Summary: What is it like to live in a world filled with happiness? A world where there is no pain. No hurt. No fear? It is a hard world to imagine. At least for Mortifera Azar Cohen it is. Hers is a life filled with pain and fear. With her parents dead at a young age, her and her twin are all on their own. What happens when the last person she loves dies? What happens when the only person that keeps her holding on is gone? What happens when twins are separated? She crumbles and falls. She turns hard and cold. She...becomes something that she doesn't recognize when she looks in the mirror. After all they have gone through, the one thing that she failed do is keep her twin safe. What happens after she fails? What happens when she has a friend who is thrust into a new world? What happens when she vows to keep him safe and the world around her strives to make that impossible? What happens if she fails to keep him safe? What happens if she doesn't?

Beta'd by ShadowHunter19

Chapter One

Why'd you go leave me to the vultures,
now it weighs so heavy on my soul.
Why'd go leave me to the vultures,
it got so heavy.
And Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh,
We could've done better,
We should've done better.
And Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh,
We could've done better,
should have done better.

Now I can't sleep at night, I'm not afraid, I'm terrified,
and I can't sleep at night and I want to, I want to.
And I can't sleep at night, I'm not afraid, I'm terrified,
and I can't sleep at night and I want to, I need to know.
And I can't sleep at night and I want to, I want to.
I can't sleep at night and I want to, I need to know.

Why'd you go leave me to the vultures,
now it weighs so heavy on my soul.
Why'd go leave me to the vultures

Living alone is never fun. Living alone after just having lost the last member of you your family is even less fun. Being forced to live with a stranger is awkward at best. Being forced to live with a stranger after you have gone to a funeral is worse. But maybe starting at the beginning would be for the best...

Or maybe not.

Long story short, Mom and I were close. Dad and I...not so much. I was a mamma's girl and twin was a daddy's girl. Dad never believed I was his. Both him and mom have blond hair and so does twin. I, on the other hand, don't. I have long, loosely curled black hair. Mom had brown eyes, Dad had blue eyes, twin had brown eyes...I have pale green and silver cat eyes. They don't have a slit pupil or anything like that. They are just that feline green.

Anyway, mom loved dad and would never cheat on him, but he thought she did. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly loved by him as a child. It hurt a lot when I was younger, seeing him loving Twin and completely ignoring me. But I got over it. I was forced to. When twin and I were 5, Mom was stabbed. Some guy tried to rob her. Luckily Mom was close enough to home that she made it back.

Unluckily, twin and I were playing hide and seek...and I was the seeker. Yeah, imagine that. Little ol' me playing hide and seek and finding my bleeding out mother. Wonderful childhood memories. Long story short, she didn't make it. Father became even more closed off and harsh with me. Six months later, twin and I were so bored we decided to play the one game we swore we would never play again.

Hide and Seek.

Once again, I was the unlucky seeker that found our Father bleeding out in a bathtub after slitting his wrists because that was the anniversary of the meeting of him and our mom. After that, what kid would be normal? I wasn't, that's for damn sure. But unlike those other kids, I had a reason to pretend all was good. Twin hadn't see the things that I had seen. She wasn't as scarred as I was. So I smiled, and I laughed. I pretended until I couldn't pretend and then I pretended some more.

Eventually, we got adopted. And then un-adopted. That cute little trend just continued pretty much all of our lives. Then a nice couple decided they wanted to adopt us. Epic. Fail.

We have been shuffled all over the world. When we were 10 we got adopted again. We thought it would last. And for the most part it did. We were happy. They were good to us. We could finally feel normal. We were still with them on our 13th birthdays. They gave us 50 bucks each, dropped us off at the mall and let us have the day. It was awesome. Until someone decided to rob the mall. There were people shooting guns and wild crowds and before I knew it, we were separated. We were all held as hostages, about a group of 12. We didn't all make it. When the robbers didn't get what they wanted, they started shooting people.

When they went for my sister, I freaked. I was the oldest (by a full minute) and I felt it was my responsibility to keep her safe. I...I couldn't save her. I wasn't strong enough and they shot her. And I was alone. With twin gone, I didn't have the fire to pretend. I didn't have any motivation. There was a piece missing from my life. Twin was my sun, my moon and my universe and she was taken from me in the blink of an eye.

Gone.

