Sitting with her bag on her knee, Georgie stared out of the window while her dad drove them back to his house in the suburbs. The conversation was one way, the girl wanted nothing to do with it. She stayed quiet, let him speak, and pretended she couldn't hear him.
She was annoyed that he'd made her wait outside of the airport for him, and he had rushed her into the car without allowing her to call home. It would probably be too late, he'd insisted, your mom will probably be in bed.
But she knew her momma better than that, she'd be awaiting her call.
Her dad tried to get her to talk to him, even asked how her flight was, but Georgie glanced his way and then averted her eyes back to the window. The streets of LA were more interesting than engaging in conversation.
He gave up trying and just put on the radio, adjusting until he found a channel that was playing music from the 70s. Baba O'Riley by The Who was playing midsong. That had been one of the songs on her mixtape.
She'd checked her cassette player while waiting for him and noticed the door was cracked. When she'd tried to listen to it, her headphones kept cutting in and out, the wire probably being pulled out of place when it fell from her lap. It made her angry. The day had started off bad, she'd hoped it would improve as it went on, even if she had to fly across the country. But she apparently ran out of luck.
She had stopped paying attention to roads and closed her eyes as Dream On by Aerosmith started, another song that was her playlist. It made her tear up but she wasn't going to let him know how upset she was.
She couldn't count how many songs played during the drive, but the majority of them were on her momma's mixtape and it only made her want to cry even more.
As the car pulled onto a much quieter street, the city traffic died out until there were barely any cars passing them. The streets could only be described as quintessentially suburban. She'd expected that, but not to this degree.
The roads were lined with trees, tall and green, some with flowers in them, and houses that didn't vary in size or color. Their yards were also all perfectly manicured, as well. They drove by houses that had cars parked in driveways, some with cars parked in front, and others with 'For Sale' signs stuck in front of them.
Georgie half expected the house that her dad pulled up to to look just like every other house that they'd passed. But he turned onto a different road and the houses, somehow, got even nicer and got bigger. These houses had porches and garages. The yards were all still the same though, perfectly manicured, but some of the houses had hedges rimming the property, so you couldn't really see past them. Each house was separated by a large tree, or a large hedge, or fence. Their yards didn't run onto one another like the other houses had.
As he pulled up to a house that had a wrap around porch, he parked on the curb and told her to get out. Georgie paused and glanced at him, unsure what was going on. He gave her a smile. "I have to open the gates to the garage," he explained, pointing to a wooden five feet tall gate that was attached to the side of the house. So, they had both a porch and a garage? "I'll park in there later."
Georgie did as he asked, stepping out of the car with her bag, holding it like she was holding a child. He got out and locked the car, coming around to guide her up to the porch.
The house had a short picket fence, painted a bunch of different colors, around the edge of the yard. When she stepped through the gate, she saw that their yard was also perfectly manicured but there were toys thrown across it. The house itself was a pale yellow while the porch was deep brown.
Where they used to live was not as nice as this house. They used to live in the apartment above the cafe that they owned, but they seemed to be doing much better. And here she was, ruining their perfect suburban family arrangement.
Georgie almost dropped her bag when the door to the house swung open and a small girl ran toward her, squealing out in pure joy, with both of her arms out wide. Josie. Behind her, she heard her stepmom before she saw her, telling Josie to come back inside. Melinda appeared in the doorway, holding a baby, and smiled compassionately at Georgie when she saw her. That baby must have been her new little brother, Leo.
She'd heard about it when her dad called a few months ago, he'd not long been born. He had sounded so excited but also extremely tired, and she guessed that was what all new parents went through. The Markhams had three babies that she'd been babysat more than once, and they almost always looked tired.
"Georgie, honey, hello," Melinda smiled as Josie hugged her bag. "Josephine, let her get inside first."
Melinda had always been nice to Georgie, but she could never understand why. She was the product of her husband's affair, she had almost ruined their marriage, and this woman was so sweet to her, it was impossible to understand. She treated her better than her own grandmother treated her, the woman that had birthed her father.
