Be careful what you wish for

1. There's no such thing as free lunch

The credits began to roll up when the movie had ended, leaving me with the birth of a new idea. I pulled out my journal from under the mattress and scribbled a draft for a new plot that had come to my mind after watching an Adam Sandler's classic rom-com.

Watching rom-coms might be my favorite hobby, but it's not just a hobby. I made sure that after every movie I get to watch, I get to have an idea for a story I would write on. Well, technically, these are stories I would want to write about someday – if I'd ever get to spend the time to myself.

"Jolene!" I took a deep breath. This was the reason why my stories were still mere drafts of plot lines that never came to life.

"Jolene! Have you gone deaf or what?" Roger kept hollering at the top of his lungs.

"Coming!" I responded a bit louder for him to hear me, but not to imply that I was angry at him even if that was the case. When I left my room, he was standing in the living room with his arms on his waist. Oh, boy.

He was in his usual off-white shirt topped over with a torn denim vest and a worn-out baseball cap that he thought made him look cool, and trust me, his beard was the cherry-on-the-top that served as a giveaway for his look as a mugger. If I didn't know better, he really was a mugger who stole my life away.

He started meeting me at the bottom of the staircase and I didn't want to get any closer because by the looks of it, he was probably reeking of rancid, cheese-like smell that I concluded to be body odor.

"I hope you still remember why you are here under this roof, eating the food that I provide, and sleeping in the room I generously have offered you, right?" He asked crossly. I avoided his gaze, remembering what mom always used to tell me, and simply nodded.

"I was just fixing my stuff –"

"Stuff for?" He interrupted me, as always.

"Stuff... my things. I was cleaning my room," I lied. Roger hated it when I made time for my leisure; this guy just never wanted me to rest.

After mom's paralysis three years ago, Roger finally had the freedom to make me run around for his errands and do all the house chores by myself. He was her second husband, unfortunately making him my stepdad, and as much as I wanted to fight back at him or run away, I couldn't because of mom. At least she was kept safe in here. I, on the other hand, was leading a miserable life as Roger's unpaid maid and to top it off, he didn't want me to go to college, either. He said going to college was just a waste of time, but I think his existence was. If it weren't for mom...

"Well, are you done cleaning? What's for dinner, then, huh?" He growled and I scowled at him, balling my fists tight. Roger is a good man, sweety. He's just hot tempered. Without him, we would have probably been living in the streets. Mom's words echoed in my ears and my face softened. He smirked.

"Punk!" He muttered under his breath then walked into his garage, yelling about me being an irrelevant space occupier who did nothing but slack around. I groaned then headed into the kitchen.

My name is Jolene Evans, and I was named after my nanna who was known for her beauty and her noble deeds during her time. Part of me would think that I somehow got the 'noble deeds' part since I have managed not to punch Roger in his face yet, but the beauty part? I was always doubted that. I mean, in my twenty-one years of existence, the only compliment I got was being an early bird. So, being named after nanna was gratifying to know; at least, I wasn't named after the homewrecker in the Dolly Parton song.

Other than my nanna who had an influence in my life, I also had a dad who left us for another woman when I was just nine and mom, being the kind-hearted she always was, had a Jolene moment; she practically begged his girlfriend to leave him alone, but some people were just born to be the assholes they were. So, mom devastatingly failed, and that's when she met Roger while working as a waitress in a bar. The first time I met Roger, I had all the false alarm ringing in my head, but then, why would mom listen to a nine-year-old about her love life? So, they eventually got married and that's when pretty much everything in my life went haywire.