Tame Read online

  I denied the request, and closed Facebook. I didn't bother signing out, there was no need. I never did anyway. But the image of Cameron, wearing sunglasses, shirtless, smirking, with his name and the words, 'CAMERON CARTER WOULD LIKE TO ADD YOU AS A FRIEND' was imprinted in my mind. I never, ever thought that would happen. If only he were Tanner West- my dream guy. That request would be permanently in my mind, and it would most definitely not be declined. I was way too shy to ask him to be my friend though. I didn't even think he knew I existed. Life was cruelly unfair.

  I approached my house, sighing at what I had achieved today. Nothing. I didn't bathe Rolo, I didn't find Milly, and I made myself look like an idiot in front of Cameron Carter, who probably tried to add me as a friend on Facebook because he wanted me to see all the embarassing posts he would make about me. Yep, today was a great day. I got a lot done.

  I opened the front door, and nearly tore my hair out at what I saw. Lying lazily on the window ledge, basking herself in the sun, was Milly. She meowed at me as she saw me, smiling her evil cheshire cat smile. Obviously she didn't do that, but her eyes told me she wanted to.

  "Evil cat! Evil!" I raged. I stomped my foot like a toddler and threw my arms in the air as I ranted and raved at the skinny black cat, who was ignoring me. I jumped up and down to try and scare her, but she was completely at ease, though I wasn't. Rolo had come bounding in and I tripped over his furry body and went sprawling into the coffee table.

  "I see Farrah is home." A male voice, that I really didn't want, or need, to hear right now, announced.

  "Go away Troy." I growled. "I have had the crappiest day ever. I do not need you to layer on more crappiness."

  "I am offended." Troy smirked, looking anything but offended. "You know you've been out like half an hour right? Milly came home about ten minutes ago. Mom told me everything."

  "Gee, thanks Mom." I grumbled.

  "Why are you thanking me?" The very lady said herself, bustling around the white door that lead to our living room, dog brush in hand. Rolo leapt on the couch, stretching out, ready to be brushed. It was his favorite place in the world to be brushed. Cookie pounced on him, settling in between his head and the arm of the couch. She curled up like the tiny thing she is, and Rolo gently moved his head so she had more room. Unlike Rolo and Milly's relationship, Cookie and Rolo were best animal buds. Cookie got on with Milly too, though, and everyone else. She even got Troy to be nice to her.

  "Sarcasm, dear mother." I answered, shuffling around until I was on my knees, using the opposite arm of the couch to where Cookie was, to haul myself up.

  "Don't be a Troy. We already have one of those." Mom tutted.

  "A Troy?" My eighteen-year-old brother echoed, now looking truly offended. "Excuse me, I am the Troy."

  I collapsed onto the armchair next to the couch, trying my hardest to ignore Mom's weird animal talk as she brushed Rolo, and told Cookie off for getting in the way. Cookie liked to be brushed, and didn't care that it was a dog brush not a cat brush Mom was using.

  "Go away you silly girl. I'm brushing Rolo. This is a dog brush. A dog brush for Rolo." Mom slowly said, as if talking to an imbecile. Then again, with Troy for a son, she must have had years and years of practise.

  Everytime Rolo heard his name, he barked joyfully. Mom rolled her eyes and finished brushing him, only managing to do so because she pushed Cookie off of the couch. He then got up and nudged Mom towards the kitchen, wanting food. She sighed and obeyed. If only she made our dinner when we asked her to like that. Milly and Cookie sky-rocketed into the kitchen, food was my pets' main love. Troy announced he was off to see a friend, so I snuggled further into the armchair, happily enjoying the peace of being alone for once.

  Bzzz.

  I jumped a little, startled by my phone buzzing. I reached into my pocket, cringing and vowing to shower and change after seeing what was up with my phone. I was still soaked from the bathtub episode. My pets were mean to me. I unlocked my phone and saw I had another Facebook notification.

  CAMERON CARTER WOULD LIKE TO ADD YOU AS A FRIEND.

  "Oh go away." I told my phone, imagining it was Cameron's head. "I'm busy relaxing."