She had always suspected that she was nice for the sake of it, and that behind closed doors, where Georgie couldn't see it, she was bitter and hated the girl. She wouldn't blame her. Georgie wouldn't be able to like the person who almost destroyed a perfect little family.
"Josie, can you go make sure your sister's room door is open for me?" her dad asked the younger girl, a distraction obviously, but Josie must have been really eager to help. She ran back inside and did as asked. "She's been so excited for you to come."
Josie was probably feeling left out since Leo was born. Georgie couldn't imagine that. Even though she had siblings, she considered herself an only child. She was going to have to adjust to siblings…and having two parents, instead of one.
Once in the house, with the door closed and her bag down, Melinda offered to give Georgie a hug. She wanted to say no, but awkwardly, gave in, hugging the woman and the baby, who grumbled. "Leo, this is your big sister," Melinda said to the baby, his big eyes looking at her before his lower lip started to tremble. Of course, she made her own baby brother cry.
"Don't mind him, Leo hasn't been well," Josie stated, bouncing from her spot on the stairs. "Can I show Georgie her room?" she asked her parents and got a nod from them. "Come on," smiled Josie, grabbing her big sister's hand and pulling her up the stairs, without so much as another word from her parents or Georgie herself.
On the walls, they'd hung family pictures, pictures of Chase and Josie at varying ages, either alone, together or with their parents, and eventually, pictures of Leo in similar situations would join them. She couldn't begin to explain why, but not seeing a single picture of herself with her dad on that wall stung. It was going to be like it had been before, they would act as though someone was paying them to let her live there. But at the end of it, she wouldn't get to go home to her real family.
Josie pointed out the rooms on the floor. There was a spare bedroom that Georgie assumed was her room, but the door was closed. There wasn't a sign on it, nothing that stated the room was occupied. Josie guided her along the hallway and pointed to the first room that was occupied. "Leo's nursery, but he barely sleeps in there. He sleeps in with mom and dad," Josie explained, then pointed to the room beside it and Georgie assumed correctly, "in their room. That's their room." Their room door was closed but she got a full view of the baby's room. It looked like a typical baby boy's nursery, however, it was still cute and looked really cozy. It reminded her of the Markhams nursery for their babies. Only, they had three baby girls and everything was pink and stereotypically girly.
"Is that my room?" Georgie asked, pointing to a door that was open. The door itself was painted a lilac with little pink and yellow flowers on it. There was also a small hand print right beside the doorknob. Josie grinned but shook her head. "Is that your room?" she inquired, getting a nod from her little sister.
There were three other doors that she could see, one was most likely a bathroom, another probably a closet for the linens and towels, and the last one, well, that had to open into her bedroom. Georgie wanted to entertain her little sister, but she was too tired. She just wanted to put her things away and sleep.
"This is the bathroom," Josie said and opened the door to show a very simple layout. There was a tub, however, and that intrigued Georgie. "Your room is at the end of the hall."
Ah, end of the hall. Well, there was only one door open, so that had to be her room. However, she couldn't see anything in there. Josie skipped to the end of the hall and reached her hand into the dark expanse of her room, flipping a light switch and revealing… another staircase? Well, three stairs and a corner that would most likely turn onto the stairs that lead up to the attic.
"Y'all are putting me in the attic?" she asked, turning to see her dad behind her. "Why not that room?" she asked, pointing to the room at the end of the hallway that had been closed.
"We thought you'd want your own space," her dad explained, nodding to the stairs. Georgie rolled her eyes and turned back to Josie. But her little sister was out of sight, having cleared the three stairs and corner.
"I was so jealous when they said you get to move up here," Josie called down as Georgie started through the door and up to her own room.
She had her own room in Edenton, but it was a small space that she could barely fit anything new into. Since moving into their home when they first arrived in town, Georgie hadn't changed her room much. She had a bed, her dresser and a small table that she'd used as both a makeshift fort and a place to do her homework. She didn't have space for the trunk of toys that she eventually got from her dad over the years. Her toy trunk was stored in a closet in the hallway. And the limited shelf space meant she had nowhere to put her tapes and vinyls.
