Insincere Veneer

|Chapter 3|

Up there is the beautiful Allison Janney as Elizabeth's Mom, Mrs. Ashley Ryder, and the handsome Hugh Jackman as Elizabeth's Father, Mr. Paul Ryder =)

Dedicated to BluePages2x! ;)

Thank you, everyone, for all the reads! Means a lot to me :D

Happy Reading!

~ HG xx
                          
                            |Chapter 3|

After an eight hour flight from San Francisco to Philadelphia, we arrived at our two story house. It is definitely more beautiful than our old house. Its exterior is painted beige, and its roof is a beautiful, elegant, dark brown. It looks amazing, at least to me. Simple, yet very unique.

I held Sophia's hand and ran into the house, smiling as she giggled happily.

"Liz, it's so pretty!" Her eyes widened as she beamed.

"I know, Soph! Let's go inside!" I squealed.

I opened the front door, closed my eyes, and inhaled the sweet, welcoming scent. It feels like home. Not San Francisco home, my home. I opened my eyes and grinned down at Sophia.

"Isn't this great?" I asked her.

"It's super duper great!" She twirled and giggled adorably.

I looked around, smiling at the gorgeous interior. Like the exterior, the inner walls were painted beige. The ceiling was white, however, and it had artistic carvings on it. There is a very spacious room on my left, which I guess we are going to make a living room. It is big enough for us to place a dining table and chairs, as well. On my right is a modern looking kitchen, which I know Mom would swoon over when she sees. Next to the kitchen is a bathroom, and in front of Sophia and me is a staircase. We looked at each other, silently agreeing on climbing the stairs. Once we were at the top, we were facing four adjacent rooms.

"Let's check each room, one by one. Starting from left." Sophia nodded at my suggestion.

We both walked into the first room, which is very huge. It has an en-suite bathroom, and a walk in closet, but other than that, it is very empty. The next room is slightly smaller than the first one, however, it is still big. Just like the other one, it has an en-suit bathroom and a walk in closet. The third room is a small one with nothing but a tiny walk in closet. Lastly, the fourth room is, well, a bathroom. It has a bath tub, sink, and of course, a toilet. It was not tiny, just big enough to breathe in fresh oxygen.

Everything here is so beautiful, almost too good to be true.

"Do you like it here?" Mom's voice snapped me out of my trance.

"Yes, it's so pretty," I said, smiling.

"I agree," Dad replied, nodding.

"Me too!" Sophia exclaimed excitedly. My parents laughed happily, and so did I.

"So, shall we show you your rooms?" Mom asked us.

"You already chose our rooms?" I asked, arching my eyebrows.

"It's quite obvious, anyways." Dad shrugged.

"Well, go ahead." I smiled their way.

"So, this room is ours," Mom pointed at the first room on the left, which is also the largest room of them all. "And this one is yours, Liz." She pointed at the second room, the slightly smaller one. I nodded maturely, doing a happy dance in my head.

What? I get an en-suit bathroom and a big walk in closet!

"The room next you, Liz, is Sophia's," Mom said, pointing at the smallest room. Sophia smiled, however, two seconds later, she was pouting.

"What if I get bad dreams?" She looked at me.

"You're welcome to sleep next to me whenever you want. Okay, Soph?" I bent down to her height and kissed her cheek. She nodded, a smile plastered once again on her small face.

"Alright, girls. Our stuff will arrive tomorrow, okay? There's a mattress, a blanket, and a pillow in your closet, so you can sleep on that tonight," Dad announced. Sophia and I nodded in sync.

"Hey, I heard that there's a park nearby in the neighborhood. Why don't you both check it out?" Mom suggested. My eyes darkened at the thought of maybe meeting someone there. My heart started beating at a fast pace as the dreaded thoughts and memories rushed in, uninvited.

"I'm done being a loser like you."

Betrayal.

Tears.

Grief.

"Please, Lizzy?" Sophia looked at me, her eyes begging for a yes. I gave up.

"O-okay," I stuttered nervously.

"Yay!" she squealed. I gave her a small smile and held her hand. Together, we made our way downstairs and out the door. We walked for a few minutes, chatting about the most random things that could pop in your head. After a few other minutes, we both spotted green grass and a play set in a short distance.

"Come on, Lizzy! Faster!" She held my hands and ran in front of me, dragging me behind her.

"Sophia, wait!" I yelled. She stopped and looked at me, frowning. I smiled mischievously at her before throwing her over my shoulder and running towards the playground the fastest I could. Her loud giggling was music to my ears.

"Faster, Liz, faster!" she squealed, laughing happily. Once we arrived, I dropped her carefully on the ground and smiled down at her. She returned the gesture and looked behind her, finding a swing set.

"Come on, let's go!" She hurried over to the swings. We swung together and competed on who would swing the highest, laughing and acting goofy.

I am trying my best to make her the happiest child alive. I want her to live a great childhood full of laughs, good friendship, and love.

I want her to live the childhood I never did.