Falling Apart

Chapter 4

The morning provided a beautiful orange hue across the living room as I sat perched on a leather chair with my coffee. I watched Lisa make breakfast from across the room. It was nice watching her cook as the smell of eggs and bacon spread throughout the house.

John opened up the windows to air out the house and turned on the radio to listen to his daily news reports.

Unfortunately this far into the woods, we didn't get much wifi connection, and John and Lisa didn't want to pay extra for it. But I wasn't complaining, the radio provided decent music in the evenings. I did feel bad because I haven't been able to contact my friends from back home, but a part of me feels like I need to disconnect. At least for a little while, it's nice to feel like you're in your own little world. 

We have been living with John and Lisa for a couple of weeks now. They decided to homeschool us for the time being since I only needed to finish a couple of classes to graduate and the school year was too far gone for Lucas to enroll into a new school. 

I appreciated the time they were taking to homeschool us, the last thing I wanted to do was go back to school and have to make new friends and start a new life. It was a tight-nite town and I knew it would be hard for me to assimilate, especially coming in towards the end of senior year. 

I was not ready for that. 

Lucas stumbled down the stairs with his hair disheveled and eyes half-open. I smiled as John handed him his daily decaf cup of coffee with coconut milk. He acted like a tiny middle-aged man, and at this point, I was sure he was convinced that without his cup of coffee in the morning he wouldn't be able to function properly.

We all sat around the island in the middle of the kitchen and ate breakfast. It was nice eating together, Lisa and John made sure of it. No matter how busy the day was, we always made time to sit at the table and eat meals as a family.

The last couple of weeks Lucas and I have been helping John and Lisa get their ranch up and running. They haven't lived in the area for years but wanted to return to ranching to make some money. 

It was how they earned their living when they were younger. Jonh had inherited the land when he was 22 and Lisa had moved in to help him take care of the animals. 

They would sell their produce in local farmers markets and would make a decent living out of it. But after a large sudden storm, they had trouble recovering their losses and decided to find work elsewhere. But John never sold the land, they had planned to eventually come back and start over.

I guess now was a better time than later. Now they had 2 extra pairs of hands to help. 

We helped rebuild and refurbish the barn houses, as well as built fencing around the field. It was labor-intensive work, but a welcomed distraction. The ranch wasn't big but it was nice, and I was excited to start getting some animals. 

Today the plan was to head into town and visit another local farm. John's father was close to the owner before he passed, and John was sure he would be open to selling some of his newborn animals. 

We wanted to head out as early as possible before the roads were congested from people heading to work. In no time we were on the road and headed to the farm. 

It was weird being outside of the gates. I hadn't stepped foot outside of the ranch since we arrived, and I almost forgot how big this town was. Fortunately, it didn't take too long to reach the farm. Most were congested on this side of town, where there were more large open and wooded area's to build on. 

We drove up to a tall white gate and John pressed a small red button on the white speaker beside us.

"Desirum residence, how may I help you?"

"Hi Anna, It's John. I'm here to visit and talk to Daniel"

"Oh! Hi honey, I didn't know you were back! Come on in, I'll go grab Daniel"

The white gates opened almost instantly and John made his way up the road. This patch of land was much bigger than ours, and it took us a few minutes to drive up the hill until we spotted a large white home.

It was beautiful and surrounded by flowers and fruit trees. I was surprised by the grandeur of it all, having expected a normal wooden house like our own. 

A man with greying hair and a striking blue eyes rushed out of the house and towards our car. As soon as John stepped out of the car the man wrapped his arms around his frame.

He let out a deep and hearty laugh, patting John on his back.

"My boy, how are you. It's been so long" The man, Daniel, exclaimed as he took a step back.

They continued to catch up as the rest of us got out of the car. Daniel came around and greeted all of us, ruffling Lucas' hair.

I smiled and instantly felt at ease. He was charming and laid back, and eagerly welcomed us into his home. 

As we stepped inside, the layout easily matched the luxuriousness of the outside of the house. It was pristine and white, a theme that seemed to follow the entire property. Yet it was decorated tastefully, with many plants and flowers adding warmth to the large open space. 

Anna, the housekeeper, came and offered some drinks. I took a cup of homemade strawberry lemonade and thanked her, trying not to show my surprise. 

I made my way to the large windows at the back of the living area. It faced the back of the property, a large open area filled with animals and barns. I could see horses grazing in the distance, and chickens being fed to my right. There was a large field of poppies to my left, and the bright red color made the farm come alive. 

My eyes quickly darted upward as I heard a door slam shut. To my right, a boy about my age had stepped out of a small barn carrying a bale of hay. He was tall and big, carrying the hay with ease. A tattoo of a dark red snake caught my attention, and my eyes followed it as it wrapped around the side of his neck and around his right shoulder. 

Suddenly his eyes shot up and met mine. For I second I wondered if he could see me, and when he gave me a small smile and raised his eyebrow I knew he could.

My face flushed red and I stepped away from the window. 

I made my way back into the house in search of everyone, hoping we could buy some animals and head back to our ranch as soon as possible.