First Love, Last Love

two: reality

I got out of my car and opened the door to Harper's house. Mark and Jessie Green are lawyers who work at the same firm as my dad. They have a lovely home but are always traveling across the state and are rarely home with their only kid. That only pushed Harper and me closer together. We constantly spend time together when her parents are on business trips.

"Hey! Oh my god, I missed you so much!" Harper said as she gave me a hug. Harper is like family to me. She's one of the first friends I made when I moved to Huntsville. She's also the first friend that knew about my dad. She has helped me out a lot, especially when I start to miss him.

"I missed you too! I know it's only been a few weeks, but it feels like forever!" I did online classes for the last 3 weeks of school to stay home and help my mom with Kensley. Dad was in Auburn with a client before the baby was born, and he had to go right back 2 days after Kensley came into our lives. I walked inside her gorgeous house and sat down on the couch. Her pitbull Dolly came and sat right next to me.

One day after school, me and Harper were walking back to my house after we stopped at the gas station to get snacks. We saw a trail of blood leading into the ditch next to the gate at our subdivision. Looking down, we saw a dog whimpering in pain. We called an emergency vet and got her into surgery. Harper's parents agreed to adopt her mainly so Harper had company when they were out of town. She named her Dolly, and she is just as much like my dog as she is Harper's.

"How's your mom and the baby?" Coleton asked. Coleton and Harper have been together for about a year now. He has always been very friendly to me, and he is like a brother because he always comforts me when I'm sad.

"They are both good. Mom is going back to work in a few days, so I get to babysit Kensley over the summer." Most teenage girls would be upset about having to babysit during their summer. It's different with me. I was only 2 when Saylor was born, so I never remembered him as a baby. I love kids so much, so you can imagine the joy I felt when mom told me she was pregnant.

Harper laughed and said, "That really sucks. Maybe I can come over at least a few times a week and help babysit. You know I love kids."

"I would like that." Harper sat next to me and turned on a movie. Coleton came out of the kitchen with a movie theater tub of popcorn. Trailing behind him came Hunter. He was wearing a baseball shirt with Nike shorts. He smiled at me when he walked in, and I could have sworn my heart leaped out of my chest. I smiled back and focused my attention on the movie.

After the movie ended, we all got to talking. Hunter asked Harper about what she's been up to since school got out, and she started talking about her parents. "Mom and dad wanted to go out to eat with some of their friends tonight before they leave tomorrow for Gulf Shores. They are constantly gone, and it gets real lonely around this big house when it's just Dolly and me. I'm glad that Coleton comes over a lot and that Lydia's family lets me go over to eat meals." The attention was turned to me, and everyone got quiet. Hunter was the only one who didn't know about my dad.

"What about your family Lydia?" Hunter asked. Coleton and Harper looked at me with reassurance, almost like they were telling me that I didn't have to tell him, but they would be there for me if I did. I took a deep breath and decided to say it.

"Well, my mom had me when she was only 22. My parents got married when they were 20. Mom was in med school and had a job at a coffee shop, and dad was in the army. My brother Saylor was born 2 years after me, and right as my mom started her internship at the hospital. My dad got deployed when I was 5. He was sent to Afghanistan for 6 months. Mom got a call 4 months into his deployment to inform us that my dad had passed away when the military jeep he was driving was bombed. It was only me, mom, and Saylor for 3 years after my dad passed away. The summer before 3rd grade, I was at a softball game. My mom met a man named Braxton Johnson, and they fell in love. They got married two years later when I was 10. Braxton adopted my brother and me, and he has been our dad since then. He really helped fill the void in my life after my dad passed. We moved here from Aubrun a year after they got married because of the new job opportunity mom got. I miss being in Auburn, especially all of my friends. Playing softball with Harper that first summer definitely got me more used to Huntsville. Now that Kensley is here, I feel even more at home." Everyone was quiet after I shared my story. My anxiety started to flare up, and I got nervous that he would make fun of me for not having a dad or that he would laugh at the fact that I didn't have many close friends.