Chapter 1 - Cold Day in Minnesota

It was a harsh cold day in Minnesota, and the snow was falling and the wind was blowing hard. People from Minnesota are all used to the cold weather but the family that just moved in recently was surprised from how the weather really was.

The Huntington family was your ordinary kind of family. They consisted of the father, John Huntington, owner of their family's law firm, the Huntington LLP. He had brown hair with a few white strands because of aging, clear, water-like eyes, an athletic build that stands over 6'3 and a complexion as pale as snow.

Then there's the mother, Hayley Huntington, the owner of a famous cosmetology company. She had dirty blonde hair, forest green eyes, a slim build with a height of 5'9, skin as smooth as a baby's bottom and as white as snow. She was beautiful no doubt for she was once a model for Chanel, Burberry and Victoria's Secret.

There's the older brother, Luke Huntington, who just recently graduated from high school and is going to study in Stanford after the summer vacation taking up a course on law like his father in order to continue their law firm. He had his mother's dirty blonde hair, his father's forest green eyes, height of at least 6'1 and an athletic build for playing in his school's varsity basketball team. He was your all around perfect heart throb, he got great grades, had a handsome appearance and every girl in his school likes her. No doubt when he goes to college, girls will throw themselves at him and teachers would always favor him.

Then there's the youngest sister, Rosie Huntington, the sweet daughter who is currently in her 3rd year at High School. To everybody's eyes she looked like an angel, she had her mother's eyes but more of emerald than forest, she had her father's dark, chocolate brown hair, she had her mother's complexion, white, flawless and smooth and she had a slim build but has curves in the right places and stood over 5'7. She was considered a daddy's girl since she was a lot closer to her dad but loves her mom equally the same. She, like her brother, had a stunning reputation, she had great grades and would always land a place in the honor roll, occasionally landing in between 1st and 3rd, and she was also the captain in her cheerleading squad at her former school. She was popular and overqualified, for that reason she had lots of friends and suitors.

They were your perfect little family, they had the perfect life, they were rich, and they were blessed with great children. They had no problems with their life and any family in their right mind would envy their life. Some of their friends' families long for their family life to be like theirs. The Huntington family was well aware of that fact and plan to keep it that way until death but destiny wanted to play for a while.

Before they moved to Minnesota, they lived in sunny California, where there was the warm sun, the celebrities, the top business and the fame. They lived happily until one night.

Flashback

It was October 3, 2002 and it was already night time, Hayley Huntington had just arrived home from work and parked her vintage car in the garage. She got off the car and went inside their beautiful home – more like mansion – she had placed her car keys in the compartment where they keep all the car keys. She went inside her house and found her daughter reading her favorite book, One Day, then found her son sprawled out on the couch watching a basketball game between the L.A. Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Rosie was the first to notice her mom's arrival and greeted her with a hug and a kiss on the cheeks, soon Luke got off the couch and greeted his mom with a hug and returned to watch the game. Hayley went inside the kitchen and asked her children what they would like to eat for dinner. Rosie replied "I'm good with anything mom." While David who had a strange craving for pasta stated to her mom "Can we have chicken Alfredo tonight mom?"

"Sure," Mrs. Huntington replied while taking out the ingredients for the dish. While preparing for the dish, there was a sound, a ringing. By instinct, they knew it was the phone and Rosie answered it since she was the one closest to the phone.

She picked up the phone and put it by her right ear and said "Hello, how may I help you?"

"Is this the Huntington residence?" the other end of the line asked.

"Yes, and may I know who is calling?" Rosie asked out of politeness.

"This is the St. Peter's hospital we wanted to inform you that a family member of yours, John Huntington has gotten into a car accident."

Rosie was speechless as she deciphered the words that she had just heard. The other end of the line, never receiving a reply said into the phone "Hello? Hello?"

Rosie quickly snapped out of the trance and said "Ah, yes. Hold on please talk to my mother instead." She took the wireless phone to her mom. Her mom asked who it was and her daughter just gave her a sad expression, and Hayley began to worry and took the phone. After what felt like an hour, her mom hung up the phone and ceased what she was doing and looked at her daughter. Rosie looked at her mom and saw tears in her mother's eyes and fully understood what her mom couldn't say. She quickly went to her brother and told her the news, upon hearing the news, Luke jumped out of the couch and went into the garage and took out his car. When he was on the driveway, his mom and sister soon jumped into the car with him and drove to the hospital. Once they arrived, they dashed to the nurse and asked what happened to John. The nurse informed them that he was in the emergency room; the nurse also told them that John had a really bad crash and was in a severe state. Upon hearing this, Hayley almost had a heart attack, but regained her composure and asked if they could enter. The nurse denied their request and asked them to stay by the waiting room. They did as told and waited for 3 long hours, before a doctor came out. By that time, Rosie had already slept on her brother's shoulders and Hayley had received many calls from their close friends and family. The doctor spotted Mrs. Huntington and had a private conversation informing her that John was currently in a coma. They estimated it would last for a month or so, and Mrs. Huntington gasped at the information and broke down to tears. The doctor comforted her and assured her that he would wake up.

