Pretending to Be Andersen

Arriving with the Snow

The snow fell softly, the first to stick to the ground this year. The flakes were small and very soft. The cold they held wasn't really noticable at first--not until enough of them melted on my clothes and skin. Maybe it was finally going to cover some ground.

     I couldn't tell you how long I sat at the edge of the forest, looking at the back of the Andersen home. It was so peaceful outside. So quiet.

     The house was in total chaos as my guardian mother--Lilly Andersen--scurried around the house with Arden strapped to her back, preparing guest rooms and rearranging the studies.

     It was the second week of December and in just two short weeks the whole of the Andersen family--James' brothers and sisters, their spouces and children, and parents--will be celebrating Christmas together. And, in two days, my boyfriend, Vincent, and his twin brother, Lucas, come home from Harvard and Yale.

     It had been four months since Vincent and Lucas were home--a major deviation from the original idea. They were supposed to come home on a long weekend or during Thanksgiving break, but an overload of homework threw that right out the window. Vincent felt bad and apologized the whole week of Thanksgiving--especially since it was one of my stipulations for not moving back with my mother.

     My mother. She was released from the asylum and is, currently, working as the secretary for the elementary school I attended as a child. She's been calling on a regular basis to try and rebuild our relationship. She has also been dying to come visit. I've been putting it off though. I don't want to see her yet; the idea terrifies me.

     The rest of my makeshift family kept pretty busy. Zach and his girlfriend, Blake, were in full bloom. They spent a good amount of time together, with friends, family, and on one on one dates. Jacob spent a lot more time with the family or his friends, but he still disappeared off to the ranch and turned my kitchen into a disaster when he couldn't find the sugar cubes. Caleb came across a dilemma over the first semester of our senior year: he was hopelessly falling for a young freshman girl who hardly even knew he existed. Michael on the other hand didn't keep a girl for longer than a week, but he seemed happy so why bother him? Walter has been in complete heaven for the past four months in his flourishing relationship with the beautiful Bacon-woman, Rebecca. Walter and the Southern Belle--there really were no words to explain their relationship and how well it was going.

     I laid back, crunching against the dead leaves in the forest. More names to remember. More adventures to come. My life at the Andersen house was not getting any easier.

     And I really did miss Vincent. So much so that I imagined hearing the faint roarn of Fenrir, the blue motorcycle, in the distance. That was impossible, though. I wrecked Fenrir over the summer. Vincent drove Michael's old/new truck now.

     But the sound was getting closer. I wasn't imagining it. I knew that sound. Fenrir was coming, there was no other explanation I could think of.

     I got to my feet and ran through the house passing through the kitchen where Blake and Zach sat, passing Michael on his way down stairs, and passing Lilly as she went into the Library. Just as I ran through the front door, I saw the red of a motorcycle. Lucifer, Lucas' motorcycle. I should have known.

     Lucifer pulled into the drive, slowing down to stop in front of me. My face was visibly displeased.

     How could I forget about Lucifer?

     Lucas dismounted the red beast and flipped the key in the "off" position. He stood there for a moment, his arms open as if waiting for a hug. I gave him a questioning look.