I SNATCHED MY heavy suitcase from the baggage claim area, threw my carry on bag over the handle bar and lugged it down towards where the exit signs were pointed.
The excitement was so overwhelming that I actually stumbled a couple times trying to navigate my way through the crowds of rushing people in the busy airport.
But who could blame me, really?
The moment the plane had touched down and the doors had opened, the entire atmosphere had somehow changed... Even in a crowded airport that was filled with tens of thousands of people, I could just feel the shift in the air. It felt more electrifying. It was familiar and the feeling of home was so powerful that it made me wonder how I had managed to stay away for a whole year.
Outside the airport, there was an even more overwhelming amount of activity. Taxi cabs and Uber drivers had filled the streets, people were waiting to be picked up, others were dragging luggages into illegally parked cars.
I looked around trying to spot the familiar car, but my dad's prized red Camaro was no where in sight. Reading the time on my phone, it was almost ten minutes past the time he was suppose to pick me up. Unless he had gotten lost, he should have been here by now.
I dragged my fingers on the screen of the phone, about to press call when an all too familiar voice called my name.
"Sammy!"
The smile erupted over my face before I had even completely turned to face him. He looked exactly like how I'd seen him last yet somehow different. Slightly older, in the way one does when you haven't seen them in seven months. His chocolate hair was longer, more shaggy, as if he couldn't be bothered to manage it. His beard was longer and un-groomed. He had gained a new wrinkle or two on his forehead and around his eyes, and he looked slightly tanner, as if he'd spent some time outside since the winter holidays. The California sun had gifted him with a slight golden tan and sun freckles. He had always been lucky in that department. I unfortunately had taken after my mother who was always pale, regardless of the weather.
"Daddy!" I exclaimed, closing the short distance left between us and throwing my arms around him.
His chest rose and fell in laughter as he held on tightly and I felt him kiss the top of my head.
He smelled like peppermint and cigarettes. And somehow it was one of the best scents to ever hit my nose. It smelled familiar and real. It was my dad.
"Wow, I missed you kid!" I'd heard his voice over the phone every single night since we had left but it right now, in person, it sounded like like music to my ears. "Let me get a look at you!"
His bright blue eyes mirrored the happiness in my own as we surveyed each other. "How is it possible you grew even more since Christmas?"
I chuckled. "You're one to talk! What is this new hair style of yours? Are you trying to go for the grubby look or is this just an off day for you?"
He raised a furry brow in amusement. "Oh, you don't like it? I think it suites me nicely."
I shook my head. "Don't even get me started on that beard of yours... Are you sure there isn't any pieces of food stuck in that nest?"
He barked out a laugh of pure poetry. "God, I missed you kid. What about you, huh? What is this hair thing you've got going on?"
"What about it?"
"Well for starters, it's two colors."
It was my turn to laugh. "It's called highlights, dad. It's supposed to look like that."
It was definitely a stark change from my usual hairdo. I had never been someone who cared much about styling my hair, it had always remained up to my shoulder and one dimensional. It was easier to manage it that way. After the move however, I had decided I needed a change, it had already grown out a decent amount so I added some layers and very subtle, natural highlights to my dark brown hair.
"Well, it's weird as hell." He joked with a smile as he ruffled the hair at the top of my head.
I shook my head in amusement and the people on the sidewalk rushing past us suddenly reminded me that we were still at the airport. "Think we can get going? I'm dying to get home."
He blinked, realizing how lost we'd gotten in the moment. "Yeah, come on. Your brother's excited to see you," He took the luggages out of my hands and led us down through the array of people, towards the parked cars. "Although, once he see's how much you've grown, I think he might have a slight heart attack."
I scoffed, remembering when we'd last seen each other during Christmas when him and dad had came to visit. He'd almost refused to go back home, threatening to move there and scare all the boys from ever looking at me again. Naturally, we fought like cats and dogs, which was bound to happen considering we couldn't go more than a few days without trying to kill each other. It wasn't possible for us to get along for too long. It was just the way of the world, the closer you are with your sibling, the more you want to literally strangle each other.
Obviously he went back home because there was no way in hell he'd actually stay in New York.
Who in their right mind would leave the O.C.?
Don't get me wrong, New York had it's upsides. It was challenging and chaotic in a good way, everyone there was moving in a fast pace forward and the culture was inspiring. But it never felt like home, at least not to me.
