"Hey, Amber, can you help me unpack these last two boxes," she shouted. The house was empty and lonely with only me and my best friend Janel inside it. She was staying with her brother as of now, and had no plans of letting anyone else stay with them. Her parents had moved away to live in Alaska, leaving her and her brother with a new house that was supposed to be built for their whole family. Plans change I guess. I ran down the staircase and helped her unpack the last two boxes, with only dishes.
"My mom said that I have to be home in 5 because my brother Shawn is coming from Arizona to visit before school starts again. I'll see you on Monday though. I hope we're in the same math class," I said as I placed the large, black plates into her cupboard. I gave her a hug and headed to the door. She ran over, gave me another hug, and passed me my big brown purse.
"See you. Have a nice last few days off,"
"You too!" I shouted as I opened her door and left her house. I walked down the sidewalk until I saw my white ford fiesta parked at the curb. I climbed in, and pushed the button for my car to start. I turned up the radio to hear my favourite new Taylor Swift song, Style. I loved jamming out in the car while I was driving alone. I was 17, so I hadn't done that for long, but I knew what I was doing.
"Amber!"
"Shawn!" My older brother Shawn ran at me and threw his arms around me. He kissed me on the cheek, and gave me a hug that seemed like it would never end.
"Look at you! You've grown so much in a year!"
"So have you!" I poked at him, and we both went in for another hug. "I missed you so much," I whispered.
"I missed you too. Let's get you inside and a plate of mom's amazing cooking."
"Thanks Shawn," my mom joked from the kitchen. I took off my short brown boots with fringe, and threw my purse into our office. I walked into the kitchen and gave my mom a hug. She was making one of Shawn's long time favourite dishes- dill salmon. Shawn had always had interesting food tastes, but I liked this one somewhat too. It was basically salmon flavoured with dill and cream sauce on top, and stuffed with crab and more dill inside. I sat down beside Shawn and basically did what felt like rapid-fire questions about his new life and his girlfriend which he turned out not to have. I don't want to seem mean, but I love him too much to imagine him married. That would be sad thinking that he loved someone more than me. I didn't tell him that of course. After our meal, we all went to our own rooms, and Shawn went into his old room. He seemed sad that it wasn't the same anymore, but he still loved being able to spend 2 nights at home before going back to university. He was becoming a doctor at a local hospital- a job that I could never ever do. I don't like gore, or blood at all, let alone needles. Ugh.
The next day, Shawn made plans to see some of his high school friends, which left me and my mom alone to do whatever. My mom was going to the spa, but I had absolutely no plans. Being single sucked, since you had limited friends and people that were always available to hang out with. Unlike a boyfriend who would honestly be free any day you asked. I decided that since I had woken up early, I would go and take a run on the beach to see the sunrise. I threw on a pink AEO jogger crop top, and my lululemon leggings, and tied my long ombré hair into a messy bun. I ran down the stairs, where a brand new pair of Nike turquoise running shoes sat at the door. I bent down, and noticed that there was a note concealed inside. I picked up the note, and read it aloud: "Dear Amber, I know you will be out running early, like always so here's a late Christmas present. Love always, XO Shawn :)" I really had the best brother in the world. I put on the runners, and left my house.
The beach was quiet and peaceful. I couldn't really hear anything anyways because I had in my white, apple ear pods, and listening to whatever came on my playlist of inspirational running songs. Right now, it was Style by Taylor Swift. I was running along the oceanfront when I stopped to catch my breath, and have a quick mini dance party on the beach. Suddenly, a tall brown haired figure ran into me, knocking me down. How embarrassing. I pulled out my earbuds, laying on the warm blonde sand, and looked up to see who it was. "Sorry ma'am. I am such a klutz. Here, let me help you up," the figure shouted as he offered me his hand. I took it and stood up. I started brushing the sand off of my clothes, "My name's Jake. What's yours?"
"Amber." I said coldly.
"This was so unlike me. I'm very sorry. Would you like me to walk you home?" We met eyes. His bright blue ones caught my green ones' instantly.
"I've nowhere to be anytime soon," I said, slightly falling in love with him. "We could stay here awhile. If you'd like, that is."
"If it's okay with you. My parents don't care where I am anyways. Did you bring your suit?"
"Really Jake? This is Cali. Why would anyone not?" I threw off my leggings, revealing my brand new tropical printed swim bottoms, then my jogger crop, revealing the matching top to the bottoms. All that was left were my shoes. I threw them into the pile with my clothes on the sand, and ran down to the cool morning ocean water, hand in hand with Jake. We both ran right into the water, where we swam for what seemed like an hour, but turned out to be three. I said goodbye to Jake, got his number, and headed back home with my clothes soaking wet from the bathing suit underneath. I had wanted to kiss Jake, but I was saving my first kiss. Also, I didn't want this to seem like a disney movie, where I married a man that I had just met. That would be insane. I had only met him a few hours ago, after all. The whole concept seemed stupid now, but I fell quickly for him.
I took a shower, ate a late breakfast, and got dressed quickly. I was meeting my friend Mia at the outlet mall to buy some new clothes for the upcoming school year. I had completely forgotten about this, but I was still going to be on time. I grabbed $100 cash, and headed to her house to pick her up. I rang the doorbell, and her father opened the door, and invited me in. I waited only a few minutes for Mia, and then we headed to the mall together. We spent hours trying on clothes, only to leave with 2 dresses each, and only half our money left. I had told her all about Jake, and she told me that he sounded like a keeper. One day until school.
*Hey guys! Hope you all can relate to Amber, and you understand how she reacts yo everyday situations. I created Amber with a purpose for you to know that you're not alone in hard situations. Hope you enjoy reading my story! This is only the beginning*