The family kept me, but after a while of my unresponsive behavior, it got to be too much for them. I was bounced from home to home, house to house, state to state. It wasn't fun, not only did I lose the last of my family, but I lost my first best friend too. His name was Sam. We managed to keep in touch though. After years of being bounced around, I finally got myself emancipated.

I have five different steady jobs. I am a barista at a coffee shop, a car mechanic, a dog walker/sitter, a librarian, and a dance instructor. I work a lot, but it helps that I have completed high school and already finished college. It wasn't as hard as I expected it to be. I am still registered in high school when I move to a new place though. I may have been emancipated and have a lot of jobs, but I am only 16 and I need to be around people my own age.

I am living in Miami right now. It is so hot here all the time. I sigh and wipe my head with a cool rag. I am currently at my mechanic job. I turn and go back inside.

"Anything new boss?" I ask curiously. My boss is pretty cool. He is scary at first, but that passes once you get to know him. He is about 6 feet 2 and has huge bulging muscles. Tattoo's are all down his arms and chest. He crops his brown hair close to his head and his blue eyes are usually closed off. He just turned 18 and fixed this place up. It used to be his dad's but he died, so Caleb took over.

I thought for sure that I wouldn't be hired when I took the job, but I guess he didn't have the heart to turn me away. I was a mess the first time I showed up. It was raining outside and I looked like a drowned rat. Caleb took me in, gave me a job and a place to stay. I do have a bit of a crush on him, but I manage to repress it pretty good. Caleb doesn't date all that much, but he is in a relationship right now and I have to respect that. (Hate it, but I still respect it.)

"Yeah. We have a Saleen-Modified Ford Mustang police cruiser. Just came in yesterday. It is pretty banged up. I was just going to check it out. You gonna come with?" He asks and I grin.

"Are you kidding me?! What year is it?" Caleb grins at my rarely shown enthusiasm.

"It is a 2008 model." I stop dead.

"Are you fricken' kidding me?" I whisper. He shakes his head, grin unwavering.

"Yes!" I jump in the air and pump my fists.

"I get to work on a sexy ass police cruiser! I love this job." I say. He laughs and shakes his head.

"Is that the only reason you even wanted this job? For the 'sexy' cars?" He asks. I smirk and tilt my head to the side as I saunter over to him.

"You know it!" I hear him close the door behind me as we head out to the garage.

"What has gotten into you?" I can hear the laughter in Caleb's tone and genuine curiosity.

"You are never in this good of a mood. It is kind of endearing."He says. I whirl around and grin at him.

"Can you keep a secret?" My eyes sparkle with glee.

"Sure." His blue eyes are light and I have to hide a blush that wants to break out.

"I turned 16 and I got a call today." He pauses, shock and something else flitting across his face.

"You just turned 16?" I smirk and raise a finger to my lips in a shushing motion before continuing.

"I have a friend from when I was 10 years old. He called! He tracked my phone number down and he called me today. It was a shock but I was happy to hear from him." Caleb's eyes darken a little and I feel a thrill race through me.

"You are all hyped up because some guy called you today?" I shake my head.

"No." I draw out my no.

"I am happy because he says his neighbors are going to be moving next year. He wants me to see if I can rent the place out from them." I say and Caleb freezes, the key still in the lock and turns to me.

"And will you?" He asks and I shrug and bite my lip.

"Maybe. I probably will go up there and see him, but I like what I have going for me down here." Caleb's shoulder's relax.

"All right, kid. Enough chit chat." He opens the garage door and it opens with a loud clatter as it slides up. My eyes immediately focus on the battered police car in the garage. Caleb turns and grins at me. "We've got work to do."

3 months later

I slide behind the wheel of the mustang and gently run my fingers down the steering wheel. I can almost swear that the car shivers. I sigh and rest my forehead on the steering wheel. I take a deep breath and let it out. We have finally fixed the car. There was so much crap wrong with it. It took Caleb and I this long to fix him. I roll my eyes as I mentally go through the long list. He had a broken rear axle, a broken radiator, coil spring, clutch, brake, cylinder, compressor. The list goes on.

It was hard fixing this car, but it is so worth it. I grin and run a hand over the smooth leather. The car trembles underneath me and I giggle.

"You are one sexy car." I sigh and say.

