Title: Twisted Elegance
Rating: MATURE- there are some things that are pretty twisted.
Category: AU M/L
Disclamier: I don't own roswell. But I do own Nirvana and some other characters.
Authors note: I'm still working on my other stories, just finishing them, or trying to.
A thank you to Kath7 for being a good beta and reading the first draft. This was going to be called rouge leader or Rouge princess but I like this title better. And I am sorry for not telling you that i have already posted it.... does that make sense????
August 26th 2019. 11:30pm
Brooklyn, New York
Chapter One
Nirvana traced the cold metal underneath her cold fingertips. Her bluish lips parted as she slowly breathed in the humid air inside Mrs Marriott’s office, her social worker. The fan made a quiet humming noise as it rubbed against its glass lamp. The five blades twirled like a slow helicopter.
Nirvana could see the tiny spots of water that leaked from the ceiling air conditioner that must have broken down two days ago. The tiny scratches on her metallic necklace caused her to shiver. It was of two circles entwined. It was the astrological sign of a Taurus but also an eternity symbol she had seen in one of those Cosmos’s magazines she has stuffed inside her duffel bag. The necklace was a gift from her mother.
Mrs Marriott hadn’t arrived yet.
Nirvana was told to sit in the social worker’s office while another officer of the New York Police Department filled in the details about what Nirvana had done last night. Nirvana heard Laura Bobble, the secretary scream.
Yep, Nirvana thought. She just had been told. Mrs Marriott (or Ari because Nirvana has seen her dingy office too many times) would learn, once again, that she was sixteen, and considered an orphan since her mother had been committed seven years ago.
Her name was Nirvana Claudia Parker and she was totally alone in this world. It was getting pretty muggy inside her square office. And yet Nirvana didn’t leave her leather chair. Instead, she pulled her baggy khaki cargo pants to her chest and nuzzled her dark hair against the thin material.
Her tired doe eyes roamed around Mrs Marriott’s office. She didn’t want to think about last night. Most of it was a blur. But there are some things you just can not forget. No matter how hard you try it sticks to your brain like honey. Nirvana tried to ignore the burning flesh that was covered underneath her dog collar band, fastened around her wrist. The shiny spikes were big and sharp it could poke anyone’s eye out. But Nirvana knew what was underneath that band. And that was something she didn’t want to face right now.
The brown wooden door opened and Mrs Marriott, a thirty something, married woman walked inside with a cream folder and a black briefcase. She dropped her legs to the tiled floor. Her black army boots with pink laces made a dull thud that jolted Mrs Marriott awake.
Judging by her slowness and her droopy green eyes she must’ve had a long day too.
“ Miss Nirvana Claudia Parker,” Her voice sounded and smelt like cigarettes. Nirvana’s button nose squinted as her musky aftershave permeated the room. “ All I have to do is run a few things past you, and then get you settled into a more permanent home. The Brownswick family are still not impressed by the way!” Ari squawked, sweat dribbled down her pasty chin. “ After what you pulled last summer. You still realise that you can not go to Utah until you’ve turned Twenty one?” Ari noted.
Nirvana laughed as her dark thick bangs of hair covered her hazy bloodshot eyes.
“ I was there in the court room you know? I think I know what happened?” Nirvana smiled at what had happened in the court room last summer. To think that their only son, Josh- an adolescent seventeen year old was too smitten with her to even realise what he had done? She kinda felt sorry for him in a way. But there was something about that convenient store that chilled her so….
Ari interrupt Nirvana’s reverie, “ And I’m sorry to hear about your Mother. It must be terrible to hear about…..,” Her yellow charred blouse was all Nirvana zoomed in on. She didn’t need anyone’s sympathy. Although her heart clenched tightly at Ari’s words.
The Chair squeaked as Ari bent down to retrieve the folder on top of her brief case. Once found, she opened the folder and dictated in a strong voice what was on the paper. “ Your name is Nirvana Claudia Parker and you were born on the twenty-second of April 2003, Roswell New Mexico? Correct?” her bushy eyebrows, like those of a bushman, drew together to form a temporary mono-brow. Nirvana nodded as the curve of her chapped lips was halted at the sight of Mrs Marriott. She was really a crack, Nirvana thought.
But she didn’t want Mrs Marriott to know that.