Home was here, under the California sun, kicking a soccer ball with all my friends and brother. Home was our house, with the creaky front porch that my dad never bothered to fix and the pool in our back yard that we spent every summer practicing cannonballs and racing each other to see who could swim to the edge faster while the air smelt like hot summer and char burgers on the grill.
"I haven't changed that much." I knew that was a total lie though.
I had definitely grown in the past year. I had been a late bloomer and had spent my whole life pretty much flat chested and looking like a slightly more feminine version of my brother. Which hadn't been a big deal until middle school, when all the girls in my class started growing breasts and curves. It also hadn't help that I cared more about kicking a soccer ball in baggy clothes with my brother and his best friend rather than wearing makeup and slightly too short skirts.
Once I had left Orange County though and started sophomore year of high school, mother nature came ringing on my door. Well, what did you know? Turns out I had breasts, curves and a nice little ass that didn't need to be hidden under giant articles of clothing. And of course with my luck I ended up going to the only school in the New York area that didn't have a female soccer team. Which I still suspected was my moms doing.
So what's a girl to do? I tried knew things. I learned how to wear makeup every once in a while, do my own hair and dress myself better. When your whole life no longer revolved around sports and keeping up with the guys, you suddenly have time for these kinds of things. Turns out it was actually kind of fun!
As if reading my mind, my dad laughed. "Kiddo, I sent you off with your mom looking like my little girl and you come back to me all grown up. You sure you even need me at all?"
I gave him an incredulous look. "When will I ever not need you?"
"Good answer." He stopped in front of his most prized possession. "Hey girl, you remember Sammy, don't ya?"
He was talking to his red Camaro. Yes, my dad spoke to his car like it was an actual being. Did I find it weird? Yes. Did I go along with it, anyway? Of course.
"Hey girl! Looking as fiery as ever!" I responded in amusement. It really was a beautiful car, though.
He managed to stuff my things in the trunk and we were off.
"So, how's your mom?" He finally asked what I had been waiting for, his tone was casual as we drove but I could still hear the slight strain in his voice.
I resisted the urge to let out a giant sigh which was a typical reaction where my mother was involved. "She's..." I paused, what could I possibly say without sounding completely bitter and resentful? "Mom." I finally muttered, it was the best that I could do.
He chuckled in a not so humorous way. "Yeah guess she is, isn't she."
I shrugged my shoulders, looking out the window and trying to take in the scenery I had been torn away from by said mother. "What else can I say?"
"Is she doing alright?"
"You know mom. She's living her best life out there. Living the dream."
All while trying to destroy mine. I thought bitterly.
He was silent for a moment and I knew that even one year later, he was still hurting from the split. The thought of it only made me angrier. "That's good. She deserves to be happy." He finally said, but his voice was not convincing in the slightest.
It actually made me scoff. I couldn't help the bitter laugh. "Yeah, doesn't matter who's happiness she stomps on to get there though, huh?"
"Kid, your mom deserves all the happiness in the world and you should want that for her too. After all, that's all she's ever wanted for you."
Another scoff. I couldn't help it. "If that were true then she wouldn't have taken me away."
"You know it's more complicated than that. She had to—"
"It really isn't though, dad." I interrupted him, all the happiness I had felt in the last hour had vanished and my patience was suddenly wearing thin. I had a lot of pent up resentment and anger about this particular subject. "She didn't have to do anything! She didn't have to move after the split. She didn't have to take me with her. She didn't have to rip me away from everything I loved. From you. From Mikey, my friends and soccer."
"Sam that was an incredible job opportunity for her over there, she couldn't turn it down. You know it wasn't easy for her to leave this place, to leave her home and Mikey. The only reason she's been able find the strength to even get to where she is now, is because you were with her."
Not by choice, I thought silently.
If I had had it my way, I would have never left after Freshman year. Maybe I couldn't have done anything about their split, even before my mom's job promotion, they had been having marital problems for a while. The split had been a long time coming. But she didn't have to move away, to New York of all places. A whole 2,700 miles away from home. And she didn't have to take me with her.
Me!
Who had never gotten along with her in the first place... Who always fought with her for not being girly enough, for choosing to join the soccer team instead of cheer, for not being able to sit still long enough for her to curl my hair, for not being the daughter she had always imagined. Why hadn't she just taken Mikey with her? He never seemed to be a disappointment to her.
I suddenly felt drained, the weight of the whole day and my thoughts finally caught up to me like the overwhelming crashes of the NewPort Beach waves. I focused my attention back on the field of green palm trees blurring past us and the sea of blue waves crashing down on the white beach sands. Oh, how I'd missed the beach. "Thanks for convincing her to let me come home." I finally said in a small voice.
