my mom, sister, and i arrived at my grandmothers house at about 1 am saturday morning. sydney was even more beautiful than i remembered.
my grandma was born in ohio, but had moved to sydney when she was a little girl. she moved back to ohio when her mother died. after having my mother and my uncle, she moved back to be closer to her siblings. my sister and i were born here in sydney, and moved back to ohio when i was 7. it might be a little confusing. we've visited every summer since then.
"oh, skylar. look how beautiful you are." she smiled and hugged me.
"i've missed you." i said, as i sat down my luggage and hugged back.
"bring your bags to your room, dear." she pulled away, and moved to greet my sister, sammy.
i brought my bags up to my room. yes, she had rooms for all three of us, even if we only visited during the summer. she never changed anything about them either. every time we visited, the room would even have the same scent of cinnamon.
i began to unpack my bags, but because i'm lazy, that soon turned into me playing music on my laptop, and scrolling through twitter on my phone.
my dads old ohio state hoodie fell almost to my knees as i got up from my bed to go out to my balcony. i went to instagram and took a picture of the stars, captioning it "there's no place like home."
i saw a light in the house next door flick on, and the curtain was pulled open.
there was a boy who looked about my age standing in the window. once he saw me he quickly shut his curtains, but the light remained on. i could see his shadow, but all he did was walk past a few times. confused, i walked back inside the house. after closing, and locking the door to the balcony, my phone vibrated.
lexi : did u make it there alive ?
i read the text and laughed to myself. alexis was my best friend from ohio. i never did anything without her by my side, so being apart for a whole summer was always difficult for us both.
me : yes lex, i'm fine. :)
i plugged in my phone, sat my laptop on my desk, and decided it was time to get some rest. it was almost 3 am after all.
•••
the next day, my sister woke me up at 11 am. she was two years younger than me, but we were still close.
"skylar, mom said that we could go shopping today." she said excitedly. she was 15, but she was young at heart.
"okay. give me 30 minutes." i said.
she nodded and sped out of my room. i could tell she was excited, she always loved shopping here in sydney.
i got up and brushed my blonde hair, the natural waves luckily more tame than usual. my hair went down to the middle of my back, and i loved having it long. sammys was brown and short. rather than being wavy like mine, it was pin straight. my hair came from my dad and i loved it.
i rarely wore face makeup because i loved my freckles, so i only put on a thin layer of mascara and chapstick. my outfit consisted of black leggings, brown ugg boots, and a white t-shirt. i grabbed my black north face jacket as well. basic, i know, but when did i say i wasnt?
i grabbed the keys to my car (my grandma got it for my 16th birthday) and went downstairs.
"you ready sam?" i asked as i put my jacket on.
"yeah. can we get a coffee while we're out?" she asked and she put on her grey hoodie.
"when do we not?" i laughed and i walked out the front door and to my car. i looked over to the neighbors house and remembered the boy. the image if his tall blonde hair wouldnt leave my head.
sammy got in the passenger seat of the car, and i pulled out of the driveway.
i have to meet that boy, i know that for sure.
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