“ You are the only child of Elizabeth Ann Parker . Your biological father is Max Evans -But it is written here that no one must know about this until you are married with three children? A request by Elizabeth Parker” Nirvana nodded again. Hoping that this wasn’t going to be a boring process.
Ari halted her toothpaste smile and drew in a long breath.
“ It says that you repetitively broke into Ms Diane Winnerow’s house on Merry Lane, divorced wife of Phillip Evans?” Her blue eyes widened in shock when Nirvana drew up the courage to answer.
“ I love living dangerously. And, um I’m sure that Diane didn’t mind me sleeping in her son’s room from time to time. In fact I think. Considering her situation she enjoyed having someone around the house,” Nirvana chirped. She wished that whatever was on the list didn’t cause Ari a heart attack, She knew it caused Louise Harding, the cop that found her last night, to almost stop breathing when she read the list of offensives. However, Nirvana did those things long ago, when she was experimenting with her skills. She hoped to put that behind her. Also, Ari knew her case at the back of her hand by now.
“ It also says that you have been arrested for stealing a cart of lemons and five carts of Tabasco sauce last summer?” Ari tapped her ivory finger nails on her desk.
“ Hey! I like to eat my fish with lemons and we were fresh out. And the Pascal family ran out of Tabasco sauce three weeks ago.” Nirvana lied. She didn’t want to tell Ari; but she craved lemons. It was just something inside her that craved her to have a hint of lemon in everything. Nirvana didn’t know why but that’s how her body worked she guessed. No matter how abnormal it was. And also, the fact that everything tasted like burnt ash without Tabasco had nothing to do with Nirvana being here.
Nope, She knew that Ari was fed up her. Putting Nirvana in over seventy-five homes over twenty sates and kicked out of every home in less than a week. She was either going to Juvenile Hall or into another home. Either way Nirvana didn’t mind. As long she could visit her mother once in a while.
“ Nirvana..” Ari slid on her glasses. The voice turned her blood to ice. Nirvana didn’t like the sound of her voice. “ I have one family that has agreed to take you in. on trail… if you screw up one more time I have no choice but to put you in Oakdale,”
Not Oakdale, Nirvana thought. That was the last place she wanted to go. It was a mental hospital for teenagers. She had heard too many stories, enough to say that Oakdale was the devil.
“ Who’s the lucky family?” Nirvana smiled. “ Do they have a pool.” If Ari thought that she was interested, maybe she could leave and visit her mother before going back to Palm motel to have a late snooze.
“Mr and Mrs Valenti and their sixteen year old daughter Imogen live in Lower Manhattan. Mrs Valenti was a orphan like you… and eagerly agreed to take you in,” Ari shuffled the pile of blank papers. “ Just sign these few papers and we are all set. You will arrive at Madison Hotel tomorrow at 17:00 hours. The hotel the Valenti family own is the most expensive and elegant hotel in New York. You will live and help them around the hotel restaurant,” Ari babbled on about her high school, somewhere in town and near Madison square gardens.
She read the first few lines of the document. General rules as usual. Go to school, come home blah blah blah. However it also said on weekends that she must stay with the Evans family and their son Eli.
“ What’s this about the Evans family?” Nirvana said. Her father’s name was Max Evans… could it be?
Nah… Nirvana thought. There were billions of people with the same last name as her father.
Ari straightened her yellow blouse and her American flag pin, “ Imogen has tutoring from her Uncle. Professor Evans is the science teacher at Sanchez High school. He said he was fine with having another student to tutor and work around the house while his wife, Tess is co-working with famous artist Michael Guerin at the art gallery every weekend.”
Nirvana’s tongue ring touched the roof of the mouth , “ Does he know about my past? My Mom?”
“No. No one does. And that is apart of our deal Missy! No one must know about your family background. If anyone asks about your mother. You say that she died giving birth.”
“Why?” Nirvana asked.
“ You know about your mother’s condition. If anyone else made an appearance it could kill her. Do you want that to happen?”
Nirvana looked at herself in the mirror on Ari’s desk. Her hot pink streaks through her long hair and light make up. Piercings in her left eyebrow, tongue and belly button. A tattoo of a mythological bird, phoenix on her left shoulder blade. No, Nirvana thought. She didn’t want anything to happen to her mother.
Ari and Nirvana were both interrupted by a large knock of the door, followed by a loud rumble of Nirvana’s name.
