Blue Hill, Maine

Chapter 1

"Moving on is easy but what you leave behind is what makes it hard- Unknown"
~~~
The rocky coastline lay to the right of the car, while choppy waves crashed against the shore of the beach. The dark clouds hung in the sky, letting only a small amount of sun through their haze. I could hear thunder rumbling over the sound of raindrops spattering against the car windows. It was safe to say the weather matched the mood in the car.

Dad had been silent the whole drive; he'd tried small talk the day we left California, but gave up soon after. Evan was playing his video game, a pair of headphones strapped to his ears like usual. I'd tried napping, but gave up after Dad nearly hit another car. I'd forgotten how terrible a driver he was.

More lightning flashed in the distance while the spruce trees lining the road bent in the wind. I couldn't help but glare at the trees as they snapped and cracked. I kept wishing that they would suddenly become palm trees and we'd drive past the Hollywood sign. I wanted the sun to burst through the clouds and the beach to change to Santa Monica. But the thunder kept rumbling and the waves hit Maine instead of California.

The roads were still empty since we were the only people driving towards Blue Hill. Anyone in their right mind would have turned away by now, but we kept driving. I knew that any minute now we'd drive past town and it would look exactly the same as it did seven years ago; small and old.

"Hannah should have dinner ready by the time we get there." My father said suddenly, interrupting my thoughts.

"What's she making?" Evan piped up in the back. I hadn't heard him speak for nearly five hours but at the mention of food he would always perk up.

"Spaghetti and meatballs." My father answered as he nearly ran a red light.

I rolled my eyes as I leaned against the window. The fact that she could cook surprised me- I knew that she had two kids from a previous marriage, but I'd always figured that doctors didn't know how to cook since they were rarely ever home.

Hannah was my fathers wife, and my stepmother. I'd never met her or my step-siblings, not even my half-sister who was born four years ago. Not that I'd actually known that they existed- I only found after the accident.

"Cool." Evan said, looking back down at the video game in his hands. My father turned to look at me, waiting for a response.

"Oh joy." I muttered under my breath, just loud enough for my father to hear me. He frowned, and turned his attention back to the road. Clearly he wasn't looking for a fight, which was fine with me. There'd been enough of those when he came to take me and Evan.

I turned to look at the back seat and watched Evan play around on his video game. We hadn't spoken much since the funeral so I couldn't tell if he was bothered by everything changing. My grandparents had taken charge until my father came, making sure that Evan and I were alright. I'd always assumed that if anything happened to mom we'd stay with them, but we were all shocked to find out that it was dad.

Dad arrived the day after the funeral, and we were on the road the day after. I thought that I would have had more time to say goodbye, but I didn't. Except for my clothes and a few necessities, everything I owned was still in my room at my grandparents house in L.A.

My entire life had changed in the span of a week. Instead of spending the last remaining days of summer with my friends, I was driving with my ex-father to the place I used to call home. My senior year was ruined, my future was ruined, and my family was even more ruined. Could life get any worse?
~~~
Instead of turning right, my father kept driving straight through town. I sat up, confused. Our house was close to the town, but it was one of the old and colorful ones that sat on the beach. It had been seven years, but I could still remember it perfectly. And I knew for a fact that my dad was going the wrong way.