Walker: Wish To Be A Walker

Chapter 1

So, this was it... This was to be their new home for the foreseeable future...

A brown haired teenage girl stepped from the truck, looking around as her father turned off the engine. A neat and tidy house was surrounded by a white picket fence, flowers growing in the many pots and garden beds inside the yard.

'What do you think?'

'It looks nice.' She replied to the question, glancing over at her father as he stepped out of the vehicle. 'How long will we be staying here for?'

Robert shrugged as he closed the door of the truck. 'Depends on how work is, have to put food on the table. Shall we go have a look before we unpack?'

She nodded and the two of them headed up the sidewalk to the porch. Her father pulled a key from his pocket then opened the door. She glanced around with surprise as they walked in, the house was probably the best place she'd stayed in with him so far. Her face lit up as she saw a proper oven and fridge in the kitchen, no more cooking over gas camping stoves. 'Look Dad, I can finally cook something other than two-minute noodles for a change.'

He rolled his eyes as she eagerly went through the well equipped kitchen, one of her biggest flaws was her enthusiasm for the simplest things. 'Don't go getting too comfortable Maddie, we might only be here a few months.'

She sighed inwardly. Ever since she'd been living with her father, they'd moved through fifteen states in four years. It would be nice to finally have a place to stay longer then a couple months, a place she could call home... 'How long is the lease for?'

'A year.'

'So you committed for a year even though we might only stay a few months?'

He shrugged again. 'I couldn't get a shorter lease, the old owners wouldn't let me sign for anything less then a year. Seems comfortable enough though-' The house was fully furnished, the previous occupant an elderly lady who had gone to a nursing home and her children had looked to make a quick buck leasing out the property. 'Might even be good enough for your expensive taste. That's one thing your mother could have forgotten to teach you, I can't ever keep you happy with where we live. Well-' He looked down at her. 'Is it up to your standard?'

Maddie swallowed and nodded. 'I like it Dad, thank you. It really is a nice house. Can I go and choose my own room now?'

He motioned for her to leave. 'Afterwards you better start unpacking, I need to make a trip into town.'

'I won't take long.' She assured him and started up the hallway, peeking into the rooms as she went past. There were two smaller bedrooms and a larger one she guessed her father would want. One of the smaller bedrooms was a soft light pink with white furniture and a sad smile graced her lips as she looked at it. It reminded her of her old room when she lived with her mother...

'We don't have all day Maddie.'

'Coming, coming.' Her reply was shouted back and she hurried out to where he was waiting at the truck. 'I've chosen my room, the one down the hallway from the living room.' She quickly helped him untie the tarp off the back of the truck, taking her suitcase down from the pile. 'It looks really nice here Dad.'

'It'll do for now.' He grunted and between the two of them they emptied their belongings from the truck and onto the porch. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he took a quick look at the time. 'I've gotta get, you'll have to finish unpacking yourself. You know the drill.'

She nodded as he started for the driver's side of the truck. 'When can I expect you back?'

'When I pull in the drive.'