"If you were alive, I think you would be one sexy man too." I says and grin to myself. An idea pops into my head and I smirk. I look around and pull the keys out of my pocket.

"What do you say to going for a ride?" I say putting the keys in the engine and it revs without me having to do anything. It startles me for a second before I bark out a laugh.

"You are gonna have to do a lot more than that to scare me!" I say putting the car into reverse and put my foot to the pedal. I smoothly back the car out and I grin as we get to the street.

My heart is racing and adrenaline is rushing through me. I grin as I look at the open road ahead of me. I close my eyes, take a deep breath...and press my foot to the gas as far as it would go. The pressure flings me against the seat as the engine roars and the car leaps forward in a rush of speed. I let out a whoop of laughter and grab the stick shift again. I put it into the next gear and the car speeds faster. We reach the highway and I don't care. We keep going.

I grin and shout my adrenaline as we go faster and faster and faster. I reach the first car and without missing a beat, I weave around without a problem. I flick the sirens on and add my voice to the general chaos in this car. Faster and faster, we race down the street, and in that moment...I feel free.

4 months later

"Here's your pay." Caleb smiles at me and my heart stutters before I take my check. I bite my lip and lower my head.

"Is something the matter?" Caleb asks, concern in his voice. I take a deep breath.

"Sam called again today." I feel more than see Caleb stiffen. For some reason, he really doesn't like Sam.

"I am gonna go up to California in about a week." I chance a glance up and immediately regret it. Caleb's eyes are hard and his jaw is clenched.

"Cal, you have to understand-" I start to say but he interrupts me.

"I understand." His voice is hard as he cuts me off and I flinch.

"You are leaving m- the shop. Great. Do you want me to fire you? Or do you prefer quitting?" He asks and tears fill my eyes but I refuse to let them fall. I haven't cried since my twin died. No need to start now.

"Cal, don't do that." I face him.

"Do what?" He bites out and crosses his arms.

"I need to go see Sammy. I haven't seen him in a while. I will be back but-"

"Don't bother. I won't be here. I have been called back to the army." I cock my head to the side in confusion.

"I guess this is good bye. The car stays here with me though." I flinch, but nod. As much as I love that car, I know it isn't mine to take with me. I turn and walk to the door but I stop before I leave. In the movies, this is where I would go back and kiss him, but this is real life and I don't have the fire in me anymore. So, I just turn my head to look at him out of the corner of my eye and whisper a good-bye before I leave.

1 week later - Southern California

I take a deep breath as I step off of the plane. I grin as the sun hits my face and I walk over to the conveyor belt and grab my bags. I put one over my shoulder and grab my other two bags. I walk outside and narrow my eyes a little as the sun hits my face.

"MORTI! MORTI!" I turn as I hear someone shouting my name. My smile lights up as I see the tall, dark haired (curly haired) guy racing to me, brown eyes lit up with happiness. I squeal and drop my bags as I race to him. I leap into his arms and Sammy twirls me around as we both laugh and talk over each other.

"Good to see you-"

"Missed you-"

"Been forever-"

"How was your flight-"

"Okay, okay." I turn to face Sammy's father. "Let the poor girl breath before you smother her." Ron interjects and points at me. Judy rolls her eye behind his back and I grin. She moves around him and holds her arms out to me.

"Leave the children alone Ron. They haven't seen each other in forever. I think this is perfectly normal for them. How are you dear?" She envelops me in a huge hug and I wave my arms desperately at Sam. The traitor just snickers at me while a few of my ribs are breaking. I take a deep breath as she releases me. "You look a bit small, dear. We need to stop and get you some food on the way." She smiles kindly at me, but Ron shakes his head with exasperation.

"Is that really necessary Judith? The poor kid hasn't even seen us for 5 minutes and already you are trying to stuff her like a Thanksgiving turkey." He says and Judy goes over to him smacks him on the head before turning back to me.

"Now, dear. Let Ron grab your bags and carry them to the car." She says. I smile and back away so he can grab the bags. I go over to Sam.

"Your mom is scary when she is on a roll." I mutter to him and he snickers at me.

"Tell me about it. I'm just glad you are here now, so I don't have to have the full brunt of it. She has been a nightmare ever since you said you were going to come up here. I must have gained like, 20 pounds from all of the cookies she has been making!"He says. I laugh and shake my head at him.