  I once again declined his friend request, and got up grudgingly, off to shower.

  Once upstairs, and safely locked in my room, I flung my wet clothes into the hamper, and turned on the shower in my en suite. I pulled my hair out of it's messy bun before stepping in, not wanting to get my scrunchie wet as well. I hated that. Getting in and pulling the shower curtain across, I enjoyed the feel of the warm water running all over my body, ridding the cold, damp feeling I had before. I decided I might as well do my hair too, so I started combing shampoo through it, my favourite lemon scented one.

  I washed my hair and clambered out of the shower, dripping water all over the floor and sides of the tub that held the shower head. I inspected the clean tub as I dried myself, comparing it to the messy, muddy one in the bathroom in the hallway. I was the only one with an en suite, but that was only because I had the smallest room. Mom's room and Troy's room were both bigger than mine is size, but I got the en suite attached to my little room.

  I opened the door from the bathroom to my bedroom and went through my drawers until I found a white dress, denim jacket and some brown sandals. I quickly made sure I was dry before slipping into the clothes. I threw my towel into the hamper too, and after putting my clothes on, I reached for the smaller towel to wrap my hair up with. I twirled it around until it stayed up, and unlocked my door. I skipped down the stairs and slumped into the armchair once more, determined to watch fifteen minutes of TV before going to dry my hair properly with the dryer. I also planned to straighten it, making it appear longer than it already was. My dark brown hair dangled right down to my waist, because I had never had a full haircut. I had split ends cut off, my bangs changed to and fro from a box fringe to a side fringe (it was a side fringe at the moment), but I had never actually had it cut any shorter. Except when I was three and accidently cut off my own hair with Troy's school scissors.

  I suddenly felt in the mood for music, and stuck my hand down the side of the chair, feeling for my iPod. I had to hide it from Troy, he was so nosy and annoying. He always found my iPod, wherever I hid it. He then somehow guessed my password, everytime, and because I never logged out of Facebook, he hacked me. He also deleted random apps and songs just to bug me. I really wished he would turn into a bug so I could squash him or something.

  I shuffled through various songs, randomly wanting to listen to The Wanted. I scrolled through my endless list of songs, and selected the first song by The Wanted I saw. It was Glad You Came- one of my favourites. I pressed play and popped my earphones in, which were dangling by the arm of the chair, trying to retreat back to the depths of the armchair they came from. I imagined that if my earphones were alive, they'd be scared of Troy. He cut my last pair with the same scissors I cut my hair with. He was a demon.

  I was in heaven listening to Nathan Sykes sing, even singing a note here and there myself. I rarely sung aloud because my arrogant older brother would make fun of me- I could not hit the high notes. But he was out...

  I quickly checked to see if my Mom had somehow appeared in a puff of smoke in the living room- she hadn't. I turned my music up and started singing.

  "The sun goes down,

  The stars come out,

  And all that counts,

  Is here and now,

  My universe will never be the same,

  I'm glad you came,

  I'm glad you came."

  A loud, slamming of the front door alerted me that Troy was home. Damn. I had hoped he would have been out longer. I knew it was him, Mom never made that much noise. I turned off my music and stopped singing, plucking my earphones out and shoving my iPod back into the armchair. I heard his hearty laugh and guessed he was not alone. He probably had a friend or a girl with him. He'd always had strings of girlfriends, because my brother was fairly good looking. We shared the exac
t same shade of blue eyes, but where as I had long brown hair, Troy had short, light brown hair with bits of blonde in it. Natural, not dyed. Troy was tall and muscular, broad shoulders and all. He was tanned, and lived for the sun. He grumpily complained whenever it rained. I didn't mind the rain so much. But I was still as tanned as him, maybe even more so. But I was tiny, which gave him an unfair advantage with the opposite sex. Girls thought him tall, handsome, manly. They thought of him as a man, not a boy. However guys thought I was a mascot- the tiny girl to be laughed at.

  "Dude, her face!" A voice that was not Troy's laughed. I groaned, it was one of his friends. That meant they would both tease me. Joy.

