It seemed like the coldest day imaginable and even with the heater on full blast, Andy still clutched her knees to her chest, not caring if her shoes tore the leather of her mothers brand new Lexus. She kept her eyes trained on the passenger side window as her home town disappeared from view. Everything she had known was now slowly becoming a dot in the mirror and she was on her way to a place where she had no friends and no escape. But it was for the best or so she had been told, over and over again. A fresh start. The seventeen year old did not want a fresh start. She wanted to keep living her life and stay with her friends. But the other night was the last straw and her parents had had enough.

As Andy thought back to that night, she knew it was a bad idea but she had always wanted to drive her parents car. It was Liam who had put it in her head but she wouldn't blame him. She would blame the half litre of vodka she had drunk that night and the joint. That combination always gave her the courage to do what she had always wanted to do and for the past year it had played a part in her bad behaviour. Bad behaviour. That's what her parents always called it. Good old Pat and Lynda kept turning a blind eye and called it bad behaviour and that she was just going through some tough times.

'Are you hungry?' her mother spoke so softly but Andy knew that it wasn't hurt in her voice. The hurt of having to send her only daughter away to be 'straightened out' by her aunt and uncle. No, it wasn't hurt but relief. Relief at getting rid of the daughter who put their perfect lives in danger. The brunette just stared out the window while shaking her head indicating the negative. No amount of chit-chat from her mother would make up for what they were doing to her or what they hadn't done for her over the past two years.

The rest of the three-hour drive was spent in silence as Andy tried to think of how she would get out of this mess. Apologising wasn't going to work, her parents had made that clear. She supposed she could run, but with no money, no car and no friends to help her escape it would be near impossible. From what she remembered from being a kid, her aunt and uncle weren't too bad. Nice enough people but now they were the enemy. They were helping her parents take her life away. She knew she had done some pretty bad stuff but she had never hurt anyone, it was just all harmless fun. This was all because her mother hated Liam. He wasn't good enough for her daughter, she never liked the way he talked, the way he dressed or the way he acted in general. Liam knew that her parents hated him but he didn't care. It was one of the reasons Andy liked him so much. She needed to be like him, not to care what others thought, she succeeded in that in the end.

Liam was the one who first introduced Andy to drink and drugs. She was young and she liked him. Hot, older guy? Who wouldn't? She never believed in peer pressure. All he did was offer, she could have said no, and he would have let it go. But in the beginning all she wanted was for him to like her. It's not like she didn't know about drink and hash. At that moment she needed to loosen up, to unwind, and to forget. Liam made it quite clear that he wasn't going to help her when he left that night. Left her by herself to deal with all the trouble. She figured he thought it would be like any other time she got into some trouble. She would apologise, smile that little innocent smile she had and all would be forgiven. But no such luck.

Andy snapped out of her thoughts when her mother pulled up a small gravel lane that she remembered from her childhood. This was it. As her mother came to a stop outside a small bungalow Andy took off her belt and reached in the back for her handbag. Lynda Fox put her hand on her daughter's shoulder and looked at her. 'You need to make this work hunny.' she urged but Andy shrugged off her mother's hand. 'Don't hunny me and don't pretend that you care. You're going to leave here with a weight off your shoulders, we both know it. So don't pretend you don't want to do this.' Lynda cut off Andy's speech by pointing a finger at the seventeen year old and with a stern face motioned to the car door. 'Don't screw this up Andy. This is your final chance, no drink, no drugs and no boys.' Andy rolled her eyes and swiftly got out of the car and made her way to her aunt and uncle who were already waiting by the front door for her. Her uncle was short, not much taller than her five foot two frame, with red hair, a beer belly and a small welcoming smile. Her aunt was taller, blonde hair, thin and she had the same expression on her face. Andy didn't know whether to believe that they were happy to see her, who would be?

Andy just nodded at them before swinging past them and into the house. She didn't want her mother putting on some fake sad goodbye. The short brunette remembered her way to the sitting room and just sat there, waiting for her mother to leave. A few minutes later Andy heard her mother's car pull away and her aunt and uncle come back into the house. The older couple entered the small sitting -room, her uncle Michael towing her large suitcase, grunting with the weight of the it. Andy felt nervous, not sure what to say, she knew the speech would come soon and she was tired from the drive. 'Why don't I show you your room Andy.' Michael stuttered, unsure of himself. 'You can get unpacked and settled in and then we will eat. Sound good?' Andy paused, looking at both of them in shock but just nodded.

Her room was small but with enough room for a double bed, a chest of drawers and a small desk. She knew it had been redecorated recently because there was a faint smell of paint. A bright lime green that seemed unfitting for a bedroom and plum bed set that was also new. Andy let a small smile creep onto her face as she realised that her aunt and uncle were still the nice people she remembered as a kid. She supposed they had to be to let a trouble making teenager live with them out of the goodness of their heart.

Lunch was awkward, for Michael, Mary and Andy. The three sat around a small rectangle table and ate soup and a few small toasted sandwiches in silence. Andy scoffed down her sandwich first, she hadn't realised how hungry she was until she could smell the food in front of her. The older couple kept glancing at the teenager and then at each other not knowing what to say to her and neither one wanting to go first. But it was Andy who spoke first telling them that she was going to finish unpacking. She quickly rose from the table, leaving her dirty plate and glass in the sink and left the room smirking after hearing her uncle mumbling about women and traveling light.