"You poor thing, you!" He nods seriously as we go to the parking lot. When I see the car that Ron drives, my jaw drops.

"Oh my god!" I say and grab Sam's arm.

"I think I have died and gone to heaven!" I say salivate over the gorgeous green 2007 Audi Q7 FSI quattro [Typ 4L].

"This car is amazing!" I whisper and reverently run my hands down the side of it. As amazing a car as it is, I feel a quick flash of disappointment when the car doesn't react like my car does. I call him Barricade because one time the radio clicked on and repeated one song over and over. The song was called Barricade by Interpol. On the downside, I had to listen to one song over and over. On the plus side, I found a name for my car and found a good new song. The name fit him perfectly.

"You like my car?" Ron asks tossing my bags into the trunk and gently shutting it. I nod, my eyes fixed on his car.

"Are you kidding?! This baby is amazing!" I turn to him and fold my hands under my chin and widen my eyes pleadingly.

"Please, please, pleeeeease will you let me drive?" I ask hopefully. Sam scoffs from the back seat.

"I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you, he won't let anyone drive is precious little baby- What?! Are you kidding me?!" I grin as Ron hands me the keys. I gleefully slide into the front seat and slide the key in and start the engine. It comes to life with a gentle purr and I compare it to Barricade. Not even close. I grin and look at Sam in the back.

"Don't pout Sammy!" I laugh. "This is going to be fun!" I grin devilishly and speed out of the parking lot.

"NEVER AGAIN!" Sam shouts dramatically as he throws himself on the grass.

"I am never letting you drive me anywhere ever again!" He dramatically says and I laugh as Sam kisses the grass. I grab my phone and snap a picture as he makes a fool of himself.

"Relax, Sammy." I scoff.

"That was nothing. If I had my car, I could take you for a real drive." I say and Sam shakes his head at me and gets up.

"Never gonna happen." I snicker as I follow him into the house.

"Never say never, Sammy-boy." I clap him on the shoulder as we go inside.

2 Months later

"Ahhhh!" I scream.

"No! Don't! I'm so sorry! Please-" I say and choke on water before I swim back up and glare at Sam. He grins and laughs at me.

"That's what you get when you call me a scaredy cat!" He says doubling over with laughter. I slap the top of the pool in frustration, but I can't help the smile that tugs on the side of my mouth.

"Just you wait Sam! I will get you one day!" He just rolls his eyes and pulls off his shirt before jumping into the pool.

"He got you good!" Miles chortles and tosses an arm over my shoulders. I grin and bump his hip with mine, but before I can retort, I get interrupted.

"Mortifera, dear! There is someone on the phone for you!"

"Okay!" I shout back and turn to grin at Miles.

"Race you to the house?" I ask, mischief twinkling in my pale green and silver eyes. He smirks.

"You're on! Ready, set, go!" We both take off laughing. I push him to the side and speed up. "Hey!" He shouts behind me, and I let out a bark of laughter.

"Yes!" I cheer and throw my hands in the air as I make it to the door first.

"Thanks, Mrs. Judy." I grab the phone, but before I can say hello, Miles reaches me.

"You cheater!" He exclaims. I laugh and smirk at him.

"I didn't cheat Miles! You are just slow!" I shriek with laughter as he picks me up.

"Put me down, Miles!" I say and he looks at me with glee in his brown eyes.

"Take it back." I frown playfully.

"Never!" I vow and smirk as I get an idea. I look at him through my lashes and bite my lip.

"Miles?" I say throatily. He stops walking.

"Yeah?" I giggle as his voice cracks and run and hand down his chest.

"Put me down, please?" I purr. He nods dazedly and puts me down.

"Thanks." I say pulling him closer...and then push him into the pool.

"Hey!" He shouts and I giggle and wave at him before I turn and go back to the house so I can answer the phone in my hand.

"Hello?" I ask curiously, wondering who could be calling me.

"This is Caleb." A voice bites out angrily. I stiffen as I realize he just heard me and Miles messing around.

"Hey, Caleb. What's up?" I try to keep my voice as cheerful as possible.

"What did you do with the car?" I frown and straighten.

"What are you talking about?" He sighs on the other end.

"The police cruiser, it is missing. What did you do?" I clench my jaw, hurt. I would never steal from him.