Ari sighed. “ If its you, Miguel Lopez then I suggest you should come in,” As the words left her mouth a half Puerto-Rican, half American eighteen year old blurred in and showered Nirvana with kisses. He was the heartthrob singer Enrique- look alike. His dark brown buzz cut as his rich honey eyes looked into her brown ones. They were mahogany but after last night…… Nirvana’s thought trailed off as she just wanted to get lost in his embrace.
“ I hate to break up the lovely reunion but Nirvana has a few papers to sign,” Ari tapped on the bulky paper work. Miguel’s blue hood jumper made Nirvana smile. It was her favourite.
His voice dripped like dark chocolate, “ She will but I have to get back to Granny May so…” Miguel hauled Nirvana over his muscular shoulder blades. Nirvana shrieked, kicking her long legs against him. He chuckled, but it sounded like a cave man rumble.
“ You put her down right now,” Ari demanded, knocking on the hard wooden desk. But her voice was so far way to Nirvana. All that mattered was Miguel.
Miguel refused and carried her out of the social worker’s office. He ignored all the stares from the crowd in the Office complex and didn’t slide her back down again until they were both outside in the humid air. Nirvana involuntary shivered as she slid against his hard muscular body. “ Hi,” Nirvana meekly squeaked.
“Are you okay?” His thumb touched her cheek. Nirvana leaned into her cheek and gazed at his eyes. “ Let’s find some place to talk,” He hauled her next to him and looped his arm around her shoulders.
“I can take care of myself, you know?” Nirvana stated but was glad that he still deeply cared about her after what had happened.
Nirvana realised they were in one of many dark alleys, next to a rubbish bin that size of two refrigerators. Gently Nirvana slid her hand into his own, his big hand almost covered her delicate hand. He gently squeezed her hand and rested his chin on top of her head.
“Show me,” Nirvana asked. Miguel nodded and lifted up his jumper to reveal his rippling stomach, like one of those belonging to Jason behr or the bill board men. Nirvana bit on one of her blueberry nails, the nail polish smell didn’t block out what she was seeing with her own eyes. A silver handprint, glowing like the noonday sun below his ribs. It was her handprint.
Miguel dropped the hem of his jumper and kissed her, his tongue soared at hers and she eagerly accepted. His chest rumbled when her silver stub aroused him from with in. They clutched each other before slowly breaking way for breath. “ I never got to thank you for saving my life,”
Nirvana bowed her head, “ It was you,” She said to pavement. Miguel sighed and pulled her chin gently upwards.
“ So? What happens now?” He sat down, and was about to lean against the dumpster when Nirvana touched him of the shoulder. She looked left and right before waving her hand over to change the dumpster into a shabby, blue and red sofa, clean and comfortable and it smelt like lavender. Miguel smiled.
“ You are really a modern day Athena,” He eased himself onto the sofa and Nirvana climbed on top of him and laid her head to rest on top his shoulder, her knees up and against the armchair.
“Shut up,” But she was smiling when she said it. “ Ari has set me up with this deal. One more family or its Oakdale.” Nirvana watched his face turned pale, he quickly kissed her cheek and his eyes roamed around her delicate features,
“ No princess of mine is going to Oakdale,” He cupped her cheek and nudged his forehead with her own.
“I’m going to be staying with the Valenti family. The owner’s of Madison Hotel and every weekend I am going to see this loser professor every weekend.,” Nirvana’s voice trembled, “I can’t tell anyone who my mother is, you know her condition? Do I say she’s dead?”
Miguel stopped her trembling lip with his forefinger. Her tears already coated her high cheekbones. “ I know this is tough but if you pass maybe you can ask Ari if you can live with me and Granny May?” He suggested. Nirvana rolled her eyes.
“ I don’t think that’s possible,” Nirvana traced his stubble on his chin.
“ Is it not possible..” Miguel smirked. “ Or is it possible but you don’t want to use your gifts,” Miguel said.
Nirvana diverted her gaze to his chest. “ You know me. I only use my powers for recreational use only.”
Miguel smiled, his white teeth gleamed in her eyes. “ This includes saving my life?”
“Always,” Nirvana kissed his nose. “ Anyway, you are going to be a senior this year and I don’t want you to miss every day because of me,”
Miguel nodded, “ How about every weekend we met. At midnight at Central Park?”
