The Star Goddess (UNDER EDITING)

Chapter Three: EDITED

Cole and I walked out of the group home, leaving Tara and Ms. Jean behind to fill out paperwork and work through all of the formalities. As we headed out into the parking lot, there was one car that stood out quite a bit from the rest and as Cole tugged my arm leading me towards it, my jaw nearly dropped all the way down to the ground.

The car was a sleek, black and red Lamborghini. It was shiny and clean and looked completely out of place in the parking lot of an orphanage. I could see the leather seats and interior from outside of the slightly tinted windows. I couldn't bite my tongue to hold back my surprise.

"Holy balls! I fricking LOVE your car!!!" I shrieked ecstatically. Cole smiled at my reaction and shrugged his shoulders softly.

"We can get you one if you want. After you get settled in with us?" Cole suggested with a warm smile. My jaw dropped even more if that was at all possible. He just offered to buy me a fucking lambo like it was the most casual thing in the world.

"Whaaaat? No way. I can't let you do that. Those things are wicked expensive. How the hell can you even afford one in the first place?" my curiosity made itself known as I carefully peeked through the windows, avoiding leaving fingerprints or even breathing on this little piece of heaven. Cole laughed heartily, a beautiful and comforting sound.

"Well, I'm a very well-rounded and expensive lawyer, so I'm highly sought after for legal proceedings and consultations and such. Tara is a world-renowned scientist. She has made a lot of important discoveries, especially in her home field, which is historical sciences. She deals with a lot of ancient civilizations, fossils and more. Plus, we get to travel a lot for her job. Any of the jobs where we travel, our whole trip is paid for by the company she works for and she gets bonuses for traveling away from home," Cole explained in depth, proudly representing his and his wife's career accomplishments.

I didn't think it was possible, but somehow my jaw dropped even further, probably hitting the center of the earth. Cole gave me a curious look before gently shaking his head and laughing softly. He then walked me over to the other side of the car and opened the door for me.

"Hop in, sweetpea. We have a lot to see and even more to talk about," Cole said with a beaming smile as he motioned to the leather seat. I

was cautious while settling into my seat, careful not to scratch or damage any of the leather or paint. The scent of leather wafted into my nose, causing me to inhale deeply while Cole hopped into the driver side. He started the engine, the car roared to life then purred quietly as it idled. The engine was so quiet, but once he shifted into gear and pressed on the gas, the car roared again.

"Well, how far away do you and Tara- I mean Mrs. Carmen live?" I asked, mentally slapping myself for being disrespectful.

"Only about twenty minutes away. Not too far. And please, feel free to call us Cole and Tara. We are about to become family. There's no need for such formalities," Cole answered.

As we pulled out of the parking lot and set course for Cole's house, I rolled down my window, the wind whipping through my hair, completely obliterating my messy bun. I cranked the volume as a couple of songs came onto the punk and metal station on the radio that I knew. A familiar All Time Low song came on, Kids in the Dark, and I didn't hold back as I sang every word. To my surprise, Cole also started singing along, completely shocking me and causing me to stare at him, mouth agape. As the song finished, I turned down the volume, still surprised.

"Wait. Hold on. You listen to All Time Low?!?!?" I shrieked giddily. Cole widened his eyes at me and chuckled.

"Well, duh. They are a really great band," Cole jested as he crossed his eyes on the word duh. I laughed. The big kind of belly laugh that could leave you writhing in pain on the floor but you can't stop laughing. Cole joined me in that outrageous laughter, then contagious sound erupting from both of our throats, but as another song came on that I knew, I flashed Cole a devilish smirk.

"Let's see if you know this one," I smirked as I cranked the radio back up, Down with the Sickness by Disturbed playing loudly. The loud music drowned out any surrounding sound, I couldn't even hear the rush of the wind over the music anymore. Cole and I screamed every single word out at the top of our lungs. Our throats were raw, but as soon as the song finished, Cole and I looked at each other and couldn't help but to break down laughing again.

It felt so good to laugh. Honest laughter was a rare treat for me anymore. It's also been a while since I've felt so safe and cared for, since I've had a father. While Cole wasn't really that much older than me in the grand scheme of things, he had such an old soul. Wise and compassionate way beyond his years. Cole's soft voice knocked me out of my thoughts.

"I think we are gonna get along just fine," Cole laughed with a little playful smirk.

"Well, you know what? I think you're right. We have the same taste in music and that's obviously the most important thing when forming connections," I said overly seriously, before erupting into another fit of giggles. After my giggles ended, a big smile still lingered on my face. My cheeks had started to hurt from smiling and laughing so much today. My new -hopefully- dad already had quite a bit in common.

Commercials came onto the radio, so I clicked it off and we sat in silence for a couple minutes. The silence was comfortable and relaxing, not tense as one might expect. The busy streets of the city faded into a more rural landscape, the smell of trees and woodlands rushing up my nose.

"Where are we? I don't recognize this area," I asked, my curiosity piqued.

"This sleepy little town is called Mooncrest. It's a little hidden gem out of the way, but still not too far from civilization. Honestly, most of the people that live in this county either forget about Mooncrest or don't even realize this town exists," Cole explained with a small chuckle.

A few minutes more passed, with the long winding road ahead of us and the forest on the sides. The vast, lush greenery just seemed to go on forever. It was something beautiful that I had never really appreciated before, but being out of the city was a nice change of pace. I could definitely get used to living out here, I thought to myself. Cole slowed the car as he turned onto what looked like a dirt road, but as we traveled further up the path, it smoothed out into a paved driveway. Trees still lined either side of the driveway, but also flowering bushes added some color and taste to the landscape. About a half mile later, I could see the top of a house peeking through the trees. As we got closer, I could see more and more of the house, the length of it seeming to be infinite. When we finally approached the front of the house, my jaw dropped for the umpteenth time. I had no words for the house. Beautiful, amazing, wondrous, astronomical, astounding. None of these words seemed to completely encompass the mansion that stood before me. I thought the car was extreme but this house... this house honestly made the car seem like a goddamn toy.