After Everything

Prologue

ONE SCHOOL YEAR LATER.

New girl Lola Cook stood on the balcony of her new home, admiring the beautiful view of the canal in her backyard.

The view was much different than her old home in New York City, where she had a view of high rise buildings in the heart of Manhattan's Upper West Side.

The boats, palm trees, small beach town, hot weather, and the suffocating humidity was quite the change of scenery for her. As much as she missed the lavish lifestyle and bustling energy of the city, she was excited about the new chapter of her life living somewhere new.

"Hey, Lol," her father greeted as he opened the sliding glass door before walking out. His daughter turned around to meet his eyes. "Liking the view?"

She nodded her head with a smile on her face. "The view is perfect," she told him as her eyes traveled back to the water, the boats catching her eye as they sailed past her house. "It's a lot different than home, though. It's much quieter."

"I know," he agreed as he put his arm around her. "But I knew I had to accept the job offer. This will be good for us," he explained to her as she nodded.

She knew the job offer was big deal for her family as her father finally got the position he had been working so hard for his entire life, but she missed home. She hoped it didn't take long for her to make friends, which would help make the move less stressful and intimidating, and she wouldn't feel so lonely and homesick.

However, she wasn't sure that would be the case. She felt as if she would be different than her peers. She attended the most prestigious all-girls private school in New York City, had a butler, shopped at brand names stores, and only ate exotic cuisine. Even though she didn't know anything about the town of West Coral, she assumed no one would be able to relate to her way of living. It didn't seem like it was even close to the lifestyle of the Upper West Side.

She was then greeted by her mother, who peeked her head outside of the half opened sliding door. "We have a visitor. Come be social," she informed her husband and daughter before swiveling back around.

Lola expected an old couple to be standing in the foyer of her home, holding a dish of casserole and telling stories about how wonderful their retirement had been so far in Florida. She wasn't sure why she kept thinking that Florida wasn't a state people actually lived in, instead was only a place where people went to retire. Her fear of making friends suddenly worsened. What if there were only fifty people at her school?

She walked towards the front entrance of her house, and when her eyes landed on the boy in front of her, she knew her assumptions were clearly wrong. No old retired couple was offering her a dish of casserole and babbling on about their retirement. It made her feel relieved to see someone her age.

"Hi," greeted the boy in front of her, handing her a plate of freshly baked cookies. It took her a few seconds to reach her hands out and grab them. The only thing she seemed to be focused on was his perfect face. He had a dimpled smile, straight white teeth, and nice eyes. She found him incredibly attractive. "I figured I'd stop by and introduce myself. I live next to you," he said, the smile on his face growing bigger. Lola was swooning. "I'm Jake Flemming."

"I'm Lola Cook," she greeted, smiling back at him. She felt her heart racing in her chest as her cheeks flushed red. She couldn't believe how nervous she was to talk to him. "It's nice to meet you."

She heard her parents scurry off behind her, causing her to mentally roll her eyes. How could they leave her alone with extremely-attractive-Floridian-Jake? She felt awkward. What were they supposed to talk about to keep the conversation flowing without the help of her parents periodically chiming in? She felt tongue tied just thinking about what to say.

"Where are you from?" He asked, putting his hands into the pockets of his shorts.

She blanked out momentarily, letting her attraction for him mess with her thinking and speech. "New York City," she said before taking a breath. She really needed to calm down. After all, he was just a boy.  He shouldn't have an effect on her like this. "Upper West Side, specifically."

"Well, welcome to West Coral," he chuckled. "It's definitely not New York City," he said as she nodded her head in agreement. The city that never sleeps could never compare to the small beach town in south Florida. "Are you going to West Coral High School?"

She nodded her head to his question. "Yeah. I'll be a junior."

Jake's eyes widened in excitement. "Oh, okay! I know a lot of juniors," he answered, his words calming Lola's pre-first day of school jitters. He made her seem like it wouldn't be that bad after all. "I'll be a senior."

"Cool," she said, feeling a tad bit more at ease. "I'm glad we met. I've been feeling pretty nervous about moving here and making friends. Starting a new school as a junior isn't easy. Everyone already has their friend groups formed."

Lola then felt extremely embarrassed. Why did she just feel the need to share her entire life story to Jake? He was just a boy her age introducing himself and bringing her cookies as a welcome gift! He had no interest in her sob story! What was she thinking?

To her surprise, Jake didn't mind her story and carried on the conversation. "That's really hard. I can't imagine," he frowned, sympathizing with her. His eyes then began to twinkle as an idea popped into his head. "My friend Toby is having a party on Tuesday night. You should come. It will give you the chance to meet some girls in your grade."

She felt her heart fluttering in her chest, feeling giddy that Jake invited her to a party so she could meet other people! Her attraction for him suddenly became stronger. He was cute, welcoming, and sweet. Everything about him was perfect. She felt a sense of home with him, and it made her feel really comfortable.

"I would love that!" She exclaimed, already planning what she would wear in her head. She wasn't so nervous about the first day of school anymore - and that was all thanks to Jake. "Thank you."

He smiled at her excitement, knowing his good idea came to good use. "No problem," he said before backing away and towards the exit of her house. "I'll see you Tuesday."

"I'll see you Tuesday," she said with excitement in her voice. She watched as he exited her house before jumping up and down. Right now, nothing sounded more perfect than a party.

Living in West Coral didn't seem so bad after all. Her mindset completely changed once meeting Jake. She no longer thought it was just a place where old people went to retire. She then knew that people her age lived there, and she was beginning to feel like she belonged in the town that once felt so foreign.

Not only did she have an amazing backyard view and no more brutal winters in the foreseen future, but she also had a new acquaintance and an invite to a party with more people from her high school. What could go wrong? It seemed like everything was in her favor.

West Coral was already starting to feel a lot like home.