Abby hated it there.
After Abby and Krista's mother's death, their father, Henry, had gone into a deep depression. He would come home drunk, disoriented. Krista had become a huge role model in Abby's life. Abby looked up to her, and Krista looked up to Abby; they both had each other.
Krista had convinced their father to go to Alcoholics Anonymous, trying to get him some stability. After ten months in rehab, Henry was a changed man. He started helping around the house, and even got a second job.
Abby was only twelve and Krista seventeen when Henry had received the call that would make their life a living hell.
Since they were born, they had stayed in the same house and school, having many friends. They had no plan to leave; Krista would go to the Community College in Kansas, and Abby would go to Krista's old High School. That call had changed everything.
The call was from Henry's old friend, Jay. Jay was the principle of a Middle/High School in Atlanta, Georgia. Jay was looking for a High School professor and had called Henry. Henry accepted, wanting to leave as soon as possible.
Krista and Abby had been extremely mad, wanting to stay with their friends and live the same life. Henry said that it was a done deal, that they were going to move the next week, forcing them to leave school in the middle of the year. Henry wanted a fresh start, wanting to get away from everything that reminded him of his wife.
"Dad! Where's the duct tape?" Abby called. They were going to load the truck up and leave first thing the next day. Abby's birthday was the same day they were leaving.
"On the kitchen counter! I told you to be packed and ready yesterday!" Abby rolled her eyes, walking down the stairs. Krista smirked Abby's way, making Abby even more mad.
Abby grabbed the duct tape from the counter, walking back to her room. There house was littered with boxes and trash bags, since they had run out of boxes.
Abby laid out her outfit for the next day, not wanting to dig into every box just to try to find one shirt. Tomorrow would be a Thursday, giving the girls three days to get ready for their 'first day'. Krista would go to the Community College, and Abby would go to the same school their father was going to work at. Abby wasn't sure what was work; having her father work at the same school she was going to, or having to leave all of her friends and school.
Henry walked into Abby's room, setting down a wrapped present on one of the boxes.
He smiled and said, "Here's a little something I got for the birthday girl. I know it's not your birthday yet, but I thought you might want this for the road trip." Abby looked questioningly at Henry, but he just jestured at the present box.
Abby took the present in her hands and started to gently unwrap it. Once she saw what it was, she embraced Henry in the biggest hug she could muster.
"Thank you, Dad!" He had given her an iPhone.
Henry laughed and said, "Glad you liked it, sweetheart. I thought that you'd like it so you can listen to music on the road and also to keep in touch with your friends here."
Abby's smiled widened and said, "I love it, Daddy. Thank you."
Once they had gotten on the road, Abby covered herself with a blanket and put her earphones in. Henry had laughed at the sight of Abby, huddled in the corner of the backseat, reading while listening to music.
Krista was busy reading the College courses, trying to get a sense of the criteria.
"You know, Krista, Jay was also looking for a part time English and Language Arts teacher, as a side job. It would be perfect for you."
Abby heard and piped in, "Hey! No way! It's bad enough that I have my father working at the school. I sure as heck ain't going to have my sister working there too!"
Henry sighed and said, "Abby, it's not that bad. I'll be on the other side of the school, teaching High School. You'll be in the Freshman classes."
Abby frowned, but kept her mouth shut.
Once they arrived at their new house, Abby let her mouth drop.
The house was huge, at least three stories high. It was a green house with a two car garage. It had a fenced in yard, with a couple of trees in the back.
Henry smirked at the girls' expression and asked, "Want a house tour?" Abby and Krista both nodded and made their way up the porch step. Henry unlocked the black front door, revealing a huge floor plan. There was a dining room to their left and a small living room to their right. When they walked in further, there was a larger living room to their right and a kitchen with a bar island to their left. The backyard was huge, with a screened in porch. There were stairs leading up to two bedrooms, a bathroom in between the two, and one built in bathroom in the bigger room. When they walked up the next staircase, there was the master bedroom and an extra guest bedroom.
"I call the biggest bedroom!" Abby exclaimed. Krista wanted to protest but Henry quickly said, "Sure."
Krista gave Henry the 'what-the-heck' look, but he just mouthed, "I'll explain later."
Krista huffed in response and walked back to her room. Abby looked around and looked back to Henry.
"Um, Dad?" he looked at her, "The entire house is pure white."
Henry smirked and said, "I know. We're going to paint it."
Krista and Abby still had a day to themselves before their first day.
Krista took the car to the College to check in and get the textbooks, while Abby had to stay and unpack. Henry had bought cans of paint at the local store, wanting the girls to paint their rooms before they started to unpack. Krista finshed painting only a few hours after they had arrived, but Abby was still trying to get it done. Krista made her bedroom a light shade of purple, and Abby a light shade of green.
Abby hummed a song, painting the second wall in her room. She was starting to regret choosing the big bedroom, but didn't complain.
Henry had told Krista the reasons behind letting Abby have the big bedroom. Henry told Krista that Abby was an official teenager, and to avoid future arguements, he wanted Abby to have her own bedroom and bathroom.
"Abby! Come here and help me! I ain't as young as I used to be." Abby rolled her eyes and made her way downstairs. Henry was busy carrying boxes to the designated rooms.
"You, my precious little treasure, are going to unpack all of the dining and living room stuff. I want all of the first floor rooms to be ready by tonight."
Abby frowned and said, "Tonight? You want all of this to be done by tonight!?"
"By tonight, I mean by the time your sister gets back. I'm going upstairs to finish unpacking my things. By the way, are you finished painting?" Abby shook her head. Henry groaned, shut his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Oh come on, Abby! Go and paint. When you finish, I expect you to come down here and help." Abby nodded, running back to her room.
When Abby finally finished unpacking the first floor rooms, it was already almost six o'clock. Henry came to inspect the rooms, and then told Abby that Krista was going to bring dinner home.
When Krista arrived, everyone quickly ate and went back to packing. By that time both of the girls' bedroom walls were dry. Krista and Abby started to unpack their stuff, wanting to get atleast half done before they had to go to sleep.
Krista finished, wanting to get to the hot water first. After nearly four hours, Abby had finished as well. They didn't have a lot of stuff, but they did have a good amount of things, still slowing them down a bit.
"Girls!" Henry called from upstairs, "Go to sleep! I want to hang up the pictures tomorrow, and then we'll be done! Goodnight!"
Both Krista and Abby yelled back, "Goodnight!"
A/N: Nora Frost ' 1 with the pen and I are co-writing this! I hope y'all enjoyed this. Just so we're clear, Krista is Wichita and Abby is Little Rock!
This is an AU story. The EVENTUAL pairing are: Abby (LR)/Joel (Tallahassee) and Krista (Wichita)/Connor (Columbus).
The Abby (LR)/Joel (Tallahassee) pairing will progress in a slow paced manner. It will not be a love at first sight kind of thing. Nora Frost ' 1 with the pen and I have big plans for this, and we hope you guys have enjoyed the first, by all means NOT the last, installment of this story!