Romeo

Chapter 2; The House

Dad pulled up infront of the small town house, The building was a ten minute drive from campus and it's back was right on the beach.

"Nice place," Dad commented shutting off the car. It was, the pictures I saw on the internet did not do this place justice. Though it was small, the house was beautiful, large stones made up the bottom half of the exterior and dark stained wood was the top. A stone chimney stretched up the left side of the house and on the right there was a flag stone walkway through a garden that I assumed led straight to the beach. The light of the setting sun gave the entire place a fictional feel, this was the kind of place you read about in books.

"Oh wow," My mom said as we stepped out of the car.

"It looks like it comes from a fairy tale." She turned to look at me and I smiled, a genuine, huge smile. Maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as I thought.

"Honey we can get your bags if you want to grab Kasey." My mom said walking behind the car and popping open the trunk. Kasey's huge brown eyes looked out at me and I scratched her ear.

"Hey Kasey, come here girl." I picked up the dog and walked up to the front door of the house, shifting Kasey's weight to one arm I dug the keys the previous owner of the house had given me a few weeks ago out of my pocket. I fitted the key into the lock and twisted it, hearing a click I swung the door open. A small hallway opened up before me, burgundy walls, and beige carpeted floors, I walked in leaving the door open for my parents. The hallway opened up into a small kitchen on the left and a living room on the right that had an old dusty couch and a mini TV. A glass sliding door on the far wall opened up onto a shallow deck that rested on the sand and long grass of the California beach. On the far right side of the living room were two other doors, bedroom and a bathroom.

"This looks cozy." Mom said setting two duffel bags on the floor by the kitchen, as I set Kasey on the soft floor by the sliding door.

"I love it." I say turning to her, tears coming to my eyes. I run over and jump into her arms catching her in a tight hug.

"I'm going to miss you guys." I say my face buried in her auburn hair.

"We'll miss you to sweetie." she said returning the hug. I could her my dad walk in with more bags and set them with the others. He came over and hugged us both and then I could hear Kasey struggling to get up then limping over to us, she pushed her head agianst my leg and I laughed wiping the tears off my cheeks with the back of my hand. I reached down and pet her head.

"Already part of the family, isn't she." Mom said releasing me. Dad took a step back but kept an arm around my mom's waist.

"Do you want us to help you unpack?" He asked, I shook my head.

"No, it's okay, I got it." I said giving him a hug.

"Okay, well...make sure you call." Mom said pulling a tissue out of her pocket and dabbing at her eyes.

"Of course mom. I love you guys." I say, mom looks up at dad smiling. Dad puts a pice of my wavy red hair behind my ear,

"Well, we better go, but call us when classes start. Okay?" He said looking earnestly at me.

"Okay dad, but that's not for another two months, remember. I wanted to get settled in before school started." I answer.

"I know but just...oh we're so proud of you Kylie." He says pulling me into another hug.

"Don't you guys have to be at the airport soon? Europe won't wait for you." I say hugging him back. Dad pulls back and Mom sighs,

"You're right. Honey we should go, leave Kylie to her unpacking." Mom says taking his arm.

"Bye sweetie," Dad says before walking back down the hallway and out the door. I follow them and lean on the door frame. I watch as the get back into the car. I wave as they pull away and dissapear into the approaching night. Then I close the door and lean agianst it taking a deep breath, I see Kasey looking at me a curious look in her eyes.

"I guess it's just us now girl." I say as I walk over and kneel beside one of my bags and unzip it.

----------------------------------------------------

An hour later everything has been unpacked, things that needed cleaning have been cleaned, I put everything away and even had time to run to a nearby pet store to buy stuff for Kasey. Food and water bowls, kibble, a bed, a collar and tag and a leash. I had also reassessed her paw, turns out it wasn't broken, just sprained. I was hopeful that it would heal soon, it would be nice to have someone to go on my morning runs with me. It was ten o'clock by the time I curled up on the couch with a blanket and my laptop and started flicking through movies.

"What do you think Kasey, The Internship or The First Time?" I said out loud, attempting to satisfy my Dylan O'Brien craving. I leaned over to look at Kasey who was curled up in a little husky ball in her bed. Her brown eyes looked up at me and seemed to say "You humans are really pathetic" I laughed,

"The Internship it is then." I said and clicked on the movie and settled in for a night of laughs. I didn't crawl into bed until one thirty.