CHAPTER TWO
Dad drove all through the night and the next day. Mason, being the bear that he was, slept most of the way there, and only moved when he wanted food or to use the restroom.
It was in the early afternoon when Dad got off of the highway and drove into the parking lot of some kind of restaurant. I was about to ask why we were here, because we had only eaten an hour ago, when I saw a man in his early fifties walk in front of our parked truck.
Dad got out of the truck and went over to say hello to the man. From the way they were acting towards each other, I assumed that the man was my grandfather.
Grandpa Worth caught me staring and waved at me with a warm smile. I smiled back and put my wavy, golden hair into a messy bun before getting out of the truck.
"Thalia, my goodness, it's been too long since I've last seen you! How have you been?" Grandpa asked me as I came up beside him. I blushed, suddenly feeling self conscious, and looked at the ground.
"I've been better than I have been in a while. It's nice to see you Grandpa." I replied.
He chuckled and draped his arm over my shoulders. "It's great to see you too."
"Well Thalia, would you like to ride with me the rest of the way? That way we can catch up?" he asked. I guess that explains why we were in the parking lot of a restraunt.
"Sure, I'd like that. I just need to go get my bag." I told him with a smile. I wasn't exactly sure why I was acting like I already knew Grandpa, because I was positive that I hadn't met him before. I'm not a fan of strangers, but he didn't seem like a stranger to me. More like a long lost friend.
Dad began walking away right as I joined them again, telling me he would see me at the house.
"Well come on then Thalia, we're less than an hour away, and I'm sure that you want to get home and rest." Grandpa told me while opening the passenger side door for me.
"Thanks." I mumbled while climbing into the Jeep.
"It's no problem at all." he said after getting into his seat.
The two of us were quiet for the first couple minutes back on the highway until said, "I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but I don't really remember you that well Grandpa." I told him while fiddling with my favorite necklace.
"That's quite alright Thalia, I wouldn't expect you to. The last time that I saw you was when you were a child. Your father threw you and your brother a birthday party and I showed up, uninvited. I gave you that necklace and gave your brother that bracelet that he was wearing. Sadly, your mother threw me out of the house afterwards. It was worth it though."
I looked at him for a moment in shock. I probably resembled a fish with my mouth opening and closing, unsure of what to say.
Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I told him "I remember now, meeting you. You haven't changed much, and apparently neither has my mother. She told the two of us that she gave us these things." I said while looking down at my necklace. It was a copper dragon curled around a sapphire on a silver chain. I laughed out loud. "It's funny actually, this is the only thing that I have ever liked that she gave to me, and then I find out that she lied and it was given to me by someone else."
Grandpa looked over at me sadly. "It's not her fault, you know, for everything. She just had a different perspective on life and was forcing it on others." he told me, while not even believing his own words.
"Because when you say it like that, it makes her sound like a misunderstood angel." I told him sarcastically. "Sorry, but I'm not sure if we're talking about the same person."
"I can assure you that we are, I'm just saying that judging people based on their actions isn't always the best decision." He told me. "Trust me, I know from experience." He said jokingly while smiling.
We continued talking for the rest of the ride, until we got off of the highway.
"So where exactly do you live?" I asked him again for about the hundredth time.
He looked over and gave me a sly smile while I glared at him. He had been avoiding this question for the whole hour that we've been driving.
"It's just a small town. We have a coffee shop, bakery, a couple outlet malls with home run businesses, the usual. Our high school does have a really good basketball team though." he told me, while including all of the other extra curriculars that the high school offers.
I smiled and nodded my head in reply. Sports were never really my forte, along with anything else that involved human interaction. I was more content with being an 'alone' type. Mason, on the other hand, was a sports fanatic. And he was great at them too. There were times when I would be jealous of my little brother; he had everything. Friends, grades, and sports. And then you had me, the one who suffered from nervousness with just a touch of anxiety. The one who wasn't friends with anyone besides her sibling, and had an angry mother who would always yell whenever she did something below her incredibly high standards.
My train of thought became broken when we stopped at a stop sign. I looked over at Grandpa, after realizing that he wasn't talking anymore. "When did you stop talking?"
