Anything Can Happen

Chapter 1

I'm arriving today to a place I'm not really fond of, But this is the last time i have to do this.

I'm 18 now, why do i have to do anything? Well because My mom isn't going to be around for the summer. She will be riding around with her boyfriend whose AC/DC cover band will be on tour until the fall, and since i've been sleeping on an air up mattress in the Sun room of my mothers boyfriends mom's House (yes this sentence is crazy) i really had no choice. At least i had a room here, is what i kept telling myself as i'm driving down the highway on my way to Grove.

My car is shaking if i try to go above 65 miles an hour, i guess i can't really be in any hurry. I just turn up the music and try to fade out any anxiety i've been having. I'll get to see Gemma my cousin, even though i've known her my whole life, and  we both just graduated, our lives could not be any more opposite. She and her dad are absolute best friends, but they had to be, death always brings people closer. Things just seem to always work out for Gemma and even though she has had to go through so many things in her life, a bright ray of sunshine is always radiating off her.

Growing up we of course would always get compared to each other, She was like sunshine and i was like rain. She was tall, and skinny and had strawberry blonde hair and I was Shorter, Curvier and had dark hair like the night sky, But i always liked that we weren't the same and i'm sure she did also.

I'm pulling up to the old lake house and even though its dark outside I can see a lot of the improvements my dad has made to the place. The shutters have been replaced, The roof looks brand new, and the siding has been painted and updated. My dad sure does love this house, I just wish he loved me the same way.

I'm grabbing my two duffel bags and getting ready to walk up the steps and into the house, It is insane to me that everything i own fits into these two bags, but with the life style my mother chooses for us to have, i haven't ever had the space to keep alot of things. 

Before I'm able to even put my hand on the door knob, I'm already facing a familiar face.

He looks older, but not that much older then when i saw him last summer. His salt and pepper hair is a bit longer, and pushed out of his face. His blue eyes are still so sparkly especially whenever he smiles, it always made me resentful that i have my mothers green eyes, A slight smile waved across his face and he let out an "hey" 

"Hey dad, you going to let me in?" i mutter back to him.

He then shakes his head up and down and grabs for my bags, I am not relunctant at all when handing him the bags, We are now just entering the home and a wave of memories come flushing at me, seeing all the wood paneling and photos on the walls brings me back.

This is the home I grew up in, This is the house where my family was a family but now it's just my dad here, and his dog Pluto who in this moment is no where to be found.

We are going up the stairs and i look over to the left and everything is just as i remembered, the blue wallpaper still looks like it trying to chip off the walls, the house still feels dark even with plenty of lights on, and the smell is still here, lake water and dog. I know i could be exaggerating but I HATE the way this place always has that smell lingering around.

He opens up the door to my room but it's not the same as i left it, The walls are painted a fresh coat of white, I now have a matching desk, head board and dresser and there is even new bedding and curtains and a laptop computer on the table.

"do you like it?" he says all soft. A slight smile has appeared on my face and i respond "yes, i really do, but this is my last summer here, you didn't have to go all out."

"Char, this will always be your home, no matter what" he says then drops my bags on the ground and walks out of the room.

I guess it's time for me to unpack, so i open my closet and i see some of my old clothes, Band T shirts that i wish still fit and even a black sundress i used to wear from time to time.

My style is probably the most basic a person can have, I'm a big t shirts and shorts kind of girl, especally in the summer, and i don't have A lot of clothes so unpacking really didn't take much time at all, i look down at my phone and it says midnight, I guess i should probably get some sleep it has been a long day.

I'm tucking myself into my fresh bedding, the purple color is really pretty and it feels expensive. 

I don't even know why my dad felt the need to do all this, but i guess i'm glad he did.