Reckless

Chapter 1

"How long are you staying here again?" My cousin, Zayn, asked me as we brought in boxes from the moving truck.

"Uh, just until I'm done with collage. If I get a job here, I might stay." I said pushing up my glasses as I stuttered over my words.

"Harry, you aren't lying, are you?" He asked as he handed me a box with books in it.

"W-why would you t-think that?" I asked as I walked into the house and sat the box on the living room floor.

"Harry, you never visit me and I don't know how you're going to live here if you hate people. So, tell me the truth." He demanded as he stood tall in front of me. I was slightly bigger, but his shaved head and tattooed arms and chest could be intimidating some times.

I sighed heavily, deciding I should probably tell him because he's basically the only family I have that cares anymore. Plus, he's really good at finding things out.

"My...my mom threw me out. Gemma and her boyfriend don't have room, and even if they did, they wouldn't want me there. My grandparents are on my moms side, so I moved here to finish school until summer and then I'm going to find a job." I told him, even if it wasn't the whole truth.

Let's face it. Who cares about college? I don't even know what I want to be. That's the beauty of life. You never know when your plans are going to change.

I sat down on the box covered couch and rubbed my face with my hand and looked at my cousin. "I'm so sorry, Zayn, but I really need you right now. I had no one." I said as I watched him, waiting for him to say something like 'I can't believe you' or 'get out'. No one has ever really wanted me around because of my reputation. I'm usually actually calm, the kind of guy most people would respect and want on their side. I'm smarter than everyone thinks. I just never show it. I might wear these glasses, but you don't want to mess with me. I'm pretty muscular if I do say so myself, which is what gets me into trouble. I used to start fights and finish them back in London. That gave me a bad name, so, I moved to New York to live with Zayn. I had just packed my things at my mothers house and drove to the airport, calling Zayn on the way and asking if I could stay for a while. Of corse he agreed, seeing as we haven't hung out since he moved to New York about six years ago. So here I am.

"That's not true, Harry. You've got me. And I'm pretty sure you're going to make friends here. It's New York for Pete's sake. I have a few friends you might like, but I'm not promising it's not going to be any different from London in the 'making friends' routine. Yeah, and before you ask, my mom called. She told me about the people you hung out with. I'm not saying it's going to be any better here. As you can see, this sort of is a crack house, but I believe you'll like it here." He said with a soft smile as he clapped his hand on my back.

"Thank you." I said as I went to stand up. "Now, lets get the rest of the boxes out."

After another hour and a half of unpacking and organizing, my room is done. I had arrived at eight this morning and it was now eleven in the morning.

"I have to get to work now, but I'll be back around eight tonight. Feel free to explore the house and eat what you want. We'll need to talk about expenses and stuff when I get home. You can walk around the city if you want too, but, uh, be careful. There's a bunch of people around here that you don't want to get involved with. It sure is nice to see you again, bud." He said before leaving, slamming the door shut so hard it shook the few pictures that hung on the walls.

I wonder what he meant about people around here. I mean, it's not the safest or richest neighborhood, but it doesn't seem like one that would have a news story coming from it every week.

I shake the thought from my head and began to rummage through the clothes hanging in the small closet across from the, surprise, full sized bed. Its a bit bigger than a trailer sized house, so I didn't really think it would have a bed this nice. I mean, Zayn gets a check every month from his mom, $650 dollars per check and he works two jobs. A burger flipping job at Wendy's and a part time car salesman. He makes enough money to pay bills and keep this house filled with food, and he should have a bit left over, but I've no idea what he does with it. All I'm saying is, his mom raised him right and he doesn't seem like someone that would throw his life away. He might have left, but in a way, he never really left. We used to be really close and then the year before he left, he just stopped attending school and stopped talking to the family. He was always a family kind of guy so it shocked everyone to know he just dropped off everyone's radar. A few months after he disappeared, he wrote a letter to his mom saying that he moved to New York to 'start over' as he put it. His mom had shared the letter and it explained that he left because he got into drugs and people were 'after him' whatever that means. I love the dude, but he can be a little dramatic sometimes. He was eighteen when he left and now he's twenty-five, and he's not where I thought he would be.

Me, I'm a mess. I'm pretty much a geek and a loner. I don't see myself doing much in the future. I was going to school to be a lawyer, but I might have got expelled for fighting too much and for property damage. Also, I'm sick of routines. Like the routine of going to the same college and doing the same crap every freaking day. I want adventure and excitement. I don't want the same old life everyday. And that is how and why I'm obsessed with books. They intrigue me in ways that nothing else can and ever will. The pleasure I get when reading books is almost depressing. The characters always have better lives then me, but either way, I turned to books for adventure. It was a little more calming than picking fights just for the heck of it and I slowly started to change. I still loose my temper easily and just a few days ago I snapped at my mom and she said that that was the last time so, she threw me out, saying 'pack up your things and I want you gone before morning'. Not a 'I love you' or 'I'm sorry, but that's it'. But I can't really blame her. She had changed into something awful after my father left. But he was an abusive drunk that didn't care about anything but himself. My mom was terrified that I would end up like him.

All I want now is a better life here, with the only person I have left, so it seems. I'm going to find my own adventure and live the life I want. And I'm going to prove them all wrong. I'm going to become more of a man than my father ever was and ever will be.

If only I knew what the future held.

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A/N

So here's the first chapter! I hope you like it so far and I hope you're ready for a wild adventure! Enjoy!

~Katie

Also, please check out my other story The Last Dance. It's completed so that's something you can read in between these updates!

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