Nirvana flinched. “ Central Park is dangerous. How about China Town? Young Xang Sue is open twenty four hours. We can have breakfast,”
“ Its too early for breakfast,” Miguel said, pulling her closer and laying her body on top of his. Her dark and hot pink streak hair creating a veil around their heated faces.
“ Then we can have brunch,” Nirvana said before closing the distance nibbled his lower lip.
Chapter Two
August 26th 2019
11:45pm. Lower Manhattan.
“Mom!” Imogen whined. “ Eli and Matt threw melted choc-buds at my hair!” Still wearing her orange and black cheerleaders uniform she stampeded down her cousin’s hallway until she entered the living room where her parents, and Uncle Max and Tess were sitting. Drinking their strong coffee’s in hope to block out their teenagers screams.
Tess Evans, her shoulder length Dixie sunshine hair almost shined eerily in the fluorescent light. “ It’s okay honey. I’ll go talk to these boys while Uncle Max can fix up your hair,” Tess stood up as her blue blouse and faded blue jeans re-adjusted themselves. She touched her husbands cheek before walking down the hallway, her sneakers made little squishing sounds, like pudding hitting the floor with a big bang.
“Sit,” Max stretched out his arms, his lab coat still on from a hard day at work. Imogen eyed the living room carpet before sitting next to her uncle. Meanwhile, her parents had an expression like they were about to drop a bomb.
“You’re not pregnant!” Imogen yelled. Dimly picking up the blue nail file her Aunty was using and began filing her orange tainted nails. Her mother looked like she was about to explode. Her brown eyes turned to molten mud, the kind before a storm. Luckily, her father Kyle jumped to the rescue.
“ We have agreed to allow one of those teenagers from the Thompson’s orphanage to come and stay with us for a while. The guest room is still being painted so she will have to stay in your room,”
Imogen felt the heat warm up in her hair, then realised her Uncle finished with her hand. She weaved her fingers through her honey blonde hair. She smiled at her uncle as a sign of a thank you before turning back to her parents.
“ Where will I sleep?”
Kyle looked at her wife, his beared starting to irritate Imogen. Kyle scratched his beard and said. “ In the same room. You have to share the room with her for a while. Two weeks.. tops!” he sighed. “ If it’s any consolation I don’t like it either,”
Isabel drew back her hand and slapped him on the cheek, hard.
Kyle whiched, “Owwie,” his wife glared at him before turning back to Imogen.
“She’s sixteen and she’s had a trouble childhood. A bit worse than Michael. She doesn’t know her father and her mother… well they didn’t mention her mother so that says something,”
Eli and Matt entered the room. An acoustic guitar was still attach to Eli when he whispered an apology but his mother elbowed him and then he said to Imogen,
“ Sorry,” Eli’s sandy blonde hair and crystal blue eyes seemed truthful enough, but still Imogen didn’t forgive him.
“ For what?”
“Hockey is better than basketball,” Matt filled in. “ Somehow an ice filled with people like my father on a bad day with one puck is so entertaining,” he ended the sentence with a hint of sarcasm. Eli and Matt chuckled but their parents were not amused.
“Son, Matt, sit down. We might as well fill you guys in,” Max said. Eli slid off his guitar and listened to the sound it made when it was rested against the wall. He followed his friend with his slightly curly light brown hair and devious blue eyes. They sat with their knees crossed on the floor.
No one said anything for awhile. There was this awkward silence that could be cut by a knife. All eyes were shifting around the deluxe apartment. It had been five minutes when Kyle broke the silence with grumble.
“For the next few weeks, we are hosting a sixteen year old punk from the wrong side of the tracks. Her name is Nirvana.”
Eli scratched his mop of blond hair. “ Nirvana?” He thought for a second. “ Haven’t heard of her,”
“Me neither,” Matt said.
“ Every weekend she’ll stay here. I want you guys to show some respect towards her. For all we know she could be very fragile teenager, crying out for her parents,” Max said.
Kyle was reading Nirvana’s latest history and chuckled at Max’s comment. “ A girl whose has been all over America and recently robbed a convenient store in Utah. I don’t think so,”
“What time does she arrive?” Imogen asked, tossing her blonde hair to one side.. “ Coz, I like, Have this cheerleader meeting and…”
“5pm,” Isabel said. Her headache that was slowly brewing, wouldn’t go away. There was something they were missing… but what?
“But Mom!” Imogen whined. “ My cheerleader….”
