New Girl {Shawn Mendes}

1. a new beginning

Al's POV

I remember how I first reacted when I got my first bike, or when I graduated middle school, or when my sister had moved out of the house for college.

I also remember when my parents died.

My mom and my dad were both promotion managers. They worked nonstop to help small artists begin their careers and start their way on becoming the next Bieber. I remember when they asked me if I wanted to take the car drive to Cali with them from our Oregon home. I remember saying no and that I wanted to go to my best friend Natalie's house instead. I remember the fight, the screams, the slamming of my door.

I remember the banging on the front door, a whole day after my parents left. It was a cop, his breath bitter with the smell of black coffee. The words he said changed my life forever.

Your parents are dead.

It happened all within a month. The deaths, the phone calls, the funeral, the burials, the packing, the moving. My sister came back as soon as she heard, dropping her current studies towards a PhD in medical school until she knew she could pick them back up again.

I was only 15 when I became an orphan. Alaina was 20 when she became my new guardian.

Alaina moved us out of our Oregon home to the small suburban town outside of Toronto that she had already called home. I knew I could never see it that way, but I also knew I couldn't stay in that house anymore.

Pickering. Population of 91, 514, now being 91,515 thanks to me being in the passenger seat of my sister's Toyota. I have been staring outside this cold and foggy window for what feels like years. The familiar bright green trees and forests left at the doorstep of my Oregon home.

"Hey," I feel a shove on my shoulder and turn towards my sister, my guardian. Her dark brown eyes study me for a second before turning back to the road. "You're gonna like it here. I promise," Alaina states.

A memory flashes in my mind, Mom craning her neck to see me in my car seat, behind her and Dad. It was 10 years ago, my first day of school in kindergarten.

I stay silent and lean on the window again. I raise the volume of my earphones to hear Medicine by Daughter. The lead singer's voice helps distract me from my current thoughts.

The window begins to fog up again, even though my sister put on the heat in the car. I breathe on the window and wipe away with my sleeve a small circle to see the world out of. I'll admit, Canada is beautiful, but nothing beats the town where I grew up. The beautiful mountains, the tall trees, the smell of pine that matched my father's cologne.

My breathing hitches in my throat, the regrets ripping me up from the inside. I reach into my bag and pull out my bottle of anxiety pills, taking out two and immediately swallowing them dry.

The night I found out of their passing, the officer had to take me to the hospital. My sister, who flew in 2 days later, told me that I was delirious. My breathing was abnormally fast and restricted air to my lungs and brain, which lead to the oxygen mask I had to wear during most of my stay. I wouldn't eat, I barely slept, and I kept pulling out my IV.

My parents's funeral had to be moved several times due to my condition, but I didn't care. They were already gone and it was my fault. I could have stopped them or made them late so that the driver who bumped their car into the ditch would have been ahead of them. I killed two people. I killed my parents when I shut them out of my room and told them to leave.

Why should I even be alive?

~

An hour later, Alaina wakes me up from my nap. "We're here,". I look up at the cottage that is hidden behind a house which makes the cottage look like a small shed. "Mom and dad bought this for me after a year of studying at college and now it's no longer mine...". Alaina turns to me and shrugs her shoulders. "It's ours,".

I get out of the car and sling my bag over my shoulder. "Home sweet home, then," I mutter sarcastically, before waking to the back of the car where my things were in the trunk. It's odd to think how much belongs to a person, how you can go from a full house to two large suitcases and a backpack.

"Come on, squirt, it's going to rain soon,". Alaina unloads my things as I stare up into the partly cloudy sky.

I cross my arms and bevel on one hip. "When it was like this in Oregon, it never did,".

"Yeah, well this isn't Salem. This is Pickering, so get a move on,".

I roll my eyes at my sister and grab both suitcases, rolling them up the pathway to the cottage's front door, the new front door. "All hail the queen,". I sigh and look around, noticing a brunette peeking from her bedroom window down at me. I stare right back at her, until my sister pushes past me to push open the door.

"It was open, you know?" I shake my head and follow her inside, feeling the girl's eyes on my every move. Alaina drops all that she was carrying on the living room floor and points down the hallway. "First door on the right, that's yours. Was my roomie's, but she moved out to live with her boyfriend after she heard. Should be clean,".

I maneuver through the small living room into the hallway, opening the door to my new room. The walls were a bland white, reminding me of the hospital and my time spent there. I take off the bag from my back and throw it on the full-sized bed, which was stained from who knows what and had no sheets. Great.

I go back to the living room and pick up a box full of my photo frames and what not, the sight of my sister sprawled out on the couch as she types away to her friends on her phone. "No, thanks for offering to help me carry my stuff to my room. I can do it," I tease, pushing another box towards my room with my foot.

My sister laughs and replies back "I did help when I carried them in!".

I roll my eyes and place the boxes next to the empty closet, a pile of hangers sitting in the corner. At least her roommate left something of good use.

I began to put the clothes that were too big for me in the closest, until I heard Alaina call for me. I groan and step through the mess of boxes and luggage to get to the hallway. The front door was open, my sister standing in it talking to someone.

I walk up to her and see it's the girl from the window. "Al, this is Lauren, she's the daughter of my landlord,".

"Actually, I go by Laur and nice to meet you," she nods at me.

I flash a small smile and look at Alaina. "So, is that it, or?"

Laur laughs and shows her perfect white teeth. "No, I wanted to know if you would be free to come to the free skate with my friends and I tonight?".

I appreciate Alaina trying to make me a new friend in this town, but I'm not ready to move on to that yet. Our parents just died, and it was because of me. "Um, I still have to unpack, so-"

"She will be able to go. What time will she need to be ready?" My eyes burn into Alaina's soul as she sets up a "play date" for me and Laur.

"Okay, I'll be back to pick you up!" Laur says, waving goodbye as she walks up the path to the backdoor of her house.

I plop down on the couch and cover my eyes. "In what dimension do you think that was okay?" I ask, obviously frustrated.

"What?" Alaina shrugs and plops down next to me. "I'm just doing my job as your sister. The faster you make friends, the faster you are towards your new beginning,".

I groan and uncover my eyes. "You suck,".

Alaina laughs before wrapping her arm around my shoulders and giving me a tight squeeze. "You'll thank me later, squirt,".