However, this attic room…well, it was twice the size of her room in Edenton. She had the basic necessities; a bed, a dresser, and a table. But there was also an area that had a dusty pink crushed velvet loveseat in it, with pale cream throw pillows on it. There was a space as well that looked like it was a designated study area. The table had a study light, assorted stationery and a docket of some type on it.
The more Georgie perused her new room, she realized that not only was this bigger than her previous room…it was basically a small apartment. Or, at least, in the eyes of a fifteen year old, it was.
She turned to her dad in the doorway at the top of the stairs and waited for him to tell her that this was all some joke, that really she was going to have to share a room with her little sister. She didn't expect them to really give her this space.
"The boxes your mom sent arrived a few days ago, but we can bring them up tomorrow, once you've had time to relax," he told her, placing her suitcase next to the dresser that had a vanity mirror on top of it.
"This is real?" she questioned him, still waiting for the catch. What was going to be the catch? "Like…I actually get this space?"
"Yeah, but when you leave for college, can I move up here?" Josie asked her sister, busying herself over by the bed. The bed was even bigger than the one she had in Edenton, which didn't say much because she'd been sleeping on the same bed since she was ten.
"Let's not get too far ahead," their dad laughed, stretching his back and then standing with his hands on his hips. "Georgie needs to get settled, Jo. We should let her get─"
"Dad, seriously, what is the catch?" she asked, interrupting him.
"No catch, baby girl," he shook his head, taking her bag off of her shoulder and setting it down. "Chase got the basement when he turned fifteen, you get the attic. And maybe, when Josie is fifteen, she can move up here."
So it was something they'd all agreed upon? As some kind of right for being fifteen? Georgie didn't know what to do with herself.
"Josie, come down with me and let your sister rest," he said, taking his youngest daughter's hand and heading down the stairs with her.
Georgie seriously had no idea what to do with herself, or what to make of this room. It wasn't some cubby room or some dingy closet space. It was a room, somewhere she could actually breathe. It was much more than she'd expected.
She stayed still for a moment only to flinch when she heard the door at the bottom of the stairs click shut. They were really going to trust her with this room.
Georgie slipped her chucks off and stood at the entrance to her room.
Everything looked new, from the furnishings to the floors. Even the window looked new. They must have remodeled recently, but when? It had to have been before the liquor store incident because she couldn't imagine a few weeks, or even a month, was long enough to make a space look half as decent as this did.
Standing at the top of the stairs that had no sign of splintering wood for her socks to catch on, Georgie examined the room one more time before stepping up onto the raised floor and walking over to her bed with the bag she'd clung to for dear life. Her new bed was a double with four pillows, a throw blanket on the end, and a quilt that she probably wasn't going to need. She plopped the bag on the bed and opened it, taking out a few things that she wanted to have to hand.
The first thing she placed on the bed was her cassette player, even if she couldn't listen to it. The second thing she placed on the bed was her favorite shirt to sleep in. And last, she took out the plush animal she'd had since she was a kid. Falkor, nothing like the dragon from which he was named, but a dragon nonetheless. He was a chestnut brown with only one wing left, and his pink tongue was missing. But he was her buddy and she wouldn't part with him. She looked that plush and felt the overwhelming need to squeeze it, so she did.
This was going to be a lot.
In the morning, she'd arrange her things the way she liked them, even move the furniture around if she was allowed, but for the night, she just wanted to lay down and try to sleep. When she noticed the phone on the bedside table, she picked up the receiver and heard the dial tone. Excitedly, she dialed her home phone number for Edenton, and listened as it rang…and rang…and rang. It rang out, until the sound of her momma's voice picked up, only for it to be their answering machine.
"This is Kitty and Georgie's machine, leave a message and we'll call you right back," the machine said to her. Georgie clenched her teeth to stop herself from crying before placing down the receiver. She was too tired to think about why her momma hadn't answered. She dropped the bag on the floor, ignoring the thump it made as it hit the carpet, and flopped on the bed.
The light was off and only the bedside lamp was on. It didn't really light the room up well, but it helped make her feel tired. She pulled a pillow underneath her head and held tight to Falkor, closing her eyes and telling herself that when she woke up, she could sort everything.