"A while back," he grinned as I face palmed. "You seemed to be thinking about something important."
I shook my head as I laughed. "No, nothing important. But while we're on the topic of school, when do I start?"
"Well today is Sunday and kids usually go to school on Monday for five days.... So tomorrow." he told me, as if explaining it to a child. He said it in a playful way, not using a condescending tone like my mother.
"So soon?" I asked.
"Education can never wait." he said with a smile.
"You are so old fashioned, old man." I told him with a straight face.
"It's not just me dear," he said seriously. "That's how this whole town is."
I shook my head at him and looked out the window, because I could start to see buildings in between the passing trees.
Grandpa was right; this town was tiny. I had never even heard of the name before, and I doubted that it was even on the map.
The name of the town was Sherwood. In this town, there were barely any buildings besides houses. When I saw one, however, it was bustling with activity.
We pulled up to a stop before a large elegant gate. Grandpa typed a pass code into a keypad and the gate opened, before closing after us and my dad made it through.
I was surprised because even though it was early spring, flowers were already growing in the gardens. Grandpa seemed to notice my confusion and said "We've had a warm winter."
I nodded in reply and gasped at the sight of the house that Grandpa pulled to a stop in front of.
It was a beautiful green and brown Victorian style house with a large garage connected to it by a balcony.
Grandpa came up and knocked on my window before opening the car door. "Are you going to come inside or just gawk at your new home?" he asked with humor.
"You're just grumpy that you'll be stuck with me for a while." I joked as I got out and helped him with my bags.
Mason was holding the door open for us to come inside. We did, and I made a joke about him being our new butler. He pretend-glared at me before walking off while saying something about food.
I turned to the side to see Grandpa halfway up a flight of stairs. I quickly followed him, assuming he was going to show me my new room.
At the top of the stairs was a hallway with two doors to my left and right. He opened the door to my left first and introduced me to the beautiful sight that was now my room.
The room had a theme of white, gold, and royal blue colors. The walls were an off-white with a gold design on the bottom half of the wall along with gold trim. My bed was directly across from me, with a shimmery royal blue duvet spread across it. The bed was a bunk bed, but there was only a mattress on top. Underneath of it was a desk with speakers and a new laptop.
"You bought me a laptop!" I exclaimed, while attacking him with a hug.
"Only the best for my favorite granddaughter." he said with a chuckle as I kept looking around my new room.
To the right of my bed were a pair of french-style doors. I opened them, and was surprised to see the balcony that I had noticed when we drove up.
I turned and raised an eyebrow at my grandfather, but he just shrugged and gave me an innocent look.
"Dinner won't be for a couple hours. I'll come up and get you when its ready." he said while leaving before I could reply.
'That sneaky old man,' I thought.
Coming back into the room, I noticed that there was also a royal blue colored sofa with a coffee table in front of it, along with a wardrobe off to the side.
I jumped onto the sofa and put my feet up while thinking about how much better life would be here.
*
"I'll go and get her." I heard a baritone voice say before I heard stomping coming up the stairs. The sound of his footsteps obviously gave away his identity. Mason.
I pretended to stay sleeping as he sauntered into my room. I heard him creeping over to the couch and then felt his breath on my face. Ew.
Quickly, I opened my eyes, scaring Mason and laughing as he stumbled backwards and fell on the floor.
"You should have learned by now Mase, you can't sneak up on me." I told him with a grin.
"Can't blame me for trying." he said. "Dinners done, so hurry up so I can eat."
"I'll be down in a minute." I replied, while shoving him out of my room. Conveniently, there was a vanity next to the wardrobe with a hairbrush placed on top.
Grabbing it, I brushed my hair to its usual silky texture. I put the hairbrush back in its place and left my room, just now realizing how hungry I was.
"And the princess has arrived!" Mason exclaimed sarcastically as I walked into the dining room.
I did a dramatic bow before sitting down between him and Grandpa.
For the remainder of the night, the four of us laughed, joked, and ate good food, all the while not worrying about what our first day of school would be like tomorrow.