Chapter 1
I stared out the window as the rain pounded against it. My mother was in the drivers seat singing along to an old song on the radio. Her fingers drummed along to the beat on the steering wheel.
"Ma, how much longer?" I asked watching a raindrop fall down the window.
"About another hour Max." She sighed. I already asked her how long about 15 minutes ago.
Outside, in the pouring rain, the trees whooshed past. It seemed like this one road was endless. Trees were on both sides of the two lane highway. There hasn't been another car for a while. I turned and reached into the back seat where my bag was. I dug around for a few seconds and pulled out my phone and earbuds.
"Max, why don't we talk instead of you putting your face in your phone?" Mom asked glancing over at me.
I dropped the phone in my lap and looked over at her, "What do you want to talk about?"
"How are you feeling about the move?" She asked as she turned onto a new road. A bumpier one.
"I made it clear before we left and they haven't changed since." I grumbled.
"Max, it's a fresh start." She sighed, "You can make new friends plus the crime rate is almost zero in GreenView. It's really safe. You'll be able to go out more."
"Yes, because going out more is something I really want." I said sarcastically.
“Max, it’s important you understand that this is good for you.” She said glancing at me.
“It’s good for me to move away from all my friends and the only life I ever knew?" I questioned, stifling the urge to glare at her.
"Putting it that way, no." She said softly before adding, "But if you think of it this way, you will be able to do more things you couldn't do in the city. It'll be like those movies where the kid goes from city to small town. They hate it at first but then they find it's not so bad."
"Yeah well that's fictional. This unfortunately is real life." I muttered.
As we pulled into the gravel driveway to the house, I noticed how gloomy it looked. It was an old Victorian style home. The paint on the outside was peeling off and there were a bunch of vines climbing up to cracked, dusty windows. It looked like one of those houses from an old time-y horror movie. I shuddered at the sight of it.
"God Mom, the Addams family would love this place." I huffed.
She let out a small chuckle as she came to a stop. Turning off the car, she leaned back in her seat letting out a breath, "I know it's not the prettiest but I was thinking we could fix it up a bit together. The outside is mainly where the work needs to be done. The past owners redid the inside before they moved out so it's all modern."
"Gosh darn that sounds splendid Ma!" I said in a fake cheerful tone earning a glare from her.
I grabbed my bag from the backseat before stepping out of the car. The rain had stopped a while ago so I had the luxury of not getting rained on. I went to the trunk to retrieve one of the suitcases we were able to pack in the car.
I took the suitcase and made my way up the old porch stairs. Looking around i noticed how absolutely disgusting it was. There were dead bugs that littered the porch floor mixed with old leaves and dirt. The boards looked as if they were ready to give out at any second. I turned to look at Mom but realized she was right next to me, unlocking the door.
She was right about it being better on the inside. Even though it wasn't furnished, the floors and walls seemed to have recently been redone. The kitchen looked like one of the kitchens you see in those home magazines you read while in the doctors office. The stairs that led to the second floor were the complete opposite from the porch stairs. They looked new and shiny. As I climbed up these stairs, I took a second to look back at all the events that led me to be here at this very moment.