"I didn't do anything, Cal. You know I have been in Cali with Sam. I haven't been to Miami since I left." He scoffs on the other end.

"Yeah, I'm sure you are up there with your precious Sam." I cock my hip out.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Anger is ringing in my voice.

"It didn't sound like you were hanging out with a guy name Sam. And it didn't seem like you and the other guy were just friends either." I shake my head and run a hand through my hair.

"Whatever Caleb. It shouldn't even matter to you. You have a girlfriend and I am no longer working for you. So, just knock it off. I don't have Barricade." I wait for him to respond, but there is silence on the other end.

"I have to go." He finally responds, sounding more like my Caleb and not some jealous guy.

"Okay. Call me later? We have some catching up to do." I wait anxiously for him to respond.

"All right. I'll call you later." I grin.

"Talk to you later, Cal! Bye!" After he hangs up, I squeal and rush back out front to play in the pool with the guys.

"No, no, no!" I walk into the house and see Sam with his head in his hands.

"What's wrong, Sammy?" I ask, grabbing an apple and biting into it. He looks at me desperately.

"I didn't get an A in science!"

"Uh, huh. And your point is?" I ask cluelessly.

"Dad said he would get me a car if and only if I brought him 3 A's and 2,000 dollars. I have the money and two A's but my this was supposed to be my last A!" He groans. "I am so screwed!" I smile softly and grab the paper.

"Sam. Sam. Sam." He raises his head with an annoyed look on his face.

"What?" I smirk.

"I can help you get an A in history." He grins.

"Are you serious right now? Because I don't think I could handle it if you are kidding." I grin.

"Seriously. I am really good with history. I can help you ace this class, no problem."

"All right. This is going to be awesome!" He picks me up in a hug and twirls me around before dashing off and going to tell his dad. I laugh and shake my head as I go and look up some stuff about the Witwicky family.

Last class in school - History class (The Deciding A)

I relax back in my seat as another kid finishes his history report. This is so boring. I pull out my phone and text Sam, who is sitting two seats ahead of me. It also happens to be a seat behind and to the right of Mikaela Bane, Sam's current (and only) crush. She is lounging in her seat, her boyfriend Trent's arm across her shoulder.

I can see how he likes her, with her long dark hair, her blue eyes and her too good to be true body shape but she doesn't even notice Sam. I can kind of get why when she has her tall, buff and all around handsome boyfriend but Trent is a complete ass. I grin and send my text to Sam.

'Are you imagining it is you in Trent's place right now?' He twists around and glares at me but it is ruined by the blush staining his cheeks.

'Not that it is any of your business, but no.' He replies and I snicker.

'I'd believe you...if no has suddenly become yes.' I say pressing send and look up to see Sam's reaction. It doesn't disappoint. He stiffens and makes an odd sort of choking noise. I have to hide my giggles as I sink into my seat. Sam swings around to glare at me and I wave my hands in surrender.

'Are you making fun of Sammy again?' Miles texts me. I look to the seat behind and to the left of me. I grin and send him a thumbs up and mouth, 'Watch this.' He grins and nods at me. No one can rile Sam the way I can.

'Sammy?' I send the text and he ignores me. I frown before I type a new message and resend it over 20 times. Sam's phone buzzes again and again. He finally picks it up.

'What?!' He replies annoyed. I quickly type my witty response.

'You lurv Mik-kae-kae! Sammy and Mik-kae-kae sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g, first comes love, then comes-oh wait, we haven't gotten to the love part yet! Buuuut I bet you wished you got to the 'no clothes' part already!' I say hitting send and sit forward eagerly.

He lunges out of his seat and lucky for me, the kid doing his report just finished so our teacher thought Sam was just volunteering to read his report. Sam sends me a glare as he goes to the front of the class. I slap a hand over my mouth as Sam upends his bag over the table. He sends a sheepish look at our teacher.

"Sorry, I've got a lot of stuff." He tells our teacher before turning back to the rest of the class. I narrow my eyes as Trent leans over to his girlfriend and whispers something to her. I sit up and pull out my BB gun. I slide it up my jacket sleeve and point it at Trent. I send a mischievous look to Miles before turning innocently back to the front of the class.

"For my family..." Sam begins, but a second later, a rubber band hits Sam on the neck. He stops and looks at the class, a vaguely hurt look on his face. Mr. Heiser gets up indignantly and points at the class.

