How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)

The Unlucky Club

"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."

— Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights

___

Kara Dox was not a fan of moving.

Ever since practically middle school, she'd moved everywhere. From various towns, to various houses, to various schools. There was always a new name to learn and a face to get used to, but by the time she'd adjusted, she and her family were already moving to their next house. It didn't exactly give her enough time to form any lifelong relationships, and it didn't help that the people she spent the most time with was her aunt and cousin, Dolores.

Moving to their new house a few days ago had been the same routine as always, involving lots of unpacking. It'd taken ages to get things organized, and they still weren't finished. She'd managed to at least unpack the boxes for her own room, but the rest of her house? That could take up to months.

It always did, and by the time everything had settled, Kara's life changed again. This time, she'd hoped they'd stay longer than just a few months. The longest they'd stayed in a place before had been three years, in a house close to Mount Rushmore. That had been when Kara was younger, but it had been one of her favorite places to live. First, because the site was really cool. And secondly, she was obsessed with history.

When her aunt didn't used to be such a hag, they used to take trips to Mount Rushmore. Just Kara, her aunt, and Dolores. They'd sit in front of the statue, sometimes making fun of it, and sometimes envisioning what it would look like if their faces were carved into the rocks instead of the Founding Fathers. Because of how often they'd gone there, Kara knew practically everything about that place.

Kara had been sitting in her room, nearly bored out of her mind. It was mid-morning and bright sunlight was peaking through the curtains of the windows, daring her to come outside. And she was tempted, because the past few days had been so busy and she'd barely had the chance to go explore the area around her. She knew that she wasn't able to, though. Not this soon.

Her aunt was someone who rarely let Kara do anything without her permission, and often treated her with coldness. So, Kara had developed a habit of calling her "The Countess". Not to her face, obviously. Only behind her back. What she actually called her was Aunt C.

What the C was short for, she wasn't quite sure. But she guessed it was one of the reasons she'd come up with the brilliant nickname of the Countess. The other reason? Her aunt was a tyrant. Another word Kara would never say to her face, or else she might get kicked out of the house. And the Countess had threatened to do so before, so Kara knew not to push her buttons too much.

Not that that discouraged Kara. Over the years, she'd become used to her aunt's rude and insulting manner, even if it stung. She just had to do her best to carve her own path, no matter how little freedom she might have over her own life. As long as she got out of the house as much as possible, that was good for her.

Though, that wasn't always possible. Over the years, the Countess had trusted Kara less and less, becoming more controlling over her. It wasn't Kara's fault that they didn't have a good relationship. Not entirely. Apparently the only place her aunt trusted Kara to go now was school, since there were teachers to supervise her. It'd only been like that for the past year, but before the incident, she'd had much more freedom.

The thing was, Kara had been taken in by her aunt when she was only a few years old. According to her aunt, her parents had passed away in a car crash. Even though she'd never remembered them, Kara knew she would've had a much better life if she'd lived with her parents. She liked to imagine that if she was with them, they'd stay in one place forever, instead of traveling every few months or years.