Disclaimer: I don't own Lizzie McGuire, although, I'm begging Disney like crazy . .

Dark Secrets: A Legacy Of Lies

Chapter One

Last night I visited the house again. It looked as it did ten years ago, when I had dreamed about it more often. It was tall, almost mansion-like, with three stories of dull paned windows and a shingled roof. I don't remember much of the rememberances of it at all, except for the front porch with its streaming white curtains, like silkened white wings billowing in the breeze. I could almost remember staying there on that very same porch, late at night, watching the silent talkings of crickets and locusts.

The door to the house was locked this time. I remember waking up from my sleep because I was trying so hard to open it. Something or someone was trying to keep me out. Was something in there that I wasn't supposed to know about? Was someone in the house that needed some kind of help? I couldn't stay long enough to find out - I had a strong feeling that whatever was on the other side of that door was trying hard to keep me away.

I awoke in a dreary daze, half because of the dream, and half because of the blazing sun piercing its rays through the glass of my windows. Yawning, I sat up in bed, my tiny wisps of blonde hair dangling in the front of my face. A part of my dream was missing. My last piece of the never-ending puzzle was still trapped inside of something - perhaps that something was me. Why did mornings have to come so soon, and why did Miranda still have to be in Mexico?

"I'm not going," I said as my mother poured my brother and I a glass of ice cold orange juice. Her forehead crinkled up, and from the expression that was pasted on her face, I knew that she had won the argument. For any sort of luck, I turned to my father, who was reading the daily newspaper.

"Dad, why do I have to go? I need some kind of re-assurance here." I tipped his newspaper down so that his eyes were facing mine. His warm smile that he made towards me almost made me think that he would help my mother reconsider. Boy, was I ever wrong.

"For your mother's sake," he stated, taking a sip from his black coffee mug and then again focusing on his daily news.

The happily written greeting from my grandmother hadn't helped the matters, either. It was as if I was an inconvenience to her; a mere mandatory ritual that was never really ritualistic in the first place.

' Dear Elizabeth,

This summer I will be seeing you at Scarborough House.

I have enclosed a full paid check for airfare.

Regards,

Helene Scarborough '

Finally, my younger brother, Matt, piped up from eating his cereal. He didn't really say much in the mornings; that I was greatly thankful for.

"You're lucky she even acknowledged you. She probably doesn't even realize that she has a grandson." He emphasized on the word 'grandson'.

I turned to both of my parents with a look of anger and impatience. "Mom, Matt's right for once. "Nanna" disowned you, and she disowned Dad. She hasn't had anything to do with me or Matt, so why should I be going to visit a relative that I hardly even know about, or even want to know about for that matter?"

Once again, I was defeated. My mother set down her coffee cup and came to my side of the counter. She placed one arm around my shoulder and reached her other around Matt's. She hugged us close, saying, "I know it's hard for you two to deal with something like this. I've tried many of times to convince her otherwise, but all of my letters are either sent back to me or never replied to. I don't know why she's acting like this, Lizzie, but maybe this experience will teach you a little something about your grandmother. Something that I've wanted to learn for many years."

What did she mean by that? It looked like my mother was getting spacey again. She tended to do that sometimes, so I brushed it off, giving her a fake smile; which I knew down inside wasn't ever going to work with her.

"If it makes you feel any better, you *can* take Gordo with you if you'd like," Dad chimed in. Gordo? It wasn't half of a bad idea, after all. At least I would be with someone I actually *knew*. Hell, it was a great idea. Who was I kidding? Without hesitation, I looked towards my mother with angst, who was nodding to me with agreement.

"We've already sat down and talked with him and his parents because your father and I had a feeling that you weren't going to do this alone. He's agreed to come with you on one condition, though."

"What might that be?" I asked, seeing Matt from the corner of my eye making puckered noises towards me. I shot him an unamused sneer, then turned back to my mother.

"'She can't go ballistic over the first boy she sees' was his final testament."

Perhaps difficult, perhaps not; I wasn't exactly focused on guys at this point and time, anyway. I wanted to actually *live* through this so that eventually I maybe could go ballistic!

I grinned. "He has himself a deal."

A/N: Well, here's my first chapter, persay. I hope it's more understandable from my prologue. A big thank you to KT the Shimmer Skank and sup3r-manz- bitch for my first reviews! I'm sorry if I've confused you at first, but hopefully, this chapter explains it a little more for you. Until then - Arrivederci!