"Who did... Who did that? People! Responsibility." There are a few snickers and I take the opportunity to pull the trigger.

"Ow! Shit!" Trent swears and clutches the back of his neck. I hide a snicker and lower my head. I don't really stand out here at the school. Not anymore. When twin and I first moved here, we were pretty popular. Twin and I wore clothes that were the height of fashion, all of the boys like us and all the girls were jealous of us. Now, I just wear plain clothes that let me blend into the crowd. A simple shirt, jeans and jacket is all I wear. Sam glances over at me, half irritated and half thankful. I shrug innocently at him and gesture him to begin.

"Okay. So, for my family genealogy report, I decided to do it on my great-great-grandfather, who was a famous man, Captain Archibald Witwicky. Very famous explorer. In fact, he was one of the first to explore the Arctic Circle, which is a big deal." Sam moves forward and grabs a map off of the table and holds it up.

"In 1897, he took 41 brave sailors straight into the Arctic Shelf." I sit forward, even though I have researched this already, it is still interesting to hear.

"So that's the story, right?" Sam sets down the map and picks up the quadrant. It is a brown leather cylindrical shoulder bag.

"And here we have some of the basic instruments and tools used by 19th-century seamen." I roll my eyes at the juvenile laughter of my classmates at the word 'seamen.' Mr. Heiser sighs and raises a red stop sign that has the word, 'quiet' on it. Sam continues on.

"This here is the quadrant, which you can get for 80 bucks. It's all for sale, by the way." I roll my eyes as Sam starts to hawk off his great-great-grandfather's stuff. He picks up something else.

"Like the sextant here." Cue juvenile laughter.

"$50 for this, which is a bargain." Sam sets that down and picks up the most interesting item on the table in my opinion.

"These are pretty cool. These are my grandfather's glasses." The glass on the glasses is cracked and there are small, barely noticeable markings on the glass.

"I haven't quite gotten them appraised yet, but they've seen many cool things." Fed up, Mr. Heiser finally speaks up.

"Are you going to sell me his liver? Mr. Witwicky, this isn't show and sell. It's the 11th grade. I don't think your grandfather would be particularly proud of what you're doing." Sam nods.

"I know. I'm sorry. I just, you know, this is all going towards my car fund." He turns back to the class. He is going to crash and burn if he continues on like this. "You can tell your folks. It's on eBay. I take . Cold hard cash works, too. And the compass makes a great gift for Columbus Day." Mr. Heiser drops his head back in irritation.

"Sam!" I shout and Sam jumps a little and gets back on track.

"Sorry. Unfortunately, my great-great-grandfather, the genius that he was, wound up going blind and crazy in a psycho ward, drawing these strange symbols and babbling on about some giant ice man that he thought he'd discovered." Sam holds up some old newspaper clippings we found in the attic. The bell rings and everyone gets up and starts to leave. I get up and grab my bag. I hang back with Miles before the crowd sweeps us out the doors. We wait for Sam outside the school.

"So have your parents said whether or not you can come with us when we get Sam's new car?" Miles shakes his head.

"Nah, they don't want me getting any 'ideas' since according to them, I won't be getting a car until I graduate and buy it with my own money." I nod sympathetically.

"What about you? Are you gonna be buying a car?" He asks and I shake my head.

"Not yet. Getting a car is Sammy's thing. Besides, if I get a car it isn't going to be a used car. It is going to be new. I don't want Sam to feel bad that he has to drive a crappy car, because I don't doubt that is the kind of car his dad is going to let him get." I say and Miles nods in agreement.

"I get it. So, did you hear about the party at the lake?" I nod.

"Yeah, why?" He opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, Sam comes racing out the door.

"Guys. Guys!" He holds up his paper proudly. An A- is right there in red marker. I grin and jump up to hug him.

"Congrats, Sammy!" I squeal into his ear. He laughs and wraps an arm around me.

"C'mon! Dad is waiting. Let's go get my car!" I laugh as Sam drags me away. I twist around and wave at Miles.

"Later, Miles!" He waves back but I can't focus on him anymore because Sam is dragging me to the car.

"Yes! Yes, yes." Sam shouts. I hop into the back seat as Sam clambers in.

"So?" Ron asks, a hidden smile on his face. Sam hands him the paper as he buckles in. Ron looks at the paper and deliberately draws out the moment. Sam sits anxiously and waits for the verdict.

