The Willson brothers

Chapter 1

"It's time," my mom says as she squeezes me in her arms for the last time.

"Call me every day. And send me text messages."

"Yeah, I will mom. We had been through this like - milion times," I say while she helps me get my suitcase on the train.

"Thanks again, mom. I will miss you," I smile and I can't help feelings wash over me. She waves as the door on the train closes, and we move. I am still standing there, while leaving the gray station, full of people and morning fog. This is the first time I will be leaving home for so long.

The train isn't full, it's early morning. I sit next to a window and put on my headphones. After afew train stops, a red haired boy comes into the train. He reminds me of Trisha, my best friend. She also has ginger hair. But now that I look at the boy, I see the difference. His hair isn't as red as Trisha's. It looks more brown to me. The boy sits down and I look out of the window, resting my head against the seat. This will be a long ride.

. . .

The train stops and I realize I am getting off at the next stop. I gather my things so I am prepared to get up. But before I do so, a man comes to me.

"Can I check your ticket?" He asks and from the corner of my eye I see the red haired boy looking in our direction. He looks kind of nervous and he keeps eying the ticket collector. I assume he doesn't have a ticket. He isn't looking like a troublemaker, maybe he just forgot to buy one. Maybe I could help him out somehow. The ticket collector is waiting patiently and I slowly reach into my pocket and pull out my ticket, handing it to him. As the train starts moving again, I look at the ginger head who gets up and quickly leaves while the man's back is turned to him.

"May I ask which one is the next stop?" I ask the ticket collector, taking more of his time so the boy can escape.

"The next one should be Terre Haute," the man says after thinking about it.

"Thank you very much sir," I smile and slowly take my ticket back. The train stops again and I quickly take my bags, running towards the train door. I hop off the last step and stretch my back after maybe three hours of traveling. From the corner of my eye I notice the same red haired boy jumping off the train, pulling his hood on and disappearing without looking back.

I shake my head and look around, quickly spotting my aunt Alice. She has long, black curly hair and dark eyes. She is my mom's sister. They look alike, some people think they're twins when they see them together. I walk towards her and she hugs me tightly.

"Hi aunt Alice," I say with a weird voice. She lets go of me and I deeply inhale, happy to be out of this suffocating hug.

"Hello April. Long time no see. How are you? We have the whole weekend to catch up," she says and we walk to her car. It's older, red and smells like vanilla inside. I sit in the passenger's seat and while driving, my aunt asks me questions about school and my mom. After a while we arrive at a friendly neighbourhood with similar looking houses. She parks her car and we get out.

"Now, come to unpack your things. You will be staying in Michelle's room for now, before I make space somewhere else." Aunt Alice says while opening the door to the house.

"Is she okay with it?" I ask carefully and step in the hallway. This house brings me so many memories and as I breathe the air, nostalgia hits me. I sadly smile, looking back at my aunt.

"Well, I didn't tell her that you will be staying here," she sighs and scratches her eyebrow.

Michelle is my cousin, aunt's daughter. She is 22, 6 years older than me. We were good friends at first, but for some reason she hates me now. My mom and aunt are unhappy about it, but Michelle doesn't want to have anything to do with me. I didn't see her for a very long time, I thought we could maybe become friends again. Now she lives in Canada and comes to visit only twice a year. That means no problem for me with staying in her room temporarily.