Lizzie
August 2020
I hate planes.
A crowded, chaotic place filled with frustrated people wanting to immediately be airborne. We all have somewhere to be, Karen, so sit down and shut that mouth of yours before I throw bees in it and snap it closed.
The flight Los Angeles - Vancouver had gone pretty smoothly. Almost three hours spent sleeping and looking outside the tiny window to my left.
My second flight, however, had seriously been a challenge. I had never wanted to snap a woman's neck as much as during that one-hour journey. All she did was complain. Either it was too hot or too cold. The food was too expensive or too cheap to be healthy. It still surprises me how I didn't smash her head against the wall, or squeeze her body into her seat.
Now I sit here in the airport of Cranbrook, Canada, waiting for my host family to show up and take me to the small town in the mountains, Fernie. It'll be a challenge to survive the winter there while my body is used to living in LA.
I bounce my leg, fidgeting with a strand of hair, twisting it around my finger. I'm genuinely scared about this whole situation. What if the family doesn't like me? What if I don't like them? What if they find out the truth? Holy crap, I hope they don't.
I take my phone out of my black backpack and check for new messages. There's only one from my mother, asking me if I've landed safely and if everything's okay. No, mom. Everything is not okay. I don't tell her that, though. Live fast, die young, but I don't look forward to being murdered by my mother, you know?
Me, 11.00 a.m.: I'm okay. Waiting for my host family.
Mom, 11.02 a.m.: *thumbs-up emoji*
Jeez. She really put effort into her message. Since I have some spare time, I buy a croissant and eat it. While I do so, I start telling myself everything there is to know about the people that are going to take me in for a whole year.
Grace Castle, 39 years old and teaches English in High School. From what I've seen in the pictures, she's a stunning woman. And that would explain her handsome son, Nate, who is my age and probably a douche. No. No prejudices allowed. That blond hair and those blue eyes didn't give me positive vibes, though. Then there's Aaron. No pictures of him, nothing much to say. Grace had written in her email to me that she didn't have pictures of the boy because he hates — no, loathes — them. Well, he seems fun...
I'm about to buy my second croissant when someone with a big sign with my name on it appears. Elizabeth Wright. I can almost hear my mother's voice scolding me using my full name.
Throwing away that thought into the trash with the napkin I used for my breakfast, I grab my suitcase and backpack, walking up to the woman smiling at me and the teenage boy next to her, his face unexpectedly friendly.
"Hi!" Grace greets me, tossing away the sign into her son's arms. "I'm Grace," she smiles, bringing me in for a hug. "Elizabeth, right?"
Surprised, it takes me a moment to hug her back. "Hello," I reply awkwardly. "Please, call me Lizzie. Or Liz. Anything but Elizabeth. My mom uses it when she's trying not to kill me," I joke, earning a chuckle from them both.
I look at the blond guy. He's pretty tall and fit. His arms are well trained and his muscles stand out with the black t-shirt he's wearing. "I'm Nate," he says with a deep voice, offering me his hand. I shake it but don't hold eye contact.
"Well, shall we? There's still an hour or two before we get home," Grace interrupts our moment. Wait, what moment? There was no moment.
I nod, pulling my hand back from his warm one. "Sure." Before I can take another step, Nate grabs my suitcase and backpack. I look up at him. "Oh, it's fine. You don't have to do that."
"I don't mind, don't worry," he replies, giving me a smirk.
"Well, in that case, thank you."
We leave the airport, climbing into the black Peugeot parked just outside the building. I sit in the back, expecting Nate to sit in the passenger seat. It catches me off guard when he instead sits next to me.
Grace starts driving, the radio and the AC on, keeping the inside of the car chilly. I should've kept my hoodie with me, instead of leaving it inside my backpack.
"So," Nate starts, glancing down at me with his ocean-blue eyes. He must've gotten them from his father because Grace looks nothing like him. I think the only feature they share is the straight nose. "Are you excited for this year?" he asks me, curious.
I move my attention from the window to him, an embarrassed smile on my face. "Yeah, I am."
"Don't worry, you got lucky with us. We're great," he says, winking. He crosses his arms as he stares down at me, studying my figure like he could read me with his eyes. "Why did you come here, anyway?"
That's a good question. Next? "Um," I hesitate a little. "Well, I wanted to see another country," I blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind.
Nate arches a brow, holding back a laugh. "And you came to Canada? Sorry to tell you this, but we're not that different from the US, Lizzie." Oh. Oh, wow. My name sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Is it just me? Yes, it's probably just me.
I scoff, shrugging with a shoulder. "My parents... didn't want me to go too far." If my parents could, they'd send me to Saturn. "At least you have snow here, though. We don't have that in LA," I tell him, pursing my lips at the mention of my city.
Again, he seems unsatisfied with my answer. "Right..."
Thankfully, Grace cuts in. "Nate, stop interrogating her. And we're nothing like the States. First of all, people have rights here," she says, earning a laugh from both her son and me. If she'd told my parents a joke like this, she would've been yelled at for a century. I, instead, couldn't agree more.
"That's true. And you don't have to pay thousands of dollars for an ambulance, do you?" I reply. "That's something probably... banal to you."
Grace opens her mouth to speak, but Nate is faster. "Yep. I still don't know how your country survives when it does all it can to kill the people living in it," he admits with a shrug, cocking his head to the side as he looks at me.
"I wonder the same thing, trust me," I tell him honestly. Changing the subject, I ask, "Where's your brother, anyway?"
His face shapeshifts into a scowl. Damn, okay. "Aaron's not my brother," he states, looking away for the first time in almost twenty minutes.
