Hidden In Plain Sight

Chapter 1: A New Town

"Plan on helping move?"

Ameila sighed, knowing her uncle wasn't going to let her off. She picked up a box from the living room, carrying it outside and toward the Uhaul truck. Her black skirt swirled around her red sneakers.

Two large, familiar arms wrapped around her waist and she couldn't help her small smile. She looked up and saw two hazel eyes staring at her. Of course, he shared the same eyes as his sister, her mother. Her uncle looked exactly like her mother, or at least, how she remembered her mother.

She was but five when her house was burnt by the Great Fire in her hometown. Her father and mother's lives were taken by the fire. All she could remember about her parents were their face and their scents. Her mother was delicate, with caring, hazel eyes and curling brown hair; she would hug Amelia and surround her in lavender and lilac. Her father was another story; he had sharp features that was accompanied by two stormy grey eyes and tousled black hair. He usually smelled of the sea and oil.

Her uncle, Alex Summer, kissed her head. "I know this move will do us good. I know it." His voice was deep and sure.

She looked at him and forced smile and he went to help his wife, Tammie. She was 4 months pregnant with their fist child so Alex was nonstop watching her. She smiles at her aunt and gathers up the last box from the living room. She puts it into the truck and hears her uncle call, "There is one more box in the attic. Think you can handle it?"

With a quick nod, she walks back into the house. 'This is goodbye, old friend,' she thought, heading up the stairs. As a child, Amelia use to fear the attic. She use to think monsters and boogey men crept in the shadowed outlines. Now, it was nothing but a storage room to her.

She walked to the box and picked it up. As soon as it was lifted off the ground, something came down with a bang against the floor. Amelia cried out in fear and dropped the box, its contents falling free. Inside the cardboard box laid old scrapbooks, journals, and letters. One of the letters caught her attention.

She lifted it, seeing that her uncle's name was written in rushed, spidery handwriting, possibly a woman's. Curiosity fled over her as she began tearing the letter open.

Alex,
I'm sorry, my dearest brother.
I knew they would come for me and John sooner or later and it appeared to be sooner. I couldn't put Amelia in this danger. She's too young, too innocent.
Keep her safe from the world and, most importantly, herself.
Lera

She stared down at the letter, tears clouding her soft, grey eyes. Her mother had knew she would die. She sent her to her uncle so she'd be safe..

Why didn't Alec ever mention this to her? How has her mother known that she and her husband would die? These questions clouded her thoughts. They'd be answered. Soon..

Wiping her tears away on her purple sleeve, she put the contents that spilt back into the box and ran outside, to the truck.

* * *

"Welcome home," Alex said, grinning his blinding smile at Amelia and Tammie.

Tammie, using the one hand that wasn't resting protectively on her stomach, touched Amelia's hand and gave her a reassuring smile. Amelia wondered if she knew anything about her mother. She gave a soft smile back and looked out the window.

Trees and grass. That's all she'd seen the last seven miles. It all made since now. Alex was trying to get her into a small, inclosed town. Where she was sure he hoped she'd make friends.

She sighed, feeling distant. The box came flooding back into her mind. She glanced at her uncle, wondering why he was hiding this from her. She was going to be eighteen in three months. She had rights to know.

Alex glanced at her in the rear view mirror. His hazel eyes caught her soft, grey ones. His once happy grin turned into a worried frown when he saw how dark her eyes had gotten. Did he know she knew now?

He looked back at the road, faking a smile. "Home sweet home," he said, pulling up to a house. It was a white, two-story house with a wide front yard and probably a bigger back one. She stared at the house. "Different house, same lies," she thought.

((Sorry if there are a few spelling errors.
I hope you enjoy this first chapter. Many will follow, I can promise you that.))