In Peices

Chapter One

I glared out the window onto the sunny suburban area.  We had moved, again, and now Simon and Tori were unbearable.  They understood why we had to move.  They didn’t fight it, but it was obvious in the way that their shoulders slumped, in the way that they didn’t talk, that they were taking it hard.

I know moving is hard for them, but could they at least pretend to be happy.  We hadn’t even gotten there yet.  I mean, it couldn’t be that bad.

We rounded the corner, and I saw a giant house.  Well, I suppose it wasn’t really giant, it’s just that the other houses around it were smaller than normal.  We rolled into the driveway next to it, and the car came to a stop.  I looked up at our house-to-be.

The house was nondescript, and it looked like all of the other houses on the street.  Straight, green grass, brick walkway, and a red door.  There was nothing special about it.  But the house next door.  That one held an air of secrecy, and I wanted to find out what it was hiding.

“Hey, guys,” dad started, “I know it’s hard to do this, but I can promise you one thing.  We’re going to stay here longer than the others.  And, if I do something right, then we might get to permanently live here.”

Simon looked up in hope.  “Really?”

Tori also looked hopeful, but she didn’t show it as much.  She shrugged noncommittally, “Well, I hope they have a decent mall around here then.”

I just continued to glare out the windows.

“Derek?” he asked.

“Yeah, whatever,” I grunted.

We piled out of the car, and grabbed our suitcases.  Simon ran to the door, and opened it.  Running inside I heard him yell, “I call dibs on the bathroom!”

I cracked a smile.  On the way here, Simon had three large sodas, and claimed he didn’t need to go to the bathroom.  Then, just about ten minutes ago, he said he needed a bathroom desperately.  Dad said we would be there soon, and I thought Simon might have had an aneurism if he held it any longer.

I walked into the house, and a wall of cold air slammed into me.  Goosebumps rose on my arm, and I shivered.  I walked up the stairs, and found a bedroom.  It had its own bathroom, and was large enough for two people.  I set my suitcase down, and went to see the rest of the floor.

There was one master bedroom, and two more bedrooms, fortunately.  They all had their own bathrooms, and walk-in closets.  At least Tori will be happy, I thought.

I went back downstairs, and saw that dad was telling Tori and Simon something.  I walked over and dad looked up to see me.

“There you are Derek,” he said.  “As I was saying, I’ll be going to the school to finish some paperwork for tomorrow.  I’ll be back soon.”

Once he left, Tori and Simon glanced at each other, and ran towards the stairs.  It was a constant battle with them.  Who could get the better room?  Usually Tori won, but since there were three rooms for them to choose from, all they had to do was fight over the biggest one.  Even so, I didn’t feel like listening to their meaningless bickering.

I sighed, and headed towards the back door.  We had a porch in the back, and it led down to a garden.  Flowers of every color and type looked at me, and near the back, there was a single oak tree.  It must have been ancient.  Thick branches towered over me, and the trunk was massive.  A little wooden swing hung there.  Actually, it was more of a bench.  It was wooden, and painted white.

I sighed.  There was something wrong.  I just felt so … unsatisfied with everything.  It used to be that all I needed was my family.  But, now, I felt like there was something missing.

It was so frustrating because I couldn’t tell why.  There is an answer to every question, and this one eludes me.  I just feel so out of place.  It was like a calculus problem that I couldn’t solve.  I knew there was an answer, I just couldn’t find it.

I looked at the large house again.  The mullioned windows reflected light into my face, and I had to move.  Then I saw her.

She was looking out one of the top windows, and I could barely make her out.  She appeared to have shoulder-length blonde hair, with a pinkish tint, and large eyes.  Her mouth went into a little “o” of shock when she saw that I had seen her.  She ran out of sight, and left me wondering.

Just then, another girl came to the window.  She held a tube of something in her hand, she had long dark hair, and I could tell that there was a quizzical look on her face.  She looked at me for another second, and then went running after her friend.

Who was the girl with the blonde hair?

What was she like?

But, most importantly, why do I even care what an insignificant girl thinks of me?  She couldn’t be more than thirteen.  But, I can’t deny, there’s something odd about that girl, whoever she is.

There’s something odd about her, and I want to know what.

…xxxXXXxxx…

When dad came back, we had dinner.  It was take-out, since dad can’t cook for shit, and it was also sort of a please-forgive-me! kind of thing.  I waited until everyone else was done before I ate the remains of the pizza.

I went upstairs to take a shower.  I undressed quickly, and hopped in the shower, adjusting the temperature ever so slightly.

After I was done with that, I washed my face, and got in my shorts.

My thoughts were never far from that girl, and to be frank, it was bothering me.  I climbed into bed, and fell asleep.  Dreams of strawberry blonde girls