"It wasn't easy kiddo."
I know.
We spent the rest of the car ride in content silence, only breaking it to crack random jokes and laugh at the stupidest things that one of us would suddenly remember.
That's what I loved about my dad, we just understood each other. We could talk for hours about the silliest things or just stay perfectly quiet and it would still be enough. But then again, that was just dad. He had this character about him that fit with everyone's pieces almost perfectly. He was exactly what everyone needed him to be and he didn't even have to change himself in the slightest to do it.
And right now with the window down, the sea breeze blowing through my hair and dad driving with his always reliable smile, it felt like home.
We entered the familiar street lined up with houses and I sat up in anticipation. I heard dad chuckle lightly as we pulled into the drive way. It wasn't huge or luxurious by any means. Instead it was simple, slightly older and definitely needed a few repairs here and there but it was our little chateau.
"Home sweet home," Dad muttered.
"You got that right."
I was expecting to be hit with a sense of home as we walked in. A familiarity of scenery or scent... Instead, I walked into what looked like the aftermath of a home invasion.
I gaped, rooted at the doorway. "W- Oh my god, was there a robbery?"
"Uh no." Dad scratched his head awkwardly, his face scrunching up in slight stiffness.
"Did something die in here?" A revolting stench was slowly creeping up into my nostrils. It smelt like a dumpster in an alleyway... Filled with fish... Drenched in sewer water.
"Err— No. That's just— Dammit I told Mikey to handle all this before we got back."
"Huh?" I was truly at a loss for words. The open space that was suppose to be the living room was anything but that. Where there was suppose to be a floor, instead there were shoes scattered everywhere, several items of clothing and way too many empty pizza boxes and soda cans. Where there was suppose to be a couch, there was scrunched up dirty tissues and more clothes piled on top. The coffee table had become a mountain of dirty dishes full of moldy food and foggy half full cups.
"Mikey!" Dad called out.
I was so rooted in shock that I almost didn't notice the set of footsteps thumping down the stairs in a fast pace.
It wasn't until a body that felt like a giant rock nearly knocked me backwards, sending me stumbling, did I realize Mikey had ran into me.
"Holy shit! Damn boy, what the hell have you been eating? You nearly knocked me on my ass!" I barked, contemplating the overwhelming need to continue to hug him as tight as possible and also attempt to punch the air out of him. The latter seemed less physically possible given how much he'd grown so I settled with the hug.
He laughed out loud, sounding surprisingly similar to dad and it hit me even more on just how much things had changed.
"Well who told you to stay so tiny!" He barked back, taking a step back to check if I still had all ten fingers and toes.
His bright smile vanished immediately. "Oh hell Sam, who told you to grow up this much?!"
And the sweet moment was officially over.
"Oh I'm sorry, next time I'll get permission from you before biologically evolving."
"It's only been a year! Wait no, you didn't look like this at Christmas."
"A lot can happen in a year Mikey. I don't remember you being a damn skyscraper but you don't see me fussing about it."
"It's just—"
"It's just what?" I asked pointedly, crossing my arms in a way that vaguely reminded me of my mother and at any other time would have freaked me out.
He grappled for the right words to say. "You look like a girl!"
My eyes widened. "I am a girl Sherlock!"
"Enough! Both of you! You haven't seen each other in 7 months and it took you less than 7 seconds to be at each other's throats." Dad interrupted using his very rarely heard dad voice.
Mikey opened his mouth to say something but shut it quickly when dad gave him a pointed look. "I thought I told you to clean up this mess before we got back."
Mikey shrugged. "I was gonna get around to it."
"I believe that just as much as I believe you aced all your classes last year."
Mikey rolled his eyes but I didn't pay attention to his response.
Now that we weren't fighting I was able to get a decent look at him after all this time. It was actually kind of freaky how much he was starting to look like dad. We all had chocolate hair curtesy of dad but while he had chosen to grow his out, Mikey sported his short. Both of them shared the same shade of blue eyes that crinkled similarly when they were both smiling. They had nearly identical facial structures now that Mikey had matured. They even had the same single dimple on the left side of their cheeks.
Mikey was a tad taller than dad though, probably five foot eleven. Despite the height difference, their build was similar as well, lean but muscular and slightly broad. Dad still had a pretty good physique. The man had always been athletic. We definitely didn't get our love for soccer from mom.
