Spirited

Chapter Eight

    As I open the door, a million questions go through my head. What if they live to far away? Or what if they are just like my old parents? But when I look at them, the questions go away. Standing there is a muscular man with green eyes, black hair, and tan skin. The woman standing next to him is slender, with blue eyes, brown hair, and olive skin. It's my Aunt Elita and Uncle Sam. My mouth opens a little. Tears start gathering behind my eyes. I beckon them in.

  "Uncle Sam, Aunt Elita... what are you doing here? You live all the way in Barcelona." I say. Out if the corner of my eye, I see Peter tearing up.

   "Elita and I heard about your parents leaving. We knew, as soon as we heard, that they would leave you behind because... well I actually don't know why they would leave you. But we knew that this house would be on the market as soon as you left, so Elita and I bought the house and we want to have you as our kid. As of a month ago we learned that we will be having one ourselves and we figured he or she should have a roll model that's a bit older and we want you to be his or her's sister. Will you accept our offer?" Uncle Sam asks, almost pleadingly.

   I look at Peter. This is the only way I know for sure that I'll be around him. I can't say no, it'll break his heart and mine. I love him, he is truly my everything.

  "I... would love to be your child's sister. I accept the offer," I say willingly. 

  "Thank you December. I cannot wait to live here. Just one question, who is this young man, who has his arm around your waist?" asks Aunt Elita. Peter removes his arm. 

   "Peter is my boyfriend. We've only been dating for a week, more or less. He's been the one supporting me through this rough time. I can't thank him enough, the same way I can't thank you enough either." I intertwine our fingers. I see a look that I've never seen in his eyes. A look of gratefulness. A look of wonder. A look of... of... love.

  "Ah, Peter. I think you are a good person, and I appreciate you being there for her. And I have high expectations for you. I know what high school boys are like. I know your mom because of her parents obviously. Don't lower my expectations. I like how they are and that's the way I like it." 

  "Yessir," Peter says. Uncle, soon to be dad, Sam nods.

  "Well, Sam and I will be back in about a month. But we will stay in contact, right December?" Aunt Elita prompts. I nod. "It's settled then. Come Sam, we've got lots of work to do." The two of them walk out the door.

  "I guess they forgot about lunch," Peter notices. I nod. "You OK?"

  "It's just not what I expected. It won't be the same, either. I miss Willow and the triplets. Ariana and my mom. I want something that I had before they left, besides you obviously. I had expected something and someone so much more complex, you know. I thought it was going to be so much harder than just choosing the first person I met. It is what it is, I guess." I say without looking at him. He walks over quietly and takes my hand gently. He puts me into his embrace and I move in slightly. "I'm just scared, I guess."

   "You have every right to be. But a month's a long time. Will you be okay alone for the some of the nights?" he asks lightly. I nod slightly. "OK." he whispers in my ear.

   His lips scrape mine, as our forehead touch each other. I stand there, relaxed but unstable. I whimper at the thought of everything I have lost recently. He pulls me close and puts his hand on my face, gently. I shiver at the gesture, even though he has done this many times. But this time I had a precarious feeling that something was different. I backed away a little. He lets me.

   "Something wrong?" he asks.

   "I don't know. I just felt weird when you touched my face. But I don't know what it was, and why it happened. It might be because of all of the changes going on in my life but, I'm not sure." I say, unsure of myself.

   "OK. So... do you want to do something?"

   "Lunch." I say. As I say the word my stomach rumbles. I laugh at the sound, and Peter does too. 

   "Lunch it is then. Let's go!" He smiles and heads to the car. I follow.

  I knew my life was going to change drastically. But knowing that I had Peter, and soon parents, I was going to be OK... 

...at least, that's what I thought.