Promises

Searching for Aaron

"Wake up, sleepyhead." Drake woke me up. We had arrived in Canada and picked up the car. Drake had driven us to a nice hotel to stay the night in. It was 8:00am. Today was the day we would drive to Andrew's to stay with him and go out searching for Aaron. Allyson had only given me the weekends to find him, since my education was important to her.

"Can't I sleep a little longer?" I rolled over and tried going back to sleep. Him and I had slept in the same bed because 1 bedrooms were all they had left. I remember waking up multiple times during the night and not finding him, though.

"Nope! Look, you'll need to eat up. We get free breakfast here, so I'd use it to your advantage. I have all my stuff packed, so if you need to do anything besides get ready, like packing, I suggest you hurry so you can get a good breakfast."

"Ugh," I moaned. "Fine, but you owe me." I rolled out of bed and got my bag, heading to the bathroom. "Make me some coffee, please. I'm not really feeling hungry." I gathered up my stuff from the night before and got ready, gathering up everything except my toothbrush and toothpaste.

"Here ya go. Anywhere we need to stop on the way?" he asked handing me my coffee.

"Nope," I said, chugging my coffee for energy, not the flavor. I was never much of a coffee fan, but it gave me energy in the morning. When I got done, I said, "Wait, yes we do. We'll need to pick up some food for while we're out looking for Aaron. I'm gonna go brush my teeth. After I get done, we'll leave. Can you get the car started? It's freezing up here."

"Yeah, sure." He grabbed the car keys and walked out the door. I stared at myself in the mirror as I brushed my teeth, wondering if I could ever be good enough for Drake. If it wasn't for me, I would still have a family. They could still be living their lives happily. Shiloh would have a chance to grow up, and Aaron wouldn't be lost.

I stepped out of the bathroom when I was finished and headed into the parking lot. My car was parked by the front door with Drake in the passenger seat. "Oh, so I get to drive now?"

He laughed and replied, "Well, yeah. I don't know where your uncle lives." His smile was perfect; he was perfect.

"He doesn't live too far from here," I said, pulling out onto the road. It was beautiful up here. It brought back memories to when I was younger. Mom and I would sit on the front porch at Andrew's and talk for hours, watching the sky change colors as the sun set. Dusk here was beautiful.

Shiloh and I would go swimming in the lake during late summer nights, seeing who could make it to the other side of the lake. We would find turtles and make homes for them out of mud and leaves. Then Aaron came along and would start mud fights followed by another swim through the lake. It reminded me of family; it reminded me of home.

I pulled into Andrew's long driveway and ran towards the door. Before I could knock, Kyle had opened the door and wrapped himself around my left leg. "Look! It's cousin Delilah!"

"Hello to you too Kyle," I giggled. Andrew came to the door. "Is it okay if we stay just until tomorrow evening? We are going to go out and look for Aaron." I looked at him, silently pleading he's let us stay. I didn't have enough money for another hotel room.

"Of course, Delilah. It's only been a few months, yet you've grown so much!" He wrapped his large arms around me and hugged me. "You're the only niece I have left, so try to stay in one piece for me," he whispered through tears. I knew it was a joke, but there was so much more truth behind it than he'll ever admit.

Uncle Andrew had always been the 'tough' kid out of Mom and Allyson. I was never told of much of my mother's past, but she used to tell me stories when I was little about the three musketeers. She said everyone used to get her and Allyson mixed up all the time. She told us about how she was more of the girly-girl and Allyson was the tomboy. Mom would cry over a chipped nail, but Allyson had always played in the mud and crick with Andrew.

Andrew was the toughest one. He was always trying to show off his strength to the ladies, but inside, he was a soft-hearted man. He would hold Mom and Allyson during breakups and other hard times. Whenever my grandparents would try to beat them up, Andrew would take the beating for them. Even through all of that, he never shed a single tear.

"I'll be back soon," I said, grabbing a smaller travel bag out of my suitcase. I grabbed my money and set out the door with Drake following behind. This was going to be a long weekend.