The driveway wound through a dense forest, over a rushing river and made more loops and turns than a rollercoaster. Lorelei pressed her forehead against the glass and watched her breath fog up the window. Under normal circumstances she would have marveled at the beauty of the woods, but today just wasn't that sort of day. She half expected to see a bear come charging out of the woods and attack the car. It was the sort of awful thing that would end an awful week. On Monday her best friend decided to get high at a party with a bunch of older guys and had ended up pregnant and in jail. On Tuesday her grandpa (whom she'd never met) died. On Wednesday, her mother's boyfriend kicked them out of the apartment and Lorelei's dog was hit by a car. On Thursday, her mom decided to move into the house that they'd inherited and on Friday Lorelei spent the entire day packing and arguing with her mother. Now that it was Saturday, Lorelei was in a daze. One more tragedy and she was going to go insane.
In her 16 years, Lorelei had lived in more than 10 different houses, apartments and trailers. She was always packing and moving in with her mother's boyfriends, but she had always lived in Portland and gone to the same school as her friends. Now she was being completely uprooted and deposited in some backwards part of Oregon.
Lorelei's mother reached across and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Don't look so glum, you're going to love the house." Her mom forced a grin of cheerfulness. Even though her mother had been dead set on moving here, she seemed to like the place less than Lorelei did.
"We're in the middle of nowhere. Does it even have a bathroom?" Lorelei glared at her mother and made a mental note to dig the hole on her mom's side of the house.
"Yes, it has a bathroom. You're going to love it, so stop sulking." Her mom glanced out Lorelei's window. "There's the cemetery, we'll be home in two minutes."
"Home? My home is in Portland with my FRIENDS!" Lorelei glowered at her mother then looked at the cemetery. She gasped, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was an odd way to describe a cemetery, but it was true. Flowers grew up around the weather-beaten stones and wrapped them in pale, pastel colors. An angel stood in the middle of the graves with her arms held out and a rosebush twined around her. All the flowers were in bloom, the grass was lush and green, and Lorelei could see small animals and birds playing amid the leaves. It was so beautiful that it took Lorelei a minute to realize her mom had stopped the car. Lorelei pulled her gaze away and looked at her mother. Her mom was looking past her at the angel and frowning.
"Mom, are you okay?" Lorelei reached over and touched her arm.
"I'm fine." Her mom snapped at her and hit the gas.
Lorelei closed her eyes and leaned her head against the seat. If her mom was going to be mysterious that was her choice, but Lorelei was going to have no part in it. With her eyes closed she didn't see her mom pull up to the door, and it wasn't until she was out of the car with her suitcase in hand that Lorelei happened to glance at the house. Upon seeing the house, she promptly closed her eyes, opened them and looked again. When the house didn't change, she pinched herself, closed her eyes, opened her eyes and pinched herself again. She swore softly and in awe. The biggest house she had ever been in had had six bedrooms and it looked like a port-a-potty compared to this mansion. It was big and grand. Lorelei let out a low whistle, she'd found the home of her dreams. She turned to her mother and saw the same expression of distaste her mom had shown at the cemetery. Lorelei couldn't believe it, the house was beautiful.
"Mom? Whats wrong?" Lorelei tried to keep the tone of reproach out of her voice. She was sure her mom had a reason for being upset, but it was certainly ruining Lorelei's day.