refuse to sink ➛ a.c.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“No!” I protested.

I was sitting in an office with the foster care people. They wanted to send me to a foster care.

“Well you can’t stay in your own house! You’re 15! That’s way too young to live on your own!” they explained to me.

Live on my own.

My dad died a few weeks ago from cancer. And Sarah and Zach moved somewhere is Texas. Zach hated my guts now. Sarah threatened me if I told Zach she would tell everyone I loved him. So Zach thinks I am being a jerk to Sarah for no apparent reason. Sometimes she fake cried in front of him, telling him that I bully her.

I don’t like him anymore though. I kind of hated him, but I still didn’t want people thinking I love him and besides Sarah told Zach anyway, but they moved away a year ago.

“There has to be another way!” I shouted.

“Well if you have any relatives, we can send you there.”

Austin. He lived in…

Texas.

Well it beats a foster care. Besides what are the odds of Sarah and Zach living in the same exact place.

“Austin Mahone. He’s my cousin. He lives in Texas.”

“What are his parents’ phone numbers?”

I gave them the phone numbers and they called my Aunt Michele.

They said I could stay and live with them.

“Well, go to your house, pack your things, and say goodbye. Your flight leaves at 8 tonight.”

“Thank you so much,” I smiled and walked out of the building. I wonder if Austin will become famous one day and then I’ll have some fame too because I’ll be living with hm. He posts YouTube videos online. I sing too, well I haven’t sang in a while. We used to sing all the time with mom, until… you know.

I walked down the sidewalk. Our house was really close to the foster care company. Just a block away I think.

I reached my house and walked inside. My dad died right here. On this carpet near the door. He didn’t know he had cancer. One second he was fine and the next he collapsed on the floor and never woke up.

I figured I would pack one thing from each of my brothers and my dad. To have something to remind me of them. I walked into Landon’s room first. I remember him dying right in the corner. I never even got to say goodbye to him. I grabbed his watch off the nightstand. His favorite watch. He had a thing for watches. I walked into Pete’s room.

The thing I would take from him was easy, his Gameboy. He was addicted to it.

Then next was my dad. I walked into his room. I took a picture of our whole family. Pete when he was 1 years old, was sitting in my mom’s lap, and Landon and I at age ten standing next to each other and in the back was my dad. I smiled at this old memory. It was taken at Christmas time. It was for our Christmas cards. That was when we had a normal family, mom died the next year.

I brought all this stuff to my room and lay it out on my bed. I put on Landon’s watch. I was going to wear this every day.

I put the other stuff at the bottom of my suitcase. It would be embarrassing if Austin saw the Gameboy. He probably doesn’t even know my family is dead. He knows about my mom but that’s because his mom was her sister and he went to her funeral with us. He probably just thinks I did something bad so my dad is making me go there.

I only had an hour until my flight left, so I just grabbed all of my shirts and stuffed them in my bag, then I took another suitcase and out all my other stuff in there, along with my hats. I love hats, especially Snapbacks.

I zipped them up and walked outside. I only had 15 minutes to catch my flight. There was a black car waiting for me in my driveway. Isabelle was in it. She was like my enemy. She was like 19 years old but she worked for the foster care place. I stayed there for 2 weeks and she didn’t make a good impression on me.

I stuffed my two bags in the trunk and sat in the front seat.

“You’re living there and you only have two bags?” she asked me. She shook her head in disgust and put on her lipstick while looking at herself in the rearview mirror.

“Just drive me there already or I’ll miss my flight.” I yelled at her.

“Whatever,” she grunted and put her lipstick away. She backed out of the driveway and started driving.

“So I forgot your story. What happened? Parents died or they didn’t want you because you’re such a snob?” she laughed.

“It isn’t funny Isabelle,” I muttered. How could she think my parents not wanting me or dying is something to laugh about.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, “So what did happen?”

“It’s none of your business and anyways I don’t want to talk about it,” I said coldly.

“Ooh, was it that bad?” she asked and I nodded without looking at her. I just stared outside my window.

“Anyways, do you want to change your outfit first? I heard Austin is really cute,” she blurted out.

“He’s my cousin,” I explained.

“Ugh well anyway I heard he has this really cute friend named Alex Constancio. You want to look good for him don’t you?”

I looked down at my outfit. Black skinny jeans with a big black belt and a gray t-shirt, and my hair was down and wavy to my waist. And of course my watch.

“I mean it looks good and all but I heard he likes girly girls.”

“Look I’m going there to get out of foster care not to flirt with Austin’s friends.”

“I’m just saying he goes to his house a LOT!”

“How do you even know this?”

“I watch his youtube videos,” she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Whatever.”

“Anyway we’re here. Now get out and leave. Remember to look pretty.”

“Thanks Izzy!” I yelled sarcastically as I shut the door to the car and grabbed my bags.

I had a big suitcase and a backpack.

Her car pulled away as I walked inside the airport. I held my plane ticket in my hand. I walked to the front desk.

“Hello how may I help you?” the nice lady asked me.

“Um I have tickets for the 8 o’clock flight to San Antonio, Texas,” I explained.

“Ok, just drop off your bags right here,” she pointed to big pile of suitcases, “And you can enter your plane over there,” she said and pointed to the north of the airport.

“Thank you,” I smiled and ran past the mob of people. I handed the lady my ticket and walked onto the plane.

My seat was in the front next to two girls. I sat down and they both looked at me.

They looked like twins.

They stopped looking at me and went back to chatting. I thought I heard something about ponies but I’m not sure.

I took my iPhone out of my pocket and was really shocked when I saw I got a text.

It was from… Isabelle. Yay me.

I: Your aunt is picking you up after the plane lands.

Me: Duh, how else would I get to her house?

I: Shut up, later loser.

I turned my phone off and just lay down for a minute. It was relaxing except for the twins yapping up behind me.

I closed my eyes and before you know it, I was asleep.