The Moonlark

Part 2: My New Home

I step over to the counter to pick up my drink, and walk out of the door, and over to the park. I take a deep breath, since I have several hours to kill, and sit down on a bench, closing my eyes. Only a couple seconds go by before I hear a shriek, and something heavy topples into me, and my hot chocolate spills all down my shirt. My eyes shoot open, and I bolt to my feet, wiping at my shirt.

"I'm so sorry!" A female voice cries out.

I whirl around and face her. Her shirt is covered in my hot chocolate, and her face is covered in mud.

"Oh no, did it burn you?" I ask, seeing her pawing at her shirt.

"No, no, that was my fault." She groans. "I'm so sorry I tripped- I'll buy you another one."

"Nah, it's okay, it was an honest mistake. Hey, do you need another shirt? I have a couple spares in my car." I offer my hand, and she grabs it and stands up.

"That would be lovely, thanks."

I walk her to the car, and we make small talk until we get there. She introduces herself as Biana Vacker, and I introduce myself as well. We both quickly change our shirts, and I offer her a ride home, but she declines.

"Thanks again!" She says, waving as she walks off. I wave back, and walk back to the coffee shop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I step out of my car and shut the door, clutching the keys in my hand. I take a deep breath before pulling my suitcase out of the trunk and walking to the front door of a HUGE house.

I raise my fist, but the front door swings open before I can knock. A beautiful redhead stands in the doorway with a nervous smile.

"Uh, hi?" I say. "My name's Sophie."

"Nice to meet you- I'm Edaline. Please, come in." She pulls the door open wider, and steps out of the way.

I awkwardly lug my suitcase inside, and wait as Edaline closes the door and leads me up the stairs.

"So, here's your bedroom-" she opens a door and reveals a huge space filled with a gorgeous canopied bed, along with an ENTIRE couch, a TV, and a giant bathroom with a swimming pool sized tub. She looks at my gaping face and hesitantly adds, "I'm sorry we didn't add any details, we weren't sure if you would like it?"

"Edaline, this is so pretty!" I walk in and set my suitcase down on the bed. I turn, beaming, to her. "This is all for me?"

"Yes!" She looks so relieved. "Uh- yes, this is for you. Oh, and here comes Grady!" She glances out of my huge window, and hurries down the stairs. I follow on her heels as a handsome man who looks like a movie star walks in.

"Hey, hun." He stops and gives Edaline a pec on the cheek. "And you must be Sophie?"

"Yes." I hold out my hand and he shakes it. "Thank you so much for letting me stay with you."

"Of course." He grins. "We owed the Black Swan a couple favors. I'm Grady."

Edaline excuses herself, and walks into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"So... what do you do for a living?" I ask, trying to make small talk.

"Well, I work at an animal sanctuary, but in my free time I'm a carpenter. Eda's a fashion designer, but she helps with the animals from time to time," Grady says proudly. "I've heard you get payed for being the top agent for the Black Swan?"

"Yeah, but only on my big missions. And I definitely don't do it for the money!" I joke. "We get payed worse than teachers!"

Grady laughs. "Well, we asked Dex to show you around Foxfire tomorrow- it's a pretty big school if you don't know where to go."

"Thanks," I say. "I do get lost pretty easily."

Our conversation is interrupted by Edaline carrying in a plate of steaming food.

"Gee, Eda, you made a feast!" Grady exclaims, piling his plate high.

Edaline and I both laugh, before filling our own plates.

"Yes, well, I wanted to make it special for Sophie," Edaline retorts.

"It all looks delicious, thank you!"

Dinner is a fun meal: we all talk about things we like to do, so at least we can pretend to be a real family. I find out from Edaline when she pulls me aside after the meal that Grady is extremely overprotective, and if I needed to sneak out for any reason, my window had a ladder right under it, and the window sash didn't make any sound when moved. I managed to thank her while keeping a straight face. 

I close my door once I get upstairs, and quickly unpack my few belongings. I glance out of the window and do a double take. I rush over and open it.

"Hey dude! Stop throwing-" That's as far as I get before I'm pelted in the face with a tomato. I gag in disgust, wipe my face on my sleeve, and grab the next one sailing at my face, before redirecting it towards the figure on the ground. "Dude!" I whisper-yell. "What is wrong with you?"

He looks up from his basket of tomatoes, and meets my eyes, grinning. "Hi! I'm Keefe! I wanted to give you a warm welcome to the neighborhood!"

I stare in disbelief before turning away from the window, and walking around to double check that my school bag is packed. I wait until I hear another tomato hit the wall before groaning and marching back over to the window. "Can I help you?"

"C'mon, I wanted to give you a tour of the place!" He grins at me and I sigh.

"Hang on, let me ask Edaline." I close the window and stumble to the bathroom and quickly wash off my face.

I stroll down the stairs, managing to not trip until the last one. Edaline comes rushing over to me.

"I'm okay, don't worry," I say before she can open her mouth. "Also some guy wants to give me a tour of the neighborhood- can I go?"

"Which guy?" She asks, her eyebrows pushing together.

"I think his name was Keefe or something?" I shrug. "I dunno, but he seemed pretty invested in making me go."

"Oh yes, Keefe Sencen, I know his parents. You can go, but be back by..." She checks her watch. "Okay, It's 8 right now. Can you try to be home by 10?"

"I'll be home as soon as possible- whatever chance I get to slip away." I salute her, and she laughs. "Then, I'm off. Try not to miss me too much!"

I slip out the door and walk over to the back side of the house, where I see a tall blond, with ice blue eyes waiting for me. His face breaks into a huge smile when he sees me.

"Great! Let's go... I don't know your name."

"Sophie Foster."

"Nice to meet you, Foster! I'm Keefe Sencen."

"So I'm told."

"Gasp, am I famous?"

"Yeah, for being a loser."

"That hurts, Foster." He clutches his heart, before leading me to the sidewalk. "Anywho, this is my house." He points to a huge house right next to mine. "And look, we're neighbors!"

"Yippee." I roll my eyes, but notice a figure standing in the shadows a couple doors away. "Keefe, who's that?"

He follows my gaze, and his eyes widen. "Can it be?!"

(Sorry, I couldn't resist a cliffhanger! I hope you're enjoying my story so far!)