten in to the University of Georgia, but ultimately the fact that Jake and Sonja Marsh willingly authorized her to be, almost fifty-miles out of their sight for the next four years.
Which made freshman year for Lyla, absolute bliss.
That all led up to a warm, breezy afternoon in Philadelphia as the twenty-two year old pounded her fist against the apartment door of her older brother. Before her knuckles could become a bloody mess, the pearl-colored door was swung open, revealing a tall figure.
"What's up, Ly?" Brandon greeted, beads of sweat rolled down his body with his long hair pulled back into a bun, keeping straggling pieces from his face. His cut-up muscle tee revealed his biceps and his horrendous farmers tan causing Lyla to cringe.
"You need to hit the tanning beds," The blonde bluntly expressed, dropping the large duffle bags on the welcome mat at her feet.
"Thanks, you look nice too, Lyla," He retorted, a roll of his eyes airing his annoyance to his youngest sister. The corners of her lips pulled into a smile, satisfied with his reaction, showing of her pearly-white teeth as she pushed the large sunglasses that sat on the bridge of her nose with her freshly manicure French-tips.
