Home Sweet Home

Chapter One - Elijah

Elijah felt a soft breeze on his face, he stretched with a yawn and opened his eyes. His seatbelt was rubbing uncomfortably against his neck, so he sat up straighter and looked out of the car window. His older sister, Autumn, was driving the car while their dad sat in the passenger seat, taking a break. 

"Hey Elijah" Autumn said, noticing Elijah's movement "Sleep well?" she asked. Elijah didn't answer and instead asked another question "Are we almost there?" he asked, pulling his jumper sleeves down. Autumn shrugged "Does it look like we're almost there?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, Elijah sighs and looks back out of the window. About a month ago their dad had been fired from his job and two weeks ago they'd been forced to move out of their flat in their town and move in with their grandpa in a small town near the coast. Elijah hadn't met his grandpa before, but from what he'd heard his grandpa was very fit and energetic. Elijah wasn't too thrilled about the move, but they simply couldn't afford their flat anymore. Autumn could only manage a part-time job as she was still in school, so Elijah just had to give up and hope that this new town wouldn't be too bad. 

A couple hours later, Elijah's dad had taken the wheel again and they were just pulling into the town that they were going to live in for now. "Here we are! Grandpa's house" Their dad said with a grin, he'd always been an optimistic person, trying to find the bright side in every situation. The car came to a stop and Autumn got out and went around to the boot to pull some of their things out while their dad walked up to the door and knocked on it. A tall man with a balding grey scalp opened the door "Benjamin!" he exclaimed in a hoarse voice, he embraced Elijah's dad with a tight hug. "Hey grandpa" Autumn said, walking up to the door with Elijah's bag as well as her own. "Autumn, how are we? All grown up I see" The man says quirking an eyebrow, before embracing Autumn as well. Elijah looked nervously at the man as he opened the car door and walked up to the door, giving him a small smile and a wave. The man smiled warmly at Elijah "Ah you must be the newest little soldier eh?" he said ruffeling Elijah's hair, Elijah chuckled nervously "Uh- Yeah" he said. Benjamin grins "Dad, this is Elijah" he says, patting Elijah on the shoulder reassuringly. "Well, it's nice to meet you, little soldier, now all of you come in come in! It's chilly out here" Grandpa exclaimed, stepping to the side to allow them to enter. "There's a campfire in town this evening, I was thinking we could all go as a family" Grandpa suggested, sitting down in an arm chair and leaning on one of the arms. "Oh that sounds great Dad!" Benjamin replied "I'll just get the kids settled in and we can go", he added practically pushing Elijah and Autumn into the hallway. "You two get your things unpacked and change into some clean clothes" Benjamin said, opening the two doors at the end of the room. Autumn sighed "Alright, dad" she said, walking into the room on the right and closing the door behind her. Elijah nodded and stepped into the left room, closing the door behind him as well and placing his bag on the bed in the middle of the room. It had a musky smell to it, like it hadn't been occupied for a while. Elijah sat down on the bed with a sigh "I really hope this works out" he said to himself, covering his face with his hands "Be positive, be positive, be positive" he mumbled as he unpacked his clothes and picked an outfit for the evening, having a shower before putting them on. 

Fifteen minutes later, the whole family was in the living room and ready to go to the campfire. They all jumped in Grandpa's old white truck, although the paint was peeling so it looked more like a grey truck. It took another fifteen minutes to drive into town, but the 'town' was more like a village in Elijah's opinion. As soon as the truck was parked, Benjamin opened the door and started strolling towards the campfire with Grandpa close on his heels. Elijah started walking following them but a hand stopped him, he turned around to see Autumn. She squeezed his shoulder in a comforting manner "You ready?" she asked with a small smile, Elijah returns it "Not at all" he replied, Autumn grinned and stood up, taking a step towards the campfire, before turning back to Elijah "Great, let's go then" she said, smiling and jogging over to the others. Leaving Elijah standing next to the truck in the parking lot, the cold wind picking up around him as he looked uncertainly at the path to the campfire. "Ready or not, here I go" he said, taking a deep breath and jogging over to Autumn. 

Written on the second of June 2022 by MxGiraffe 

Published on the eleventh of July 2022 by MxGiraffe

Author's Note: If anyone does fanart of this story pleeeaaasssse show meeeeeee and I'll put it up on the chapter and tag youuuu (If you want me to ofc)