Fated Mate

“Morning.” Ann walked into the kitchen in her pajamas, her short blond hair was in a mess and she was clearly half asleep. She sat down, crossed her arms over the table and put her head down.“Good morning to you too,” Maria responded with a beaming smile on her face. She was in a good mood this morning, like every morning. She was an early bird, the fact that there was only one bathroom in their three-bedroom apartment, was also a motivation. She always woke up early to be the first one to use it. She stood from the table and poured Ann some coffee in her favorite mug.“Where is Lee? She’s going to be late for school…and why are you always so damn cheerful?” Ann grunted back at her. Maria placed the mug in front of her and went back to her bowl of cereal.“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, again. She must be getting dressed.”Ann’s headshot up, she had one of her evil grins on. “Actually, I had the best dream ever!”Maria put her spoon down, leaned back in the chair and l

Merilee met Maria and Ann at the last group home she was placed in. She was ten then and had been in four different group homes already. She was a loner, never bothered to make friends because she wasn’t sure how long she would stay. Ann and Maria were best friends then, complete opposites of each other.Ann was a sarcastic, cynical, twelve year old. Her druggie mother abandoned her when she was six. She never depended on anyone, got what she wanted through her own efforts. She never cried because she knew it would never solve anything. She was cold and straightforward, if she didn’t like you she made sure you knew it. Her attitude had made it difficult for adoption, but she didn’t care. She had survived in the worst of situations and had learned to be independent. She wasn’t into making friends, but Maria had tugged at her heart.Maria was eleven when she came to Ann’s group home. Her parents had died in a car crash when she was nine. For a whole year, her relatives had passed her ar

Ann, Maria, and Lee walked into the deli at four for their shift. They had Lee’s inheritance, but they only used it to pay for their tuition, so they went to school in the morning and worked in the afternoon and nights to pay for other expenses, something they had already grown accustomed to.Maria and Ann were in their second year of varsity in Strayer. Lee was glad she was going to graduate soon, she wanted to be with them, feel and look grown up like they did.Steve however, never understood why they insisted on working. He had tried on several occasions to make Lee withdraw a large amount of money and splurge it on a weekend in Vegas. She never budged, Ann and Maria also made sure of it.Trying to explain to him how important it was to save as much as they could was like trying to teach a cow how to milk itself.“I am so exhausted!” Lee whined, as she put her apron on.“We are all tired,” Ann said as Lee walked past her and picked up a tray. Maria was already clearing the tables,

It had been close to a month since Steve left. Lee’s room seemed bigger, with just her things in it. She hated to admit it, but she missed him. She laughed at herself. It was pathetically unbelievable.There finally were quiet mornings, the water and electric bills were lower, and all she could think of was his absence. She was sulking, she didn’t mean to but she couldn’t help it.It was a beautiful Saturday, the middle of spring, hot, sunny and green. She tried working out the frustration at the boxing ring, when that didn’t help, she tried the shooting range.“Imagine those cardboards are Steve. Aim low, you’ll feel much better.” Ann shot three times in the middle of the cardboard man’s legs, and then put two in his head and one in his heart. Maria giggled as she copied Ann’s targets. Lee on the other hand missed all her shots.“Come on Lee, you are a better shot than that! You’ve had a gun in your hand every Saturday since we left the orphanage. You couldn’t willingly miss if you h

Billy what are you doing! Ash demanded when he stood up.We are going to join them.Joe and Billy were on the move. Ash was reluctant; he wanted to stay put. He was in no mood to hit on anyone, even if she was wearing nothing but whipped cream.Ash, come on!No!Don’t be rude. You have an opportunity to be with someone other than Sabrina, now come on!No! Fine, we’ll send her over.Ash growled under his breath. He hated having women forced on him. Billy and Joe were already at their table chatting up the blond and the brunette. He moved quickly and reached their table and stood next to the girl they had met at the bar.“….and this is Ash. Ash, this is Ann, that’s Maria and you remember her, she’s Lee.” Billy introduced them with a cocky smile on his face.Ash felt awkward and out of place. With a formal tone