"A-. It's an A, though." Sam points at the paper. Ron looks up with a smirk.

"Wait, wait, wait. I can't see." His dad says and Sam's face falls.

"It's an A." He says and Sam's face lights back up.

"So I'm good?" Sam asks and Ron smiles at him and starts up the car.

"You're good." He says and Sam shoots me a grin over his shoulder as we start to drive and I can't help thinking that my life is as perfect as it has ever been in a while.

We are driving close to a few car dealers and Ron looks at Sam with a barely hidden smirk.

"I got a little surprise for you, son." He says.

"What kind of..." Sam trails off as we pull into a Porsche car dealership.

"Yeah, a little surprise." Ron says as I look on in amusement. This is not going to end well for Sammy. I hide a snicker by coughing. Sam fidgets in his seat and looks at the shiny cars in wonder.

"No. No, no, no, no. Dad!" He says in complete disbelief.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" He shouts and I snicker at the unholy glee on Ron's face.

"Yeah. I am. You're not getting a Porsche." I can't help it and I burst out laughing with Sam's dad. I fall back on the seat and clutch at my stomach. Sam shoots a glare at me before turning to his dad.

"You think that's funny?" Sam asks his dad. Ron looks at him as we drive down the street.

"Yeah, I think it's funny." He says. The chuckling renews at Sam's expense.

"What's wrong with you?" Disappointment is ringing in Sam's voice.

"You think I'd really get you a Porsche for your first car?" Sam looks away from him as we pull into the lot of a dingy car dealership.

"I don't want to talk to you for the rest of this whole thing." I hear the rumble of a car and look behind me. There is a crappy looking black and yellow car behind us. It looks pretty cool with its racing stripes. I turn back to the conversation.

"Oh, come on. It's just a practical joke." He says

"It's not a funny joke." Sam fumes as we get out of the car. A tall black guy walks out of the door.

"Manny!" He shouts.

"What?" Another voice shouts back.

"Get your cousin out of that damn clown suit. He's having a heat stroke again. Scaring white folks." I snicker as the clown faces the guy.

"I'm hot! Makeup's melting. It hurts my eyes." He says and I snicker before stopping. The dingy yellow and black car is now parked in the parking lot. Sam goes over to his dad who is getting out of the car.

"Here? No, no, no, what is this? You said... You said half a car, not half a piece of crap, Dad." Sam says and Ron just looks at him.

"When I was your age, I'd have been happy with four wheels and an engine." He says and Sam shakes his head.

"Okay, let me explain something to you. Okay? You ever see 40-Year-Old Virgin?" He asks and Ron nods.

"Yeah."

"Okay, that's what this is. And this is 50-year-old virgin." Sam says gestures to the cars around us. Ron nods again.

"Okay."

"You want me to live that life?" Sam asks and Ron shrugs and Sam gets exasperated.

"No sacrifice, no victory." Ron starts.

"Yeah, no victory. You know, I got it. The old Witwicky motto, Dad." Sam mutters and I snicker at him. He pointedly ignores me.

"Right." His dad reply's before the owner of the dealership comes over.

"Gentlemen." He holds out his hand to Sam's dad.

"Bobby Bolivia, like the country, except without the runs. How can I help you?" He asks and Ron turns to Sam and claps him on the shoulder.

"Well, my son here, looking to buy his first car." Ron says and Sam looks at me for help and I just shrug. The dealer holds a hand to his chest.

"You come to see me?" He asks Sam. Sam shrugs.

"I had to." Sam says and the guy ignores him and turns back to Ron.

"That practically makes us family. Uncle Bobby B, baby. Uncle Bobby B." He says and Sam shakes his hand and introduces himself.

"Sam." The guy grins.

"Sam, let me talk to you." He gestures at the cars around us.

"Sam, your first enchilada of freedom awaits underneath one of those hoods. Let me tell you something, son. A driver don't pick the car. The car'll pick the driver. It's a mystical bond between man and machine." I think wistfully of Barricade.

"Son, I'm a lot of things, but a liar's not one of them. Especially not in front of my mammy." He waves to a lady next door.

"That's my mammy. Hey, Mammy!" She gives him the finger and I laugh. The guy acts all wounded.

