The Introduction (Undying Love #1)

Once In A Lifetime Love

 Skylar

I'm in the backseat of my family's SUV with my headphones on. I'm trying my best to ignore them because I didn't want to move. They ripped me out of my life all because dad got a promotion. As if they couldn't wait until the end of the year to move, or better yet left me with my grandparents. My mom turns around and waves her hand to catch my attention. I slowly remove my headphones. "What?"

She sighs, "It's going to be okay. I promise you, Sky. You don't have to look as if we killed your puppy."

I force a smile at my mom even though I still think this whole thing sucks. "Well, what do you expect? I didn't want to move. But I was forced so...I'll probably look like this for a while."

My dad sighs in the front seat. "I didn't want to move either, but it's my job; I don't have much of a choice. Unless, you would like to be homeless?"

I roll my eyes and put my headphones back on, and close my eyes.

***

"Wake up Sky. We're here." My mom says as she tries to shake me awake.

I open my eyes and yawn, and I do a quick survey of my new home. It's a nice two story house with ample yard space with a two car garage. I turn to my left and I notice a few kids playing basketball, and a guy across the street washing his car. The lawns all appear well taken care of, and all the houses seem to have almost the same design. After I feel less like a zombie I get out of the car and I take my bags inside. When I come back for the rest of my stuff I notice the guy who was washing his car across the street headed straight towards me. When he's a few feet away from me he says, "Hey man, I see you're moving into the old Sinclair house."

I run my hand through my hair. "Yeah."

"My name is Abel, by the way."

"Skylar, but you can call me Sky for short."

"Cool. So where are you moving from?" Abel asks.

"New York."

He laughs. "Oh! You must love it here already."

With a sigh, I stick my hands in my pockets. "Right, what is there to do here anyways in Gulfport, Florida?"

Abel smiles with a sinister look on his face. "There's always the beach, movies, parties ...you know normal teenage fun. It may be on a smaller scale compared to what you're used to, but it's still fun."

"Yeah?" I gaze across the street at his car and ask, "What kind of car is that, anyways?"

Abel's face lights up. "That is my baby. A 67 Mustang Shelby GT500 Super Snake."

"It's nice man. She's a real beauty." It's an all-black two door car and from what I can tell it was painted not so long ago.

"Yeah...so since you're new, I can show you around and get you acquainted with everyone. That's if you want to."

I rub my hand behind the nape of my neck. "Ugh... sure why not. Let's say around six?"

With an amused look on his face Abel says, "Yeah, that's cool."

"Okay, I'll see you later then." He crosses the street back to his car and I continue to move my things into my new home. I'm kind of nervous having to make new friends, but I'm not worried. This should be easy enough. Right?

***

Around ten minutes after six I hear knocking at the front door. I run to the door and it's Abel standing there. "Hey man, you ready?

"Yeah, let me grab my keys." I walk back to the foyer and grab my keys off the table. I shout, "Mom I'm heading out."

"Okay, be safe honey." She shouts back.

With a laugh I say, "I will." I walk back to Abel and say, "Okay let's go."

We head to his car and we drive toward the coast. As we pass the coastline, I notice that on one side there is nothing but the ocean. On the other side, there is nothing but green. It's nature at its finest, and it's calming. A lot different from what I'm used to. When we arrive at our destination, I see a group of kids hanging around the beach parking lot. In the distance, I can make out a bonfire burning brightly. Abel says hi to a few persons as we head towards the flames. We're stopped on the way by a guy Abel calls Jimmy. He gives both of us a drink. When we get to the shore I find a bunch of kids laughing and hanging out. It seems like a cool crowd. As we get closer to them I scan the crowd and that's when I find whatever it is my heart has been searching for. Everything stops. I don't hear the music, the laughter, and the waves of the ocean or even the crackling of the fire. Everything and everyone fade away in the background. The rate of my heartbeat increases. I've never seen such an angelic looking face. When she looks in my direction I get a strange sensation. Something I've never felt before has awakened inside of me. My whole body tingles and I get this inexplicable feeling deep down in my soul. It's like I've been living all my life for this single moment and it's solely to meet her. She's with the crowd, but she seems all alone. The way she's staring into the fire it's as if she's waiting for someone, and I pray it's me. With the headphones on, she's tuning everyone out. She seems preoccupied in her own little world, and because of this I study her without abandon. She has the most beautiful honey brown skin I've ever seen. I can't tell what color her eyes are, and I'm dying to find out. When Abel sees me staring at her, he shakes his head. "No."

I sip my drink so that I don't tell him how stupid I think he's being. "Why? Is she your girl?"

He looks away from me. "She's different...She's special and I care about her like a sister."

"I can tell she's special, but why are you saying no?"

"I've known her all my life. I don't want her to get hurt, she's been through enough already."

I take a deep breath and say, "Abel I understand. But what makes you think I'll hurt her?" I ask.

Abel clenches his jaw. "Who knows, but I'd prefer to not take that risk."

I press my lips together and narrow my eyes. I murmur, "I see."

Abel looks me dead in the eyes. "We just met and you seem cool. But she's been in my life way longer than you. I have to look out for what's mine, and she's family. So let me introduce you to everyone, but you need to let go of whatever fantasy you have in your head."

He goes around the bonfire naming everyone. When he gets to her he says, "And the object of your affection is Arianna. But we all call her Ari for short."

From that moment on that name is embedded in my brain and in my heart, forever.

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