Guns and Roses

Seven ~ Quinn

I sit in the back of the car and wonder how on earth I got here. My grandfather went home but here I am, being driven across town by an ex-mafia boss.

"Please tell me we're ordering in food" Rya whines as she leans in between her parents "I don't really want to give Quinn food poisoning"

"I can cook!" Her mum tries to defend herself. Her dad scoffs. He hasn't spoken much since I've been here. He's just sort of been watching Rya and her mother as they laugh together.

They're not what I expected at all. I expected them to be sullen and sincere, not sarcastic and joking. They look so average - okay, maybe a little bit 'rough' but still average.

"Karma's home" Viktor says "I picked her up this afternoon"

"Karma?" I ask.

"She's our dog," Rya explains "She's still a puppy but she got sick a few days ago and has been at the vet"

"Careful though, she's a bit of a bitch" Bella laughs and Viktor shakes his head in disbelief "I'm never going to tire of that one"

We pull up to their house, it's pretty big for people with no jobs but I wasn't sure what to expect with people from their background. I mean of course they have money.

Her parents get out of the car and I turn to Rya. "So this is where you live?" I ask her.

She shakes her head "I'm not allowed to. They feel that it is an unsafe environment for me to live in" She opens her door and then stops, shrugs "I can come and go as I like but I'm supposed to let their parole officer know that I'm there"

We get out and walk up to the house. Almost immediately, Rya rushes over to the massive German shepherd bouncing about the living room. Viktor laughs as Rya is tackled to the floor by the beast and Bella rushes over to join in on the fun.

I laugh with them as Rya manages to get out from underneath Karma and then the dog catches a glimpse of me. I feel every muscle tense as she leaps over to me and bounces up to try to lick my face.

"Down! Karma!" Bella shouts but there's not much to it. "I'm so sorry, she just likes people"

Rya wraps her arms around the puppy's middle and lifts her away from me. "You want to come upstairs?" She asks me as she pushes Karma into the living room and shuts the door.

"Show him the torture chamber!" Bella shouts through and Rya sticks the middle finger up at her through the door.

The what?

Rya smiles at me and laughs at my shocked face. "She thinks she's funny. It's just the guest bedroom"

At the top of the stairs there's a bookcase with pictures in every shelf. I take a second to look over them.

There's a few pictures of Bella and Viktor when they were teenagers, they look like kids in love for the first time. There's a picture of Bella sitting on a couch with a book in her lap, laughing at whatever the person took the picture said. Her stomach is rounded with baby Rya.

There's more pictures after Rya was born, ones of her as a baby, ones of her talking her first steps, pictures of her and Viktor in the bath - Viktor not there by choice by the looks of things. There's more recent photographs too, one must be the day Bella got out of prison, another taken in this very house of the three of them sitting on the couch downstairs.

At first glance, they look like every other family, but then you realise that there's not a single picture of The growing up. It goes from toddler to teenager with no in between.

There's no picture from her first day at school, no pictures of her birthdays and no school photos.

Just a gap.

"You coming or what?" Rya asks breaking me away from the photos. She stands impatiently by one of the doors and I quickly walk over to her.

I have so many questions but refrain from asking them. I want to know if she remembers being in the mafia, what it's like having to visit your family in prison for your entire life and so much more. But something tells me that she's not exactly open to discussing such topics so I keep my mouth shut.

In the room, it looks like a teenage girls bedroom. A messy bed, signed band posters on the walls, a mess of makeup on the floor in front of the full length mirror.

But I've learned from Rya that not all is what it first looks like.

From what she's told me, this bed has never been slept in. The signed posters were probably bought online and not at a concert, the makeup was probably used once when she didn't have time to get ready at home.

This room is more of a dressing room than a bedroom. This house is not her home, no matter how much it looks like it could be.

She sits down on the bed and picks up an abandoned book to put a bookmark in it and clear a space for me to sit.

"People don't ever come back to mine" she says quietly "I'm not really sure what to do with you"

I laugh. "Really? I would have thought that everyone would want to see your torture chamber" She shakes her head at me, smiling. "And doesn't Matthew come round?"

She sighs and throws herself back dramatically. "Not any more he doesn't" I stay silent "We broke up. We weren't right for eachother"

"I'm sorry" I say and I sound horribly awkward.

She rolls her eyes "Don't be. It's better for everyone this way" She sits up and grins at me "So, anyone in your life? I'm sure someone has caught your eye since you got here"

I shrug and remember about the phone number in my trouser pocket. "Well, there is this one girl.. She came into the shop and gave me her number. She was pretty cute"

"Have you used it?" She asks excitedly. I shake my head and a pillow is suddenly smacked off the side of my head. "Give me your phone and this number. I'm about to be the best goddamn wing woman in the entire fucking world"