Rich Girl

1. Chapter One

I took a final look at my room. I wasn't sure I'd be seeing it again anytime soon. The thought didn't make me as sad as I thought it would.

I was ready to get out of here. Even though nobody actually died in my house, it felt like death. It was cold and unwelcoming. My house felt like anything but home. Without either one of my parents to fill the never ending silence, it was choking me. I still couldn't grasp the fact that my dad had died. When the cops came to my house and broke the news to me a week ago, I was calm and collected. Devestated, of course, but still calm. Then, I punched a wall. Repeatedly. My dad and I were a team. We picked ourselves up after my mom died four years ago from cancer. We went on with our lives and recently everything was going great, until my dad's accident at work.

I left my room with a small, sad smile. Shouldering my duffel bag, I met Nora Rhodes out at her car. Nora was my mom's best friend and she lived in a small town in Kansas. Apparently my mom lived there once, too.

Nora really was one of the most amazing women I had ever met. She had been staying with me the whole week until it was time to leave. She didn't pity me and I appreciated it.

"All set, Nessa?" She asked once I reached her car.

"Yeah, it's definitely time to get out of here."

She nodded and started the car while I stuffed my bag in the trunk and then hopped into the front passenger seat.

"I got you some snacks for the road." She nodded at a sack on the floorboard. I grinned at her and started pulling things out. A can of cheese Pringles, two glazed doughnuts, a hot dog? I looked at Nora with a questioning gaze. She shrugged, "This lady at the gas station selling the damn things kept telling me that the packaging would keep it heated for hours. She looked like she might resort to violence if I didn't buy one."

I took the hot dog out of the packaging and bit into it. While still chewing, I said, "Crazy lady told the truth." Nora shot me a smile before I reached into the bag for the last thing. A bottle of Dr. Pepper.

"Nora, I would hug you if you weren't driving. How did you know this is my favorite?"

"Your mom always said you loved Dr. Pepper, so I got it hoping it still was."

I fell asleep after we exited Colorado and entered Kansas.

I woke up an hour later to Nora bellowing out "Single Ladies" along with Beyonce.

"Please don't tell me you do this around the house." I teased her.

She turned the volume down, "Just to embarass my children." She winked. I had almost forgotten she had children. I was pretty sure the girl was my age and I wasn't sure about the guy.

"What are your kids names?" I asked, slightly ashamed that I had already forgotten.

"Wyatt, he's seventeen and Dani, she's sixteen." I was right, she was my age.

"Alright." I breathed out softly. I was starting to get nervous as we were only fifteen minutes from the town.

"I just want to warn you that I'm not home a lot, but Wyatt's friends are. They're kind of a handful. You can handle them though." She gives me a reassuring smile. I personally thought she was overestimating my people skills. Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoyed talking to people. That didn't mean I was any good at it.

I stared out the window once we entered the town. There weren't any crazy tall buildings like there were back at my home, but I was okay with that. In fact, it seemed quite peaceful here. There were trees everywhere which I was overjoyed about. Back home, my yard didn't have a single tree in it.