  The two boys came through the living room door, and Troy smirked at me. He was stood in the doorway, blocking his friend from sight. If only Troy were friends with Tanner West, maybe, just maybe I'd like him more. He'd be able to set us up on dates and stuff...but knowing Troy, he'd talk lowly about me. Make fun of me. He's a lovely big brother. Sense the sarcasm.

  "Hey Farrah." He began, a knowing, dangerous smile on his face. No, a smirk- Troy rarely ever smiled anymore. He either wore a grumpy, angry face, or his signature smirk.

  "What?" I snapped, knowing something bad was coming.

  "Hi to you too. I heard you, er, had some fun looking for Milly earlier?" He erupted in laughter.

  "Go away. I do not need you and your teasing right now. I had enough from..." I trailed off, not wanting to explain my whole 'event' with Cameron.

  "From?" Troy raised an eyebrow. I could do that too, he learnt from me, and now used it to his advantage against me. He could also do the Mexican wave with his eyebrows- so cool. I glared at him, no way was I telling him about Cameron Carter. But instead of pressing it further, he stepped aside and revealed someone I really did not want to see.

  Cameron.

  Cameron Carter.

  The- yeah, you get it.

  "Heya, Farrah Chambers." Cameron winked. "I did know your brother. We're actually good friends."

  "Uh..." I moaned. I had no idea what to say, or how to react, without killing someone. Milly happened to be in the room now, slinking in from the kitchen. I couldn't very well kill her, no matter how angry at her I was. I loved Milly, she was sweet- sometimes. And another reason, I needed to show her to Cameron to prove I wasn't lying about having a cat.

  "Aw, she's getting choked up." Cameron cooed. "You have such a cute little sister, Troy. She has a dangerous side too though. Sneaky, I love it."

  "Dude, no." Troy shook his head, and slapped Cameron's.

  I glared at the two of them. My life in and out of school was now going to be hell. And how come Troy never told me he was friends with Cameron Carter? Traitor.

  "I'm gonna pee, that walk from my house to yours has messed up my bladder!" Cameron said grossly.

  "Unnecessary details." Troy told him, pulling a face. He collapsed on the couch, and Cameron walked out of the room to find the bathroom. Wait, did he know where it was? Had he been here before?!

  "Why are you friends with that jerk? He's a player, jerk-face, bully. And he's in my year, and he sometimes picks on me and other innocent kids. You could have stopped, or tried to stop him doing that!" I cried in exasperation.

  "I don't control him, you know." Troy rolled his eyes, kicking off his shoes and putting his feet up on the coffee table. He flicked through channels lazily, annoying me for two reasons. One, he wasn't listening properly. Two, he just changed the TV over from my favorite show.

  "You control everyone else at my school." I pointed out.

  "Why do you say, 'my school'? I did go there too." Troy clicked his tongue.

  "You're not paying attention! How long have you been friends with him? Has he been here before? How does he know where the bathroom is? Has he posted our conversation thing earlier on Facebook?" I growled, throwing questions left right and centre.

  "No, I wasn't. But now I am. So...question one- about three years. Two, yes. Three, the answer is in question two." He told me in a robotic voice, sounding like a school examination recorded voice for Math. I glared at him, and he continued. "Fourth and finally, yes."

  "Damn him! Damn you! Dammit!" I screamed at the ceiling.

  "I thought you were glad I came?" Cameron re-appeared, smirking, and quoting the song I was singing earlier. Crap...did that mean they had heard me?

  "No, dude. She was glad to see me." Troy interrupted. "She wuvs her big bwover."

  I put my hands over my ears and got up, storming out. I could not take anymore of their behaviour.

  I ran upstairs to dry my hair, shaking my head like a dog when it's wet, on the stairs. I reached my room, deciding I wasn't going to straighten my hair- it was too much effort, and I was pretty peeved. I'd probably end up burning myself.

  I blow-dried it as fast as I could, leaving the ends wet to dry naturally. They dried straight when I let them dry naturally, but the stupid ends of my hair liked to dry curly when I blow-dried them.