I glance forward, noticing Grace rolling her eyes into the rearview mirror. "Nate, stop it," she scolds him. "He said he had to finish some homework he hadn't done before school starts," she explains to me. "Don't worry, you'll meet him soon."
With a sigh, Nate turns to me. "He's a dick, so don't take it too personally if he treats you like shit," he informs me, causing a bit of shock to crawl up my face.
"Nate! You're being a dick now. And I told you I don't like it when you curse, so quit it. I'm so sorry, Lizzie," she says, shaking her head.
I smile at her, waving it away. "It's no problem, really. I take it the two boys don't get along too well, hm?" I tell her, leaning a bit forward.
Grace scoffs, running a hand through her hair. "You have no idea. Sometimes I ask myself if I'm dealing with children or adults. It's usually the former," she admits, making me laugh. "Thank God I have you now. Hopefully, a girl will bring some peace into my house."
"I'll try my best, Ms. Castle," I joke along with her, leaning back and almost bumping into Nate's huge body.
"Oh, please. Call me Grace. Ms. Castle makes me feel old. Nate, will you please ask Aaron to feed Milo? Milo's our cat." She passes him her phone, without although taking her eyes off the road.
Nate is typing in the password when Grace takes a sharp turn, making me gasp and quite literally fall on Nate. Instinctively, I brace myself on his leg, squeezing the hard muscle of his thigh.
"Shit," Grace curses. "Sorry. Is everyone all right back there?"
I quickly take my hand away from Nate's leg, clearing my throat as he blinks a few times, shifting in his seat. "All good," I say.
Nate chokes a laugh, making me frown. "Mom, you should make more turns like those. It had an interesting outcome," he says, briefly glancing at me. The woman only looks at him with confusion but doesn't ask for an explanation.
Jesus. Barely an hour with this guy and he's already flirting. Bold move. I glare at him, but can't hold back a smirk. Maybe he's not as bad as I anticipated.
"So, Lizzie," he calls me and I look at him, waiting for his question. "Do you have a boyfriend back in Los Angeles?"
Oh, shit. Abort mission. I repeat, abort mission! "Um..."
"Seriously, Nate? You just met her. Keep it in your pants," Grace tells him, trying to come to my rescue.
Nate raises his hands. "It was just an innocent question. To get to know this pretty lady here."
"I should've given you up for adoption when I had the opportunity," she sighs.
I laugh, feeling a bit more comfortable. "I, um, don't have a boyfriend. My parents are a bit strict on that aspect," I eventually admit.
Nate runs a hand through his short blond hair. "What they don't know can't hurt them, right?" he flirts, winking at me. With a scoff, I roll my eyes at him, making him laugh as well. "I'm kidding, don't worry. Unless..."
"No "unless", Nate. Leave the poor girl alone. I'm sure she has taste. And that means you're not her type, honey," Grace jokes, making us all laugh at her. She's definitely a better mom than mine. She's fun, hilarious, and can both take and make a joke. Nate is lucky to have her.
I ask her, "Is Aaron not your son?" I mean, it is a fair question after what Nate said.
Grace's smile doesn't fade one bit. Good. It wasn't an uncomfortable question, then. "Not biologically, no. I took him in a couple of years ago after he went through some things. He's like a son to me, though, and I love him just as I love that jackass next to you."
I giggle. Nate, instead, doesn't seem to like the topic. "It's his fault he went through that stuff, Mom, and you know it."
Grace sighs like they've had this conversation a million times. They probably have. "Can we not, Nate? I really don't feel like driving the car into a wall right now, but you're making it hard for me not to do just that."
"Sorry, Mom," he apologizes, although still annoyed.
I change the subject. "How's school here? Is it good?"
Nate starts telling me everything about Fernie Secondary School. He tells me he's part of the basketball team, and that most of his friends are too. "Cameron and Davina play volleyball, though."
I furrow my brow. "Hold on. Is Cameron a girl?"
"Yeah. I've known her since first grade. Davina moved here when we were twelve and she joined our friend group," he explains to me.
I nod. "And who are these people in your friend group?" I ask him. Maybe he can introduce me to his friends and make it easier for me to be around people.
Nate grins. "There are a lot of people. My close friends, though? Caleb, Cam, and Davina. I basically grew up with them," he tells me. Then he adds, "Unless you like one-night things, I'd suggest you don't give too much space to my boy. He's not into serious things, just so you know." Grace snorts. As I make a confused face, he explains, "She doesn't like my friends very much."
"That's not true," she corrects him. "I don't like your boy friend. Cam and Davina are lovely, and you know I like them. Caleb, however..."
"Mom, come on. He's not bad," Nate defended his friend, shaking his head.
"He asked me out, Nate. I don't even know why he bothers with pants anymore, since he more often has them down than up," Grace replies, making me laugh a little harder.
Nate rolls his eyes. "Fine. He can be... weird."
"He is weird."
"Anyway," he stressed, looking at me with an annoyed face. "I'll introduce them to you soon. They'll be happy to have you with us."
Through gritted teeth, Grace said, "Especially Caleb."
"Mom!"
I laugh again, followed by Grace. Maybe this year won't be as bad as I thought.
———
A/N
Hi lovesss, how are you? I've missed you!
I can't believe I'm writing yet another book, it feels so weird. New story, new characters... Woah.
Please, trust the process. There will be a lot of tension before we get down to business, but I promise the spice arrives eventually.
Well, I hope everything is okay and I wish you a wonderful day or night wherever you are in the world. Thank you for reading, I love youuuu <3