The drive up to the lake house felt as if it was taking decades. Turns out, my brother drives slower than a grandma on her way to bingo. Seated next to him in the passenger seat was Grayson, who mom allowed to intrude on our family trip because she considered him to be a part of our family. Meanwhile, I was forced to sit in the back seat. Despite having earphones plugged in with my phone's volume nearing full, I still couldn't block out the sound of electronic dance music playing on Bluetooth. Just now, they were playing a series of Skrillex songs that threatened to make my ears bleed. My mom and dad decided to drive up yesterday afternoon, after subtly hinting that they wanted to spend a night alone, which is why I was stuck with a pair of bozos.
Yesterday after I had confronted my friends and walked home, all of my friends had spammed our group chat saying how sorry they were. Angrily, I opted out of the group chat and then proceeded to mute all of their contacts, except for Lucy, who seemed to be the only one who cared.
I don't know what had happened to make them exclude me, and quite frankly, I no longer gave a fuck. All I cared about now was spending time with my family, and hopefully make sure that my mom has a good week before she's forced to live in a hospital room until her chemotherapy is over. I can deal with my so called friends later.
After a quick google search, I've learned a few things about Grandpa's lake house. It sits just on the outskirts of the small and quaint town known as Lake Serenity. Mostly known for it's beautiful scenery and gorgeous temperate forests, and, of course, it's vast lake which was deemed one of the top fifty charming lakes in the country. It made it to number 14 on the list, so that's something.
A text from Lucy came through on my phone.
Lucy:
Hey.
Me:
Hey.
Lucy:
I noticed you didn't come to school today. Are you okay?
Me:
Yeah, I'm good.
I won't be coming to school for awhile tho.
Lucy:
Oh.
Do you want to hang out later?
We can talk shit about the others if that'll make you fell better?
Feel** (I have no idea why autocorrect tryna switch up on me)
Me:
Haha. I can't. I'm spending the week in Lake Serenity.
Lucy:
Lake Serenity? Where the heck is that?
Me:
It's a few hours away. Turns out, we have a lake house there. 🤯 😳
Lucy:
Huh?
A lake house?
Damn, is ur family old-money rich?
I chuckled at that before typing in my response.
Me:
Ikr. Apparently we've always had it and I only found out about it the other night.
Lucy:
It sounds amazing. I hope you have a good time.
When you get back we can hang out?
Me:
Okay, that would be nice.
I was glad that I had at least one friend who wasn't an ass.
We drove through the town at a slow pace, slow enough to take in the town and all of it's aspects, piece by piece. I pulled out my earphones and gawked in awe.
"Damn, that girl is hot." Mitchell stated from the driver's seat. Of course my obnoxious brother was already hitting on the locals.
"I thought you were dating Stacy?" I asked.
"We're not exclusive." Said Mitchell, turning down an unfamiliar street.
"I have a feeling you're going to be saying that in your late fifties." I joke.
"At least I won't grow up alone." He retorted, causing me to slant forward and smack him in the head.
"Hey! Don't hit me while I'm driving, unless you want me to crash." He complained.
"I've wanted to crash since we left the driveway." I mumbled under my breath, but I'm more than certain Mitchell had heard me.
I rolled down the window and invited the unfamiliar air into my lungs. I know we just arrived, but this town felt oddly welcoming, like I could just stay here.
A yawn came over me. I had spent many hours last night researching cancer and chemotherapy. Most of the sites had different explanations, which honestly pissed me off, but they all had the same overall idea.
As we slowly make our way up the driveway, mostly due to Mitchell's geriatric driving, the lake house comes into view. The house itself had two storeys to it and consisted mostly of mahogany wood with stone cladding.
It looks amazing. I thought to myself.
We finally pull up out front and take in the house.
"I can't believe mom and dad never told us about this place." I say, unable to keep my eyes off of it.
It's just a house, Dallas, calm down.
"You didn't know?" Mitchell wonders.
"You did?"
"Yeah? Grandma Kate talks about this place all the time. Also, I found the deed to it awhile back and I may have thrown a few parties here."
I rolled my eyes at him. Of course he has.
We get out things out of the trunk of the car and head on inside. As we open the front door, we are met with a cozy and rustic interior. Let's just hope grandpa wasn't a hunter and hung dead animals on his wall as trophies, because that would suck. I can't imagine murdering an innocent animal.
Mom and dad are seated in the living room eating junk food while watching the news.
"We're here." Mitchell announced our presence, setting his luggage down in the entryway.
"I'm so glad you're finally here." Mom says. "We're going to have so much fun."
Not that I let it show, but seeing my mother made me sad. It's hard to believe that she has cancer. How can someone so kind and radiant be afflicted with such a disease?
It's just not fair.
"This place looks amazing." Mitchell acted as if he had never been here before.
"Did it look amazing when you decided to throw a party here?" Mom wondered. Busted....
I stifled a laugh.
"Did you seriously tell on me?" Mitchell turns on me.
"Don't blame your brother." Mom says. "The neighbors around here talk, you know."
"Ohh." Mitchell goes silent.
"Yeah, you dick."
"Wha- mom, dad? Aren't you going to chastise him for using such inappropriate language?" Mitchell asked.
Mom and dad just laughed.
"Wow, that is so not fair." Mitchell complained. "I get yelled at for saying damn it."
"Mitchell, watch your mouth." Dad speaks with forced authority, pausing before laughing from his place on the couch.
"Are you guys high or something?" I wonder.
"Shussshh." Mom puts her index finger over her mouth.
So that explains all of the junk food wrapping littered about the living room. Never have I ever imagined my parents getting high.
"I'm going to find a room." I say.
"Oh, when you guys are done, could you head into town?" Mom asked.
"What for?" Mitchell wondered.
"We're almost out of snacks."
Oh my lord...