Worth Saving

Chapter One

"I'm very sorry Ms. Blake, but there is nothing I can do. Your father passed away unexpectedly, and in turn didn't have a will drawn up. Plus, he was behind on his mortgage payments, so the bank is foreclosing the home. The only thing I can do is see if you have any living family members that are willing to care for you, or you'll end up in the foster care system until you turn 18. It's out of my control. I'm sorry." The lawyer looked at me with sad eyes and got up to exit the room, probably giving me time to process everything. I was alone. I had no one.

My mother had left when I was just five and since then my father has raised me by himself. Two weeks ago he was killed is a plane crash. He had been flying home from a business trip in New York when the landing gear gave out. The pilot tried to bring the plane back up but it was too late. It came crashing down on the runway and burst into flames, killing everyone on board.

In the weeks since I have been an emotional wreck. My father was my world. He taught me how to talk, walk, ride a bike, throw a ball, and draw. Every free moment we had was spent together. He was the only family I had left. He was my best friend, and now he was gone.

I swiped a finger underneath my eye, catching a fallen tear and wiping it away quickly as the lawyer stumbled back into the room with files tucked under his arm.

" Well good news Ms. Blake. We were able to get into contact with your aunt in Oregon. She said she would be willing to take you in."

" Wait. My aunt? I don't have any other family. My dad never mentioned having a sister." I questioned him. Never in my 16 years has my father ever told me about a sister.

" Well according to birth records, your dad's mother gave birth to a little girl ten years after she had your father. He never mentioned anything about her?"

"No. Never." I replied. The room started to spin and I felt like something huge was sitting on my chest. Anxiety. My therapist told me it is common when people suffer loss. She said they are easily overwhelmed by events that take place after a loved one has passed. Well of course! Who wouldn't get anxious about having to move across the country. "Wait did you say Oregon?"

"Yes Ms. Blake. That's where your Aunt Sofia lives. Cannon Beach, Oregon." He opened one of the files to reveal a fair skinned lady with my dad's electric blue eyes, something I had thankfully inherited from him. She looked like the female version of my father. My eyes welled up with tears at the comparison. They had the same straw blonde hair, the same smile that could light up an entire room, and the same sort of freckles running along the bridge of their noses. They could be twins despite the age difference. I wondered why my father never mentioned her to me.

" Your Aunt has already set up a flight for you. You'll fly into Portland International tomorrow at noon. She will be waiting for you there." He closed the file and stood to walk away. I stopped him quickly.

"Tomorrow?" I asked. I was only given one day to pack my life belongings and get on a plane to go to some foreign place with some lady I know nothing about?

"Yes tomorrow. The house is being foreclosed the following day. I will have my assistant print out all of the information you will need including flight tickets, guardianship papers, and any other legal papers that need to be completed. Again Ms. Blake I am very sorry for your loss." With that he closed the door behind him. I stood there staring at the now closed door.

Once I left the lawyer's office, I went straight home and started packing. There would be a moving truck coming tomorrow morning to load up any boxes I labeled Oregon, and would ship them to my aunt's house. I packed my suitcase to bring with me on the plane and then I went to finish packing the things I would need in Oregon.

I had finished packing almost every room when I came to stand outside my father's bedroom door. It still had the letters "Ame" written on it in purple Sharpie from when I was learning how to write my name. Dad had caught me before I was done. He had tried to scrub it off, but gave up after five seconds. I smiled at the memory and then stepped forward. I reached my hand out and grabbed the ice cold handle of the door. I twisted it and the door hinges creaked as I pushed it open. I slowly walked into the room. I flipped on the lights as I passed the switch and the room flashed a bright white until my eyes adjusted. Once I could see I looked around the room. His room was very clean. Not a thing was out of place. My father had kept many pictures of the two of us on his walls. He had one of me building a sandcastle at the beach, one of us riding the Tower of Terror at Disneyland, and one of my school pictures. One of the last pictures I saw was one where I was riding on his shoulders with our backs to the camera. It must have been one that my mother had taken before she left so I must have been four or five years old. I took the picture off the wall and sat on the end of my dad's bed and the tears started to fall in steady streams. All of these adventures and "family time" ended two weeks ago and they can never happen again. I clutched the picture to my chest and fell back onto the bed sobbing. Nothing will ever be the same. I fell fast asleep wrapping myself in my father's bed covers, breathing in his scent.