Andy sat in her room, her cloths all put into the drawers, a few pictures tacked to the wall and her hash safely hidden in a DVD case. Her parents never could manage to find her stash. And she was lucky they weren't fans of 'Finding Nemo', it was kind of a joke between her and her friends. After thinking about the hash and where to hide it, Andy felt the urge to light up but she opted to have a regular smoke instead. The teenager flung open her window and leaned halfway out of the ground floor room before lighting up. She could easily give them up, she usually only smoked when she was out or with Liam. She never usually smoked by herself but the stress of leaving home and her boyfriend ditching her had added up and she needed one to relax. It had been a long day and it was only six in the evening.

Mary knocked on Andy's closed door an hour later and Andy pushed herself off the bed to unlock the door before opening it to see her aunt, a friendly smile on her face as she looked about the teenagers new room. 'Do you feel like some dinner? Its stew.' she asked, still standing in the doorway looking at Andy who was again sprawled, stomach down on the bed going through her phone. 'No thanks, not hungry, think I might just hit the sack.' she answered lifting herself to sit with her feet tucked under her. Mary nodded and again looked about the room and as Andy had been waiting for, she began her speech, though it was not what she had expected.

'Look, Michael and I haven't exactly been given all the details of why you, um, needed a change of scenery but we don't care. This is your fresh start. You treat us with respect and we will do the same. There are rules though, first, you won't be sitting around the house all day. Since it's half way through the school year there is no point you going, you'll be too far behind. Your mom mentioned that you hadn't been going at home so you can just repeat your final year next year. Mick and I will have things that you can do during the day. Second, no drugs. I find them, I keep them. Third, no smoking in the house and don't think I can't smell it right now. You want one, go outside. And finally, no boys in the house. I'm not asking for a lot here Andy so please just let this work. I know this place is a lot smaller than your last town but I think you will like it here. Just got to give it a chance. Ok?' Mary took a deep breath and looked expectantly at the young girl in front of her.

Still sitting on the bed, Andy hadn't looked at her aunt at all during the speech. She had rolled her eyes at her rules and for the first time actually wondered what she would do here, with no school and no friends. She thought it was funny that most people thought she was stupid. She was actually very smart, getting straight A's, but that was before. Andy could feel the anger rise from the pit of her stomach as she finally raised her eyes to meet Mary's. 'This is complete bullshit. I don't belong here, in this shitty little town, I want to go home.' The brunette's voice rose a little but not breaking eye contact with her aunt. She could see the older blonde woman take a deep breath and before turning and taking the key from the door said that it wasn't up to her and to make the best of it.

Andy sat staring at the door for a minute before searching for the remote to her I Pod dock and pressing play and a second later her music was blasting from the small system. Andy knew she was being a petulant child but she couldn't help it. The teenager already hated her new town and what she figured her new life to be. Andy took a deep breath to calm herself before dragging her petite body from the bed and getting into her shorts and tank top and finally got under the covers before turning off the speakers and praying someone would save her from his nightmare.

The shrill ring of the main house phone startled Andy as she bolted upright in the bed and strained to hear her uncle answer it in the next room. She couldn't make out what he was saying but he wasn't happy. She half wondered if it was someone talking about her but she wasn't even there a day and she soon dismissed it when she heard her uncle tell Mary that he would be back soon and left the house. Again the house was silent apart from the sound of muffled voices coming from the TV. The brunette fell asleep quickly as the long day finally took its toll.

The door creaked and the light from the hallway woke Andy from her sleep and within a few seconds it was dark again but there was another person in the room with her. Andy froze. Trying not to breathe or make a sound she reached for her phone under her pillow. But before she knew it there was a heavy weight on her that took the wind from her. Andy squeezed her phone in her shaking hand and swung as hard as she could. 'What the fuck!' Andy lifted herself up and quickly jumped from the bed, over the person and flicked on the light. He was in her bed. Still fully dressed; dark jeans, a striped shirt and he stank of Jack Daniels. Bleach blond hair and a now a small cut above his left eye. Andy's bedroom door flung open again and now it was her uncle who stood in the doorway and he did not look happy. 'Kieran, up! Now!' Andy hopped to the side, out of her uncle's way as he roared at the man as he pulled aggressively at his upper arm and hauled him from her bed and out the door, slamming it closed behind him.

Andy's fear soon left her when she realised that she hadn't been in any real danger. A small smile crept onto her pale features as she heard raised voices in the kitchen. She couldn't resist and went to see what was happening. Mary was standing by the cooker, her arms crossed but a smirk itching to take over her face. Michael had a sterner look on his face and two young men sat opposite each other at the table, looking a little worse for wear. The man who jumped into her bed had his back to her but another with darker hair sat across from him. They both had their heads in their hands as Mick yelled at them about drinking and not being responsible. Andy finally got the dark-haired man's attention as he just gawked at her which called the attention of the other three. The man Mick called Kieran turned slowly in the seat and looked her in the eyes before letting his eyes slip from her face down her body. He snapped to attention as Mick gave him a slap on the back of the head. 'Andy, go to your room.' Mick called out, still using the same tone he had used on the men sitting at the table. The brunette half turned to leave but then faced her uncle and let a short laugh escape her. 'It's kind of funny. I'm sent here to 'straighten out' and my first night here, a drunken man jumps in the bed beside me.' She then skipped quickly out of the kitchen knowing she was being watched all the occupants of the kitchen.

Andy fell into her bed, still tired from being woken she closed her eyes and a smile appeared on her face as she realised that living in a small town might not be so boring after all.

AL-

Well, if you have come this far then you have read the chapter so please just drop me a few words and let me know if I should keep going or not. I have had this in my head for ages now and want to get it out!

I am warning you now that the rating will go up to M in later chapters.