A Steemit Original - A Lifetime of Seeking Happiness - Chapter 2 - Part 1

Memoir of a runaway girl - A true story!

Chapter 2 

Poor Decisions Continue... 

Between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, I went back and forth between Lethbridge and Edmonton, to visit my family and friends. Each time I traveled, it was always by hitchhiking both ways.  Amazingly, when I would come back to Lethbridge I was allowed to stay at home. This was when I started noticing some issues with my brother.    

My brother was creating many problems. After he had set our laundry room on fire, at the age of five, it would just be the beginning of a long road of disasters, for him. He started drinking at the age of sixteen.   

I remember going into the basement one time when I was visiting, my brother was sitting behind the bar drinking our dad’s rum. I told him that if Dad found out, he was going to kick his arse but he did not seem to care. Then he started hanging around some undesirable older kids and this eventually lead to smoking marijuana too.    

Since I was not living at home on a regular basis, and my relationship was already strained with my parents, I chose to just ignore it and went about my own business. I didn't feel it was my place to be in charge of my younger brother.  

Eventually I found new accommodations with a couple of people in Lethbridge. You know when you’re a child and your parents say things like, “stay away from those people, they are bad news”. Well I was always the type to do the complete opposite.      

This one day I was coming home to my new found home and I realized I had left my keys in the apartment. I was standing there dumbfounded on what to do next. Since I lived on the main floor I thought I could get in by the window. I tried, but the window was locked.  Sitting outside of the building, leaning on a motorcycle was a gruff looking character. He was in his forties, and he had a long graying beard, a bit of a pot belly, and was wearing sunglasses. This grizzly looking man had a black bandana wrapped around his head and he wore a leather vest with an emblem on the back. He wore black leather chaps on the front of his jeans, and had on black biker boots. He introduced himself as Les.  Watching me struggle to get inside the apartment, this burley man looking over at me asks " Are you having a problem there?" 

He seemed friendly enough, so I explained my situation and he offered to help. Sure enough, he was able to jimmy the window open and I was inside. I came back out with my keys in hand to show him I was not lying and thanked him. I was then asked if I wanted go for a little ride with him on the bike. After all I’ve been through, I was sure I could get out of any situation that might arise. I shrugged and said “sure, why not”. I was up for a little adventure anyway.  

Harley's look like real nice bikes, but in my opinion, you do not want to be on the back of one for too long. These motorcycles can lack comfort after awhile, just like this one did. 

We drove around, and then he took me to McDonald's. Before we headed back, he gave me his phone number and then dropped me off at the apartment and left.  When I got back into the apartment, one of my roommates were already home and asked what happened. Apparently of the nosy neighbors told him that I was let in through a window by some grizzly looking biker. This did not go over well and I was told that I had until the weekend to get out.    

It seemed simple at the time, call the phone number that the biker named Les gave me and everything would work out.  I called Les and he came in a car and picked me up with my suitcase.  We took a long drive out to a very rural area.   

During the drive Les explained that I’d be staying at a house that his friend Eddie owned. He told me that as long as I cleaned up around the house, and cooked for them, I could stay as long as I wanted. An hour or so later, we turned off onto a long gravel driveway that led up to a wood farmhouse with a big unattached garage.  Les parked the car, and took me around the back of the house.  Two dogs began barking inside the house, and I heard someone yell “shut up”, and they immediately stopped.  The backyard had used motorcycle parts strewn about with tarps covering some of them.  There was a wooden picnic table with empty beer bottles and an overloaded ashtray sitting on top.  In the overgrown grass sat two shining motorcycles.  We went into the back door, and into the kitchen where I saw a guy in his mid 30’s with very curly hair, a short goatee, and mustache. He had tattoos down both arms. He wore an oil-stained t-shirt, and jeans. 

 “Hi, I’m Eddie, you must be Abby”, he said as he grinned to reveal his missing teeth.  He stood up and shook my hand, and then quickly sat back down to finish rolling his cigarettes.  

The house had mismatched furniture, but was strangely clean.  It appeared that someone had been keeping the place up.  Les showed me to a small bedroom, one of three and I unpacked what little clothes I had brought with me.  I didn’t know what to expect the first couple of weeks living there, but I soon understood the general routine. The guys would repair their motorcycles in the garage, they’d suck back plenty of beers, smoke pot, and sit around listening to music.  

Different people would show up, and I soon learned, that if I wasn’t introduced to someone, I should keep my distance. It appeared that sometimes people came over to hang out, and other times, it was for quick business transactions that I was never privy to.

 

Chapter 2, Part 2 continues tomorrow.

Thank you for your continued support by reading and upvoting my very first book! :)

For anyone who would like to read from the beginning,  Chapterer 1, you canfind it here:

https://steemit.com/writing/@feline1991/a-steemit-original-a-lifetime-of-seeking-happiness-part-1