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1. Summer break reports

A few loose strands of dark brown hair gently brushed her cheeks when she stepped out of the car, her left shoulder was a bit sore and slightly dipping from the weight of the bag she carried with her. Her equally dark brown eyes traced the obvious features of the house she stared up at, the sound of car doors opening and closing, the rocks crunching under the feet of the group as they walked was completely ignored by the fifteen-year-old.

A cold hand came down on the girl’s shoulder when her friend smiled at her, happy to finally have her friend over for a bit. Erin’s foster parents had gone on a business trip and didn’t mind what she did as long as she texted or called to tell them where and how she was. And right now, she’s going to stay over with her best friend and her older brother in a cabin surrounded by trees.

“Here we are, Erin,” the smile Maggie gave her friend, made her return the gesture. “Our home for the next couple of months.”

Erin smiled widened. “Yeah, I can’t wait!-” She felt Maggie pulled her towards her house by grabbing Erin’s hand in her own and running to the front door. 

Finally reaching the door, Maggie twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open in one swift motion. Erin was happy that she finally got her parents to agree-

“HEY!”

Erin jumped as she cried in alarm when a pair of hands landed harshly on her shoulders. Erin turned around to face the laughing culprit, Alex. Once she realized who he was, she proceeded to shove him back out of frustration. She heard her friend laugh along with Alex as she glared at them for a moment as she couldn’t help but smile herself. 

Alex is Maggie’s seventeen-year older brother. So being two years older than the girls, he likes to mock them about things they aren’t allowed to do yet, that is until their mother knocks on his head.

From afar, the happily married couple quietly laughed as they watched this interaction between the group. When the laughter died down, they continued to remove the bags from the back of the car as their eldest son led the girls into the family’s large cabin, surrounded by acres upon acres of forest. Things were quiet between the adults aside from the sound of quiet shuffling being produced from the sliding bags as they were pulled out of the safety of the vehicle. It remained this way, only for a moment. 

“Do you think we made the right choice?”

Knowing what her husband was referring to, her head shifted left as her brown eyes met his green ones staring right back at her. Erica let out a heavy sigh and returned to the work they were doing seconds before. “Well, we can’t do much now,” Leon joined in to help his wife with the unfinished work. “So the best we can do now is hope for the best.” She paused. 

Leon glanced at the cabin. Erica smiled softly at her husband in an attempt to lift the mood of the situation. The attempt was successful as Leon responded with a grin. He dusted his hands off after he pulled out the last suitcase. He reached for the edge of the door of his cargo bed, pulling out his keys, and pressed the button to lock the doors of his navy blue pickup truck. “It was sweet of you to help the kids convince Erin’s parents to let her stay with her friends.”

Leon chuckled at the comment from his wife. After quickly checking if the truck door was locked, he turned to face Erica and kissed her cheek. “Yeah, well. Erin hates being alone and she’s like family so it’s the least I could do.” The pair smiled as they picked up the bags and walked towards the cabin.

Back in the cabin, Erin had already picked which room she wanted to stay in for the rest of their summer break, she stayed there to explore the room for a moment.

She took a step towards the wooden desk then took a deep breath and she took a deep breath then let it out as she closed her eyes. Ever since she got inside the truck to drive hours to their destination, a knot in her stomach had been only ever-growing the closer they got. She dismissed it as excitement but now that she’s in the cabin it feels more like-