Chapter 1
Hayley
I didn't believe in love. Not after my mom and dad split up. But tonight, I believed again. We were only thirteen and my best friend, Katrina, had her first boyfriend and we were out in town that night with all our mates. The way she looked at him and the way he looked at her. It was magical. That look of love they had for each other, displayed in their eyes, was more amazing than anything I had seen. They looked perfect together. That's when I truly believed. That's when I knew that someday I wanted someone to look at me like that. To look at me like I was the most beautiful girl on the planet. Who wasn't embarrassed to hold my hand or put their arm around my waist and hold me into them. I knew that love was the most important thing.
But now I was here, in the car with my dad. In a horrible little town named Lewis Town. Why had I snuck out? I wouldn't be here if it hadn't. It was late one night and I got caught sneaking out to a party. At half eleven. At night. Why was my mother so strict? Everyone else was allowed to go. Why had she sent me from sunny Florida to live in Lewis town with my dad? And now, as I have previously said, I am in my father's old Toyota, going to live with him. In Lewis Town.
"See that plane," my father, Jacob, droned on. "That plane was originally made for the second world war."
"Cool." I said, totally uninterested. I completed my entry to the small talk we both knew my father was no good at by giving a completely un-humorous laugh.
As we entered the driveway, I took a deep breath as I looked out the window to the house I had been gladly dragged from when I was just a baby. The big white house stood there, mocking me. My father was walking up the steps to the front door with my luggage when I finally had the courage to leave the car. I walked through the door to enter the hall. This hall was small but was open planned and lead to the kitchen and dining room, and to the other side, the living room. On the mantel piece there was about a dozen frames with pictures of me, when I was born, my first day of kindergarten, first day of middle school, birthdays and photos of our first holiday together, as a family. I wandered into the living room to take a closer look. On the walls were pictures of him and my mom at their wedding. They looked so happy then, probably the only time they were happy the whole time they were together. The sound of my father's heavy boots banging up the stairs distracted me from my momentary lapse, where I almost enjoyed being here. I quickly snapped out of it and ran after him, scared of what was up there. At the top I turned to the left to find my old room, still painted pink from when I was twelve and had to visit him every holiday. The bed had a purple duvet and matching pillowcases. The curtains also matched the plain, tacky bed covers. Posters of pop stars and movie hunks cluttered the walls and so did some paintings I had made as a young child. The desk had a brand new laptop sitting on it. I raised one eyebrow but Jacob did not seem to notice. My bookshelf was bare, that needed to be sorted. The boring lamp on the bedside cabinet was probably the only thing I liked about the room. An oak wardrobe filled one wall.
"I'll leave you to unpack." He said awkwardly. Thank god! Some time alone. As my dad left the room I walked after him to shut the door and slid down behind it. I don't know how long I had sat there for, but I was dark outside before I stood up again.
I dragged my heavy feet downstairs for some dinner. Dad was sprawled out on the couch, a baseball game flashing on the television. I raked the kitchen cupboards and the fridge until I could find the ingredients for mac and cheese. As it heated, I sang a little bit to my self, remembering singing in the place I loved, home. My real home. Here I just felt like an unwanted visitor. Not welcome. The oven went beep and I quickly transferred the pasta from the cooking dish to a plate. I took my seat at the table, looking out the window. It was so dull and rainy outside. The pasta was too hot, but I ate it anyway, ignoring the numb pain coming from my mouth. After I finished dinner I cleaned up and dragged my heavy feet up the stairs for a shower.
The hot water didn't even help my anxiety. I dressed in my pyjamas and lay my weary head on the pillow and slid under the covers. With a sigh, I closed my eyes. As I creaped into unconsciousness, the trees hit off my window and the rain lashed and the wind shook the house. Great. Oh, and I had my first day at a new High School tomorrow.