A Love Lost

Ana

"Leave me alone!" I shouted as my mother dragged me by the arm towards the car. I tried with everything I had to pull away. To get free. She had packed the car with our more-than-overweight suitcases the night before.

"Come on, Ana. We have to go." she countered. "I promise, if you give this a chance, you will like it." I rolled my eyes. "If by your birthday next year, you haven't found a single pleasure there, I will see about you moving back to live with Aunt Edith or Gabriella." A much as I hated to admit it, she was being fair. Plus, when we moved to Drummond, Wisconsin three years ago, I swore up and down, left and right, that I would hate living there and my mother swore that I would find something there. She was right. I loved Drummond. The trees, lakes, and the Delta Diner made me fall in love.

"Okay." I gave in. "One year," I said raising my index finger.

"Thank you, my love." she let go of my arm. I closed the door behind me, she started the car, and we were off on another adventure. Another life.

The next morning, we arrived at Malaga airport. The flight was extremely long. Thank God we were upgraded to first class. Though a long flight, I was thankful it wasn't uncomfortable. After disembarking the plane and passing through Passport Control, we made our way to the baggage claim. One by one, our bags appeared. We then made our way from the claim to the main area of the airport, where we were greeted by a tall, tan man with dark hair. The edges of his face were outlined by a line of thick stubble.

My mother let go of her bags and gave this stranger, who I could only assume was her new husband, a tight hug.

"Hello, my love." she greeted the man.

He gave her a quick and sweet kiss before walking towards me. I didn't despise him. I didn't know him well enough to despise him. All I knew was that this man was the reason we left Wisconsin and that he was the true love of my mother's life.

"Hello Ana." he greeted me with an extended arm.

I refused his hand. Instead, I gave him a polite wave. "Hello." My mother gave me a whithering look before coming to join us and relieving the awkward tension in the air.

"Ana, this is Nicholas Morgan. Your step-father." she introduced him.

"It's nice to meet the man who makes my mother so happy," I said, genuinely. Though I was pissed about leaving, I couldn't be mad that my mother was happy.

"Thank you, Ana. That means everything," he said, smiling. "I hope that you find yourself happy here." I smiled back and nodded.

Sensing that my patience and consciousness were wearing thin, he took my suitcase from me and my mother's from her. "I think you both have spent enough time in airports. Shall we head to the house?" Nicholas addressed both of us.

My mother and I nodded.

The car ride from the airport to the Morgan's...my house was not as long as I thought. The drive was beautiful from the sea to the palm trees. Then, as we got closer to the residential area, I could see large houses with clay roofs. It was a sight. Back in America, the largest house I had seen in person was the Governor's house in Washington. It wasn't very large at all in comparison to some of these.

After Nicholas took a left off of a side road that appeared as if it dead-ended in the sea, we arrived at a black gate. He pressed a button on a remote he removed from the center console. The gate opened slowly, revealing a perfectly manicured lawn with tropical trees and flowers. The drive must have been at least half a mile. Half a mile of pure insanity. As the car slowed and parked, a large three-story mansion revealed itself. It had the same clay roof as all the other houses. As I stepped out of the car, I became truly confronted with the change in life this house brought with it.