“I don’t care Imogen. “ Isabel fumed a t her daughter’s snob rich girl phase. “When I was your age I was alone but with only Michael, Tess and Max as my family. We didn’t have the luxury as you kids now have. Now, Nirvana might be on the wrong side of the tracks but I believe if we give her a chance, she can really surprise us,”
*
Nirvana Parker and her boyfriend Miguel were in her motel room, it was late and Nirvana had the strangest craving for oatmeal.
“I wouldn’t mind having some oatmeal,” She said as she flipped on the bedroom light.
“The Kilo mart isn’t open until nine am, tomorrow,” Miguel said, folding up her leather jacket, passing to Nirvana and gazed around the pine walled room. “It has no T.V,” he noted that it was one room, a square metre wide with a small cubicle for the toilet.
“Material possessions only clutter the mind,” Nirvana replied, stuffing her book called “Buddha Take me away” in her duffel bag.
“ Only you would say that since your house is….” Miguel chuckled. Nirvana eyeballed him. The blue vase with pink striped, on the side table puffed into dust, it almost seemed like it melted away. Nirvana’s right hand was still glowing with divine wrath.
“Sorry,” His dark eyes pleaded insanity.
Nirvana sighed. “ That is one day of my childhood I want to forget,” Her hot pink streaks through her long hair and light make up. Piercings in her left eyebrow, tongue and belly button. A tattoo of a mythological bird, phoenix on her left shoulder blade was peaking through her light blue tank top she had put on ten minutes ago. Miguel smiled, “ I’m heading off to the vending machine, want anything?”
Nirvana rubbed her nose and thought, “ Just a soda. Don’t forget..” Her tongue ring bobbled around in her mouth.
“Tabasco sauce,” Miguel interrupted as he opened the door. “ Geez Louise,” He closed the door with his famous catch word he always used.
Nirvana tossed her pack of cigarette to one side. She would have a smoking break later but right now she needed to pack of what little she had tonight.
She saw a charred photo peaking through her pile of clothes that were on the pink faded bedspread. It was the colour of coffee but the people smiling still shone with radiance. It was of her when she was six, she had short cropped hair with red streamers while her mother wore a flower pattern shirt and khakis. Her mother’s short hair always reminded her of a lions main.
She had red streaks through it so it gave of an eerily red glow. Her smile was of a happy mother, out in the New Mexico desert in their wooden house near the house ranch her great, great grandmother Claudia used to own near the Indian reservation Nirvana was glad to be alive…..
It was the last photo that was taken by her protector, cal Langley before he died… saving Nirvana and her mother and, his queen from……
Nirvana watched puddles of water clouded her vision The memories were too painful. It was a bright, sunny day, she just turned six that day and she was given the horse, phoenix as a gift from her great, great uncle Petrii and Elena, who also help her mother look after the ranch. But there was nothing there now, just brunt ash and bad memories.
She remembered her horse, 16 in human years and dark as the black Arabian nights.
She remembered the smell of her mother, strawberries with a swirl of vanilla. Her brown, chocolate eyes danced in the hot daylight. She always thought of her mother as a queen. She remembered Cal saying that she was and that Nirvana would grow up to be someone special one day. She wished she had those days, before someone took them away from her. She picked up Mr twinkles, her toy pig and allowed the usual flash or remembrance to flow through.
She could still smell the burnt skin been ripped off the table, Elena was a blob of red blood and bones. A silver hand print glowed like plutonium. Elena reminded her of the green plastic army figurines she melted in the microwave.
“But why,’ Nirvana heard her own whiny voice. Her tiny hands clutching at her mother to hold her but her mother kept pushing her towards the cupboard.
“Go, Hide with Mr twinkles in the cupboard.”
“Momma! I wanna be wit you”
“ Do what Mommy says, no matter what. Mommy loves you,” Her short hair was like miniature flames, but in reality her hair had been signed by the fire in the house. Her lungs were covered in ash and it was getting harder to breathe. Nirvana saw red flames flowing in the kitchen as many hazy voices chuckled like bad monsters in her dreams. Only this time they were real.
“ I love you too,” She whispered to Mr Twinkles. Hoping, against hope that somehow her mother heard her soft crackling voice as she began to cry herself to sleep. As she did every night, for the past sixteen years. Remembering her stolen childhood.
****
So, what did you think?
Rae
