Ellie
"Okay have fun El!" I looked at my mom in the car. Her smile gave me a pit in my stomach. It looked like she wanted me gone.
"Do you want me gone or something?" I glared at her. Her smile faltered a second then returned.
"No sweetheart. I just think it would be good for you to stay here with your dad. You haven't seen him in a few years."
"Yeah sure. You kept me from him for seven years. I was ten last time I saw him. Let me come with you and Greg." I almost winced saying my mom's fiance name.
"The trip is a romantic couples retret." She sighed. "I don't think you need to go because..."
"Because Mitch and I broke up right? I don't have someone to bring with me so you drop me off here." I motioned around me. "In the middle of no where with my dad who I have no idea who he is."
"Ellie, that is your dad. He loves you and this has nothing to do with Mitch. Mitch just was a mistake." She gave me a look and I frowned. Mitch, my ex boyfriend that had tried to break me.
"Well just because I'm staying doesn't mean I love him. He only sent three birthday cards in seven years. I don't know that man." I looked at her pointly.
"Hi Ellie." A man's voice said behind me and I stopped. I turned around and was face to face with hazel eyes. My eyes.
"Hey Fred!" My mom called from the car.
"Hey Amy. How's Gregory?" He gave her a tight smile.
"Fine. He's fine and how is Brenda?" She gave him a tight smile right back. My parents still loved each other. They would have never gotten a divorce if my twin hasn't had died.
"She went back to Malcom. It will just be you and I kiddo." He smiled at me like he still knew me.
"Well isn't that just wonderful. Just the two of us. Just what I wanted." I backed away from him and grabbed my suitcase.
"Ellie." I turned and looked at my mom. She gave me a warning look. I just shrugged and waved.
"Have fun on your trip. Tell Greg not to get drunk again." I looked at my dad. "Take me to my room Fred?"
"Sure. Have fun Amy!" He called out and started walking to the house. I gave my mom one last look and she just smiled. I then turned and followed him to the house.
I heard the car pull away. She didn't even care that she was leaving me on the other side of the country with a man I didn't know. I didn't know anybody here. My summer was going to be one of the worst ones I ever had.
"Come on in." Fred opened the door for me. I pulled my suitcase up the brick steps. His house wasn't small or ugly. It was a white, two story house with a old barn behind it. He had about seven other houses on the road with him.
"Any kids around my age around here?" I asked as I walked through the doorway. The scent of pine and a fireplace greeted me. I stopped for a second.
"See this? It's so no matter what you'll always find home." I looked up at my dad. He was holding a box out to me. I grabbed it with my ten year old hands. Inside was a pinecone, my dogs old collar and a picture of him and I.
"Thank you dad." I looked up at him and saw tears in his eyes. "What's wrong daddy?"
"Ellie?" I blinked and looked at him.
"I'm sorry. You were saying?" I gave him a reassuring smile.
"Um there is two families with kids around your age. The Gibersons have Haley, Hardin and Hannah. Their triplets and their your age. My friend Georgia has a daughter named Kate. She's nineteen though."
"Great, who lives closest?" I looked at him. I needed to meet someone as fast as I could.
"Kate is but she isn't someone you want to talk too. She has tattoos and hangs out with the wrong people. It wouldn't surprise me if she did drugs." He looked at me.
"Whatever. Is there a skating ring around here? Or did you give my skateboard away?" I have him a look.
"It's upstairs in your room and they tore the ring down last year. Just go into town and there is a couple of things to do." He tried to grab my suitcase but I picked it up first.
"I remember where my room is." I walked away and up the stairs. At the end of the hall was my room. I stopped and looked at the pictures on the wall.
One picture stopped my heart. It was my dad at the grill and my mom was laughing, probably about something my dad had just said. A girl and boy about seven years old with blonde hair were sitting at the picnic table eating water melon.
"Fred stop making me laugh. I'll drop the hotdogs." My mom sniffled a laugh. My dad just chuckled and continued to work at the grill.
"Andrew look at my piece." I showed my brother the piece of watermelon that I had. Andrew grabbed one and held up his
"Mine is bigger!" He pronounced and I glared.
I turned away from the picture and went to my door. It still had two stickers on it. A lion cub and a tiger cub. Andrew was the Lion and I was the tiger. I pushed open the door. My dad had changed my room a lot.
My bed was now a full sized bed and was white instead of being purple and a twin size. I had a white dresser with a Tv on top of it. Blue curtains were pulled aside to let me see the view is of the field and barn. I set my suitcase on my bed and then looked in the closet. Sure enough my skateboard was leaned up in the back.
"Hello my love." I said, pulling it out. It had some dust on I but I still smiled. I had got it for my ninth birthday even though it was meant for older kids. My dad told me to just hold on to it. I had forgot it when we left.
I walked back to my bed and sat the board down. I unzipped the suitcase and looked for my red shirt. I pulled ot out.
"What else do I wear with it." I picked my black shorts and my leather jacket. I quickly got changed and put on my black slip on vans. I had brought three pairs of vans with me and my mom was sending my other clothes and shoes in the next week.
I grabbed my journal and walked over to the night stand. I opened it and saw a picture of me and Andrew on our ninth birthday. His last birthday. We had always picked one present that was ours to let the other open. He had just opened my rockstar Barbie and I had opened his dinousour model collection T-rex.
I smiled thinking about that day. He had every dinousour besides the T-rex and the Spinosaurus. I has wanted a skater Barbie, the only Barbie I had ever wanted besides a basketball playing one but my parents couldn't find either. I shoved my journal inside and shut the drawer.
I grabbed my skateboard and walked out. I needed to get out of the house already and I hadn't been here for two hours.
