Hailey

Prologue

Hailey POV

I hate the heat! Thank god that it was my last day of school because I didn't think I could endure one more day of this torture. My sister, being a senior, had stopped going to school since last week as she went on her senior trip and did all kinds of fun things. While the rest of us underclassmen remained in school to do our remaining finals and testing. So this past week instead of catching a ride home in my sister's car with our friends, I was stuck walking home in the nasty heat. My school while offering a bus system, deemed my house too close to provide service to.

So I had to walk the nearly eight blocks to my house, watching as the sidewalk appeared to be a wet oasis, only for me to cross and for it to be stinking dry! By the time I reached my mailbox in front of my house: my cream colored t-shirt stuck between my breast with perspiration, my skinny jeans somehow managed to get skinnier, and the hair escaping my sloppy bun was laced with sweat. I cringed thinking how awful I looked and how bad I probably smelled.

I retrieved the mail and trudged my way up the last final steps onto our porch. I swung open the metal door and cringed at how it loudly banged against the frame of the house, my mom was going to kill me! I quietly opened the wood door, peeked in, and was greeted with the cool air of the air conditioner as it hit my face. I had just managed to get inside and dropped my nearly empty backpack near the door when my sister Kimberly rushed at me.

She quickly snatched the mail out of my hands and flipped through them easily. She found the letter she was looking for and placed the rest precariously on the railing of the staircase behind her. She ripped open the letter with flourish as I watched her bright green eyes scan the content. I rolled my eyes at her since she had been doing that for about the past month. My sister had just graduated and had applied to half a dozen colleges much to the complaint of my parents. Kimmy, a nickname I had chosen for my sister since we were kids, wasn't the smartest apple in the tree however, she made up for it with killer looks, a happy disposition, and a heart made for helping others.

Sadly colleges, while looking at extracurricular activities, tended to invest more time reviewing grades and personal statements. So I had watched for the past month as each time she opened an envelope her big green eyes would get watery and her shoulders would slump forward making her tall lean figure seem like that of a child. She would then brush her blond hair into her face trying to hide the fact that each rejection was a blow to her already aching heart. It hurt me to watch but there wasn't much I could do beside say what I was always said.

I brought myself out of my memories and repeated the ingrained line "Kimmy, it's alright. Whatever happens, we will work something out. Besides I am sure one school will eventually accept..." I was cut off as she grabbed both of my arms and began jumping up and down as she literally squealed her delight. Unsure what was happening, I simply smiled and slightly bounced in place. She finally stopped and looked me dead in the eyes, her green to my 'turquoise' colored eyes, and said "Hailey, it finally happened. I got accepted to Oregon State University! I am going to be a beaver!!" I hugged her tightly, I was so happy she finally got accepted somewhere.

As I felt her hug grow tighter, it suddenly hit me... My sister is actually leaving! She was moving off to another state, without me. While Oregon was only one state over from California, it still felt too far away. My senior year was going to be bad enough, without my sister, it was going to be way worse. In an uncharacteristic display of emotion I whispered to her "I am going to miss you so much!" Instantly, she pulled back and watched my face closely. I tried to disentangle myself from her but she resisted and held on tight. She finally asked "what are you talking about? This is perfect!"

I sighed feeling bad for making this about me when she was the one who needed this good news. I needed to suck it up and do this for Kimmy. I placed a fake smile on my face as I said "I am just so happy you got accepted. I mean Oregon isn't the far from California. I am sure you can commute on some holiday plus we can skype, call, and text each other all the time!" She just continued to stare at me as if I had grown a second head. She finally pulled away and cautiously walked into our living room as she yelled at the top of her lungs "MOOOM!!" I smashed my hands over my ears at the loud sound.