Limitless (Journey #2)
C.A. Williams
Chapter 1
Leah
"Al, can you throw me that bag over there, please?" I swiped at a piece of hair that had fallen out of my ponytail, almost completely drenched in sweat after packing for half the day. I needed a serious shower, but that could wait until I was completely finished. Might as well get it all over with now. I would be glad when it was finally done and over with.
"Here you go, Leah. You need help with anything else? It looks like you have pretty much everything you need. I’m going to head over to Kilroy’s to see the band play if you’re good."
I rolled my eyes at her knowing exactly why she was heading to Kilroy’s and it wasn’t to see the band play. She and Teddy had been dating, or whatever you wanted to call what they were doing together, for a little while now. They were both seeing other people still, so I wasn’t really sure what exactly was going on there and I really didn't want to.
"Yeah, go ahead I think I have just about everything packed up. Now I just need to move onto Caleb’s stuff, I’m sure that will be a ton of fun. I can’t wait to get started. I’m sure you’ll have tons of fun," I added sarcastically.
Ally laughed and rolled her blue eyes at that. I still had to do a double take whenever I saw her lately. I wasn't used to her smoky makeup compared to the bright colors she used to wear when I had to have sunglasses on just to look at her.
I swear she was schizophrenic when it came to her look. Her neon colors and flowing clothes had been replaced by more of a rocker chic look with old band shirts and skinny jeans or frayed denim skirts but Ally could pull off anything. I think Teddy was somewhat rubbing off on her lately. It seemed like that happened with whomever she was dating.
"Well, I am most definitely getting out of here now. Good luck with that! And you’re right, I’ll be having boat loads of fun." She wiggled her eyebrows at me before she skipped out of the room and I heard the front door slam behind her. I walked down the hall to Caleb’s room, which seemed suspiciously too quiet, that was never a good sign with a four year old.
"What’s going on in here?" I swung the door open and folded my arms over my chest to survey the damage. Caleb was jumping up and down on his special suitcase that he had picked out all by himself and I could see it was overflowing with just about everything from his room; clothes, toys, books, and his poor giant giraffe that was being squished to death.
"I'm all packed up and ready to go, Mommy. Is it time to leave yet?" I shook my head at him, which instantly led him to give that cute puppy dog face of his that I loved so much. Who could really ever resist that? His curls and brown eyes completed the look he was going for so perfectly.
"We aren't leaving till tomorrow morning, remember?" And tomorrow couldn't come soon enough. I was so ready to leave. I heard the doorbell ring from down the hall and ran to get it, figuring Ally had forgotten something. Maybe her dignity.
"Don't pack anything else, Caleb," I shouted over my shoulder. "Mommy will be right back to help you." At this point, we would be paying a fortune for Caleb’s luggage alone. I might just need to borrow some money out of his piggy bank to cover the costs.
I opened up the door but it wasn't Ally standing there, instead it was some middle aged guy in a suit and tie that I had never seen before. Probably someone trying to sell me something or convince me to come to their church, it happened often in this neighborhood, almost daily, and I would not miss it one bit.
I placed a hand on my hip and leaned against the door frame, waiting for the usual spiel that I knew was coming and was dreading. “Can I help you?"
His dark brown eyes looked me up and down before stopping and staring at my face, like he was studying me or checking me out, I really wasn’t sure which one and I was starting to get a little uncomfortable under his roaming eyes. Maybe I shouldn’t have opened the door to a stranger, like I beat over and over into Caleb’s head all of the time. When would I learn?
He ran a hand through his graying hair and then shifted on his feet like he was nervous about something before he spoke. Maybe this was his first time out alone, well he wasn't getting this girl to buy anything and I was most definitely not going to be attending church.
"Hello, I'm Roy Barnum. I'm looking for Leah Rossi, would that be you?"
"Well, that depends. What are you trying to sell? Just know there’s about a ninety-nine percent chance I’m not buying, before you waste your breath."