"Don't be like that. If I had a rock, I'd bust your head, bitch." He mutters to his mom before turning back to Sam.

"I tell you, man, she deaf, you know?" He turns Sam and we look at the sorry collection of cars. My fingers itch to get under the hood of the yellow and black car that my eyes land on. "Well, over here, every piece of car a man might want or need."

We walk over to the car my eyes are focused on. As we get closer, I can see that the car is a trashed 1977 Camaro. It looks like it has a riveted hood scoop, Cragar SS wheels in the front, Eric Vaughn Real Wheels in the back, marine-grade vinyl seats, and even an eight-track player. All in all, it is a really nice car. Sam agrees as he runs a hand on the hood of the Camaro. It is the type of car that will let us put the hood of the car down. Sam smiles.

"This ain't bad." The dealer grins. "This one's got racing stripes." I roll my eyes at Sam. No duh.

"Yeah." The guy agrees absent-mindedly. "It got racing... Yeah, what's this? What the heck is this? I don't know nothing about this car." I roll my eyes and go over to Sam who is bent over and peering into the car. He looks up at me and grins.

"I think this might be the one." I grin.

"Not a half bad choice." I go around to the other side and get into the passenger seat as Sam gets into the drivers seat. He puts his hands on the steering wheel and smiles.

"Feels good." Sam runs a hand over the middle of the steering wheel. I lean closer and look at the odd metal sort of face.

"What is that?" Sam shrugs, his eyes glued to the car. I sit back and close my eyes. Call me crazy, but this car gives me the same feel as my Barricade did. There is an odd sort of...I don't know, aliveness to it. I run a hand in the seems of the car and it shivers. I stiffen then grin. I snicker at the little bee hanging from the rear-view mirror. I reach out and steady it. I laugh out loud as I read what it says. 'Bee-otch'

"Cute." I mutter and I could swear the car vibrates. Sam and I look up as Ron's voice filters into the car.

"How much?" We look at each other eagerly.

"Well," The dealer begins. "Considering the semi-classic nature of the vehicle, with the slick wheels and the custom paint job..."

"Yeah, but the paint's faded." Sam speaks up. The guy leans down and looks at us through the window. I wrinkle my nose at the guy. Personal space man, geez! I think to myself.

"Yeah, but it's custom." The dealer says again.

"It's custom faded?" Sam asks, coming across as a smart mouth.

"Well, this is your first car. I wouldn't expect you to understand." The man says patronizingly before looking at Sam's dad.

"Five grand." He says and Ron shakes his head and I look at Sam.

"No, I'm not paying over four. Sorry." The dealer nods.

"Kids, come on, get out. Get out the car." I roll my eyes and look at Sam. The stubborn look is on his face.

"No, no, no. You said cars pick their drivers." The man shakes his head.

"Well, sometimes they pick a driver with a cheap-ass father. Out the car." He points to the yellow bug car next to the one we are in as Sam and I get out of the car. "Now, this one here for four Gs is a beaut."

"There's a Fiesta with racing stripes over there." Sam's dad speaks up. Sam shakes his head and gets out of the car.

"No, I don't want a Fiesta with racing stripes."

"This is a classic engine right here." The dealer gets into the Bug. I swear, sometimes people just don't know when to shut up. "I sold a car the other day..." As Sam shuts the car of the Camaro, the passenger side door swings open and hit the Bug. I quickly jump out of the way and go over to a shocked Sam.

The dealer scrambles to get out of the Bug and I snicker at him. Ron gives me a disapproving look.

"Gee. Holy cow." Ron walks over. The dealer shakes his head.

"- No, no, no. No worries."

"You all right?" Ron asks and I have to turn into Sam's side to stifle a whole new wave of giggles. The man forces a smile.

"I'll get a sledgehammer and knock this right out. Hey, hey, Manny! Get your clown cousin and get some hammers and come bang this stuff out, baby!" All of the sudden, the radio flicks on.

:...greater than man...: The clueless dealer points at a car I don't bother to look at.

"That one's my favorite, drove all the way from Alabammy." He walks off and I turn to go too, but all of a sudden, the car lets out a charged up sound and all of the windows in the car place explode in a shower of glass. The dealer pops up from the ground where he was cowering and raises his hand.

"$4,000!" The guy shouts and I grin and high-five Sam.

He is getting a new car.