"We've been living like this for a year, what's the point of trying to hide it?" Mikey's words finally resonated with me.
"Hold on. You've been living in this mess this whole time?"
"Sam—" Dad started, shooting Mikey a glare.
"Yup," Mikey said, clearly not acknowledging dad's glower.
"Dammit Mikey." Dad sighed.
"What?" He threw up his palms in innocence. "It's the truth. Besides, I don't really see anything wrong with it."
"Of course you wouldn't, you pig." I responded, walking deeper into the house to helplessly pick up a few things lying around but the stench of the place actually got worse every time I took a step closer. "Please tell me there isn't anything dead in here."
He shrugged. "Probably not."
"That's reassuring."
"Sorry Sammy, I didn't want you to see the place like this. But with me being gone for days on end with my trucking, and the boys not being good for anything, I guess we just kind of let this place fall apart."
"Hey, I resent that. Me and the guys are plenty useful." Mikey stated as he headed over to the revolting couch and actually sat down on it. How he managed to make enough room to sit is beyond me.
"Flirting with girls and playing soccer doesn't count."
"Oh God, if you and your friends have been out here then I'm not even surprised." I picked up a few pizza boxes from the floor. "Please tell me you haven't just been eating pizza this whole time."
"We haven't," Dad reassured me immediately.
"We've also been eating burgers." Mikey said, turning on the television.
"Mikey," Dad sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot suddenly. I noticed the tired lines around his eyes that didn't seem to have been there an hour ago or maybe they had but I had been too excited to notice. "Well, we don't exactly know how to cook , so there's been a lot of take outs and eating at Bobby's." He explained.
There was a sudden burst of new found resentment towards my mother. I hadn't thought that was possible but the sudden realization that my family hadn't had a home cooked meal in a year, that they had been abandoned, gave me the urge to go all the way back to New York just to tell my mother off some more.
Instead, I settled on a long sigh. "Alright, I'm going to cook us something to eat. And in the mean time you," I pointed at Mikey. "Start cleaning up this mess because I will not live in a giant dumpster."
He laughed. "Good luck with that. If you think this is bad, wait till you see the kitchen."
Oh my god.
"Kiddo, we don't exactly have anything that you could cook dinner with." Dad said hesitantly, as if he were afraid I'd finally crack.
So the kitchen was probably a mess and there was most likely no actual food in there that didn't have mold on it.
Alright, no big deal. We could do this... I hoped.
"Okay, dad please go to the market and grab a few things to cook with. I'll text you a list of ingredients. I'm going to take my stuff upstairs and then tackle the kitchen. Mikey, you clean up this mess."
"Sounds like a plan kiddo." Dad seemed all too eager to comply as he headed straight out the door. I couldn't tell if it was because he just wanted to make sure everything went smoothly or because he was excited for a home cooked meal. The latter broke my heart slightly.
"Mikey," I sighed when he didn't bother to pry his eyes off the TV. "Mikey get your ass up!"
"Alright, alright! Look, I'll get to it as soon as this episode is done."
"Dude!"
"Come on Sam! It's the episode where the monkey's humping shit and they gotta send him away to the zoo."
I shook my head in defeat. There was no prying him away from that couch now. Honestly, if this had been any other time, I'd probably be on the couch watching with him. "Whatever, it better be done before dinner's ready or no food for you!"
"Aye, aye Captain!" The dork actually saluted.
I shook my head, grabbing my bags and lugging them upstairs. Despite it all, I had a giant smile on my face.
Authors Note:
Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed that read. It wasn't a very exciting chapter but we're just starting off! I have a large chunk of this story already written and I'm hoping to upload a chapter every Thursday and Saturday if all goes as planned.
I also wanted to quickly introduce myself! I'm definitely not new to the Wattpad community. I've been a member from the tender age of 14, which was many many years ago. I found my love for writing through this forum and spent a large chunk of my teenage years on here reading some incredible works of literature. Unfortunately despite the love I have for writing, I could never successfully write my own tales. Mainly because I was very unsure as a writer and felt like if something couldn't be perfected then I might as well not ruin it.
So sadly, all of the characters in my head and their stories were left untold and remain tucked away safely in my mind. And although it's been years, I don't want to abandon them so I'm here now trying to finally begin this long journey.
I'm starting off with this one. The premise of this story was created years ago when I was a freshman in high school, hence the cliché.
I would love to hear what you think! :)
Please comment, like and share!
Thank you,
Peruzadani