But it was a lie.

Every day, the rest of the Huntington family would go and visit John at the hospital. And soon relatives and friends made time to visit and drop off presents and cards that imprinted a get well soon message. And Rosie was surprised to see her best friend from Minnesota had visited along with his family. Rosie's and Logan's mothers were best friends when they were in Minnesota. Logan would comfort his best friend and would make her laugh. It helped Rosie but it didn't help her father. After a month had passed, the family had started to lose hope. But Rosie stayed strong, though she was not with her best friend; he would talk to her on the phone and make her happy. But her hopes were vanished when on November 7, 2008, a day before her birthday; his heart monitor has suddenly stopped beating. They quickly called the doctor and they quickly rushed John to the operating room and after an hour it was official.

On November 7, 2008 at 3:14pm John William Huntington has passed away.

It bothered her that she couldn't have spent her birthday with her dad. It bothered her more that he died a day before her birthday. Soon, they arranged a funeral and such. They also called the people who were on his will to hear his Last Will and Testament. The executor was his best friend from law school at Harvard, Joseph Geller. They would call him Uncle Joey for short, he was also my godfather. Soon it started and of course we were there along with some of John's relatives and close friends. Their family had inherited his savings, and the money was shared equally though they would be given directly to Hayley if she has not died yet. But Rosie acquired a weird item from the will; her father had left him a box. She was confused as to why he would leave her a box, but nonetheless took it anyway. She tried to pry open the box but as it seems it has a lock and only a key was to open it. In the will, it never mentioned a way to open the box or instructions to open it so she left it in her room. The hearing of the last will and testament was finally finished and soon everyone left.

They returned home that afternoon and I left the box inside bedside drawer and plopped down on the bed and sleep had taken over me.

Soon, they had moved on and mom was taking over the law firm along with Uncle Joey. Rosie and Luke continued school with the same old routines.

And after 8 years, the Huntington family was taking a break from all the stress they had gone through all those years. They were going back to their old home in Minnesota where they lived near their grandparents.

Hayley was surprised at how cold the weather was despite the fact she once lived here. But she must have gotten used to the California sun. They entered the old townhouse they had and tidied everything up. The house was neither new nor old; it was still beautiful even though nobody had occupied it for so long. The house had 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a garden, a tree house where once Hayley used to play with all her friends, 2 kitchens, 1 dining room, 2 studies, a library where it was filled with Hayley's old books and a huge living room/family room. It was what Hayley remembered it to be but a bit dusty. Soon, they had the house renovated within a day and the house looked much better than before.

As they unpacked their stuff, the family was greeted with a knock. They were confused as to why someone would be visiting them since they had informed no one but their grandparents they were staying here for the summer. Rosie opened the door because of her curiosity and was shocked to see the whole Mitchell family there. She quickly greeted them and told them to come inside as to not die from the cold outside. When she saw her best friend she squealed like she had just gotten her first toy and hugged Logan to death. Logan chuckled at her action and hugged her as tight as she did. They let each other go and caught up with their lives.

Rosie soon learned that Logan had 3 other best friends and became a hockey player for their school. She also learned that he wanted to be a doctor and such. He also told her stories of his life with his other best friends. It pained her that he had found others but that was just her greed talking and realized that he couldn't stay long to have no friends. Logan had also promised her that she would get to meet them and that she would love them. After talking, they had not realized it was already night time and Hayley invited the Mitchell family for dinner.

Over dinner, they talked about various stuff, like how the law firm is doing and their lives. By 8:30pm, it was time for them to go home and they bid each other their farewells. Before Logan left he gave Rosie his number and said they would talk later, Rosie gave her number in return and hugged him.

Logan did call and they continued their conversation on the phone, before Rosie knew it her eyes were falling heavily and started yawning. Logan took notice of it and told her to sleep and that they would just meet again tomorrow. They said good night and Rosie hung up and changed to her pajamas. She landed in her soft bed and let sleep take her over. She smiled in her sleep knowing tomorrow was going to be a good day.