  After dragging a brush through my long hair, I tapped out a message to my Aunt Tessie, telling her I was going to come by and help out in the animal shelter. It was called SAVE-AN-ANIMAL, and it was named by my Uncle, before he died a couple years back. My Auntie kept the business alive, employing me to help her out since her husband was gone.

  From: Aunt Tessie

  Subject: Ok

  Ok, see you soon x

  I smiled at her simple reply, and started back downstairs. I pocketed my phone, into one of the small denim pockets on my jacket. As I reached the bottom floor, I heard Troy and Cameron comparing girls' bodies. I felt like I was going to puke as I left my house.

  Approaching SAVE-AN-ANIMAL, I saw my Aunt through the glass window, petting a gray bunny. I hadn't seen that one before, it must have been new. I trotted up the stone steps outside the building, pushing open the glass door and entering the place which was like my second home. That sounded sad, most girls' second home was their friends' houses or boyfriend's. But I spent most of my time after school here, petting, grooming and looking after several different breeds of animals.

  "Hey Tessie." I greeted my Aunt warmly, my eyes never leaving the gray bunny, who now, as I looked at it better, seemed to have black patches on it as well. "New one?"

  "Yep." My Aunt sighed. "So sad. This little guy was found in a box in some trashcans. I've called him Luxor. You know after that place in Egypt? He just reminds me of it."

  "An Egyptian bunny." I grinned. "Nice. Hello, Luxor. Shall I take him to see the other rabbits?"

  "Go on then. He's in good health now, we found him on Friday. I've been nursing him non-stop."

  I shook my head, laughing, as I walked with the delicate little rabbit in my arms. It was so like my Auntie to not stop mothering something after she'd found it.

  I put Luxor in an empty cage, putting some rabbit food and water inside with him, setting up a small place for him to sleep too. He seemed to like it, and after stroking him for a minute or so, I closed the cage and let him get on with it. I danced back to where my Aunt was, leaning on the reception, talking to Linda, someone else we work with.

  "So why d'ya pop by all of a sudden? It's Sunday." My Aunt asked.

  "Not happy to see me?" I teased.

  She pushed me and poked her little pink tongue out. "Of course I am. Just wondering why you're here is all."

  "Troy." We said simulatneously. While I sighed, she mimicked me in a terrible impression of my voice.

  "What's he done now?" Tessie questioned, scribbling her signature onto a form that Linda had put in front of her.

  "More his friend. I can't stand the guy. I made such a fool of myself today- all thanks to Milly." I started. My Aunt nodded her head to tell me to go on. I explained the story, and Linda laughed here and there to my annoyance. Half way through the tale, Riley Tucker, another boy who worked with us, my age, in my year at school, joined us. He listened to the tale and smiled sympathetically.

  "Poor you. Cameron's an idiot." Riley sympath
ised.

  "I know. My life is over now!" I wailed.

  "Calm down. Go with Riley and look after the new kittens in section B. I'll make sure next time Milly gets out, if she does, I'll get her instead. We can trade places." Tessie joked.

  "Gee, thanks." I scoffed. I started off with Riley by my side. I was confused as to why my Aunt had made us both go, usually it was one worker to certain animals. Riley didn't seem comfortable with it either, he was quiet the whole walk to the kittens.

  The small brown and white kittens meowed continously. They wanted feeding, and one of them was itching- I hoped it didn't scratch off it's scab again. The three kittens were found in a caravan, skin and bones, hungry and thirsty- covered in fleas. One had a scab, and he kept scratching it off, making it bleed all over his nice coat.

  "Stop scratching." I said gently, picking him up and cradling him. "It will hurt if you do that."

  He meowed at me happily, liking being held. Another kitten whined to be held, while the other was trying to sleep in it's bed. Riley picked the whining one up and tickled it's tummy. These cats were likes puppies, belly rubs and play-fighting was their thing.

  "You okay Riles?" I asked Riley, using my nickname for him. "You're very quiet."

  "Yeah, yeah, fine." He murmmured, not very convincingly. I frowned and put my kitten back, taking his as well.

  "What's up? C'mon Riles, you can tell me." I soothed, rubbing his arm comfortingly.