A Journey With You

Chapter 1

Hey, my name is Mirie. I live in Washington. I'm a junior in high school right now. But that's not important. 

My mom and dad said they had something super exciting to tell me. I was hoping I'd be getting a puppy since I'd been begging for one for almost a year now. 
But I knew deep down it wasn't a puppy.  

Every year, my family and I go on a big vacation during summer break. They decided today they'd reveal it an hour before we leave. I wish they'd tell me earlier so I could pack. 

"Are you ready to find out what we're doing for our summer vacation?" my dad asked me. 

"As ready as I'll ever be!" 

"We're going to Disneyland!" my mom squealed.

"Oh my gosh! I love you guys!" I smiled, jumping up and down with joy. 

I sprinted to my room and started to pack. I was so excited. My family isn't the wealthiest but my parents managed to get us a trip to Disneyland! 

"Mirie! We're leaving for the airport in thirty minutes!" my mom called up the stairs. 

I got out my suitcase and started throwing everything I'd need into it. This was going to be such a fun vacation! Nothing could go wrong, could it? 

***

"My love, it says here that we won't arrive in California until 9 pm." My mom told my dad as we were on our way to the airport. 

"What? I thought we got there earlier" my dad said, looking at my mom confused.

"Jay! The road!" my mom screamed.

***

I woke up confused, feeling like crap. What happened? 

"Are you Mirie Peterson?" 

I looked up and a doctor was standing in front of me. 

"Yes...why?" 

"You and your family were in an accident. A witness saw your car drive off a bridge into the water. Luckily, the witness called 911 and an ambulance came." 

"An accident?" I gasped. "My mom and dad! Where are my parents?" 

"Unfortunately, I don't know." the doctor couldn't look me in the eyes. "But in the meantime, we have found a family friend to take care of you." 

"A family friend? Who?" 

Just then, the door opened and a woman in a floral dress with curly red hair walked in. 

"Hi Mirie, remember me?" she asked.

It was Ms. Bjerken, my parents' friend. 

"You're friends with my parents right?" 

"That's right!" she smiled sweetly. "They took care of my son a lot." 

"Thank you for offering to take care of me, but I'll find my parents here in the hospital and I'll just go home with them." 

I was old enough to be on my own for a little while anyway. 

"Um, sweetie, I have something to tell you." Ms. Bjerken sighed. "I know this is a lot to take in, but when the doctor says he doesn't know where your parents are...that means they haven't found their bodies yet." 

I gasped loudly and burst into tears. My whole body went limp and I fell to my knees. 

"I'm sorry honey." 

My hands balled into fists. How could she say my parents weren't found?! My eyes narrowed and I screamed at her.

"No! You're lying! They're alive and they're going to come and get me any moment now." 

"How about you come to my house and you can rest for the night?" 

If it was really true that my parents were lost, what else was I supposed to do? I wished my parents would just walk through the hospital room door and hug me tight. We'd hug each other and tell each other that everything was going to be alright. 

I decided I should go with Ms. Bjerken. I really hated hospitals anyway. They're full of sickness, sadness, and depression. I didn't have another choice.

***

"I'll show you to your room so you can rest for the night." Ms. Bjerken said. 

She showed me to a large double bedroom with a huge four-poster bed covered in white sheets and pillows. 

"Thanks," I mumbled. 

"Anything for you sweetie. I want to make sure you're comfortable here. I'll let you get some sleep now." 

I was so tired physically and mentally, that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. That night I dreamt of finding my parents. I wondered where they were. I guessed I'd find them tomorrow. 

When I woke, I hoped it was all a dream. But when I opened my eyes and saw I wasn't in my own home, I was disappointed. 

My arm was aching from the crash and my stomach started to growl. I hadn't had anything to eat since lunch yesterday.

I looked around the room and saw a nicely folded stack of clothes on the floor. There were some casual clothes, house clothes, and pajamas. 

I got changed into a pair of yoga pants and a blue tank top, took my hair out of my ponytail, and went downstairs to look for Ms. Bjerken to ask for food. 

I looked all around for her but I couldn't find her. Of course, I didn't look in all the rooms because I didn't want to invade her privacy. 

"Mirie?" 

I jumped and turned around. 

"Brandon?" I said confused. "What are you doing here?!" 

Brandon and I were in the same year at school. We did not get along. I had some pretty bad memories of him. When we were younger, Brandon and his best friend Alex would always pick on me. But Brandon was always the one to start it and the biggest contributor. 

"What do you mean? This is my home." 

I should've known. Brandon's last name is Bjerken. And Ms. Bjerken mentioned her son. How did I not piece that together? How was I going to deal with him? 

"So, why are you here?" Brandon asked, arms folded. 

Just then, Ms. Bjerken walked into the kitchen. 

"I see you've already said hi to Brandon," she said. 

"Mom, why is she here?" 

"Well, she had a little accident with her parents and they haven't been found yet so we are going to take care of her in the meantime." 

"Whatever." Brandon sighed. "She better not get in my way." 

His mother glared at him. 

"Brandon Bjerken! I raised you better than to act like this!" 

He shrugged her off and walked out of the kitchen. 

"Don't worry Mirie. I'll talk to him." she stroked my arm. 

"Thank you for everything you've done for me so far." I tried to smile. 

"Oh, you're so welcome, sweetie. It's no problem at all," she said. "I'm just going to the grocery store. You can just hang out here and rest. I made some french toast, it's over on the stove. Help yourself! And use the house phone to call me if you need anything." 

I thanked her and went to sit down on the couch and wondered where my parents were some more.