Meet Elizabeth.
She follows all of the rules. Hands in her homework on time, cleans her room when asked (not that she needs to be), says please and thank you, arrives home 5 o'clock sharp, cooks dinner, and appreciates her family for who they are...
Part V: The Move ~~~ "I'm tired of even caring." I mumbled over the phone, the statement being aimed at a certain blonde.
"It's only a matter of time before you move out, away from all of your troubles." Sebastian whispered back sympathetically.
"Thanks for all of the help, Seb. I'm so glad I met you last month, I'd be such a train wreck if it weren't for you." I finished, hinting at a goodbye.
"Yeah, me too. We'll Skype when you get to your new house, okay? Just have a great trip and try not to lose your head until then?" My only friend answered, his seriousness turning into light laughter at the end.
"Okay. Bye, I'll talk to you in approximately-" I answered, pausing to look at the time on my phone. "Eight hours. Talk to you later, Sebastian."
"See ya, Liz." He answered, hanging up the phone. The dial tone sounded against my ear but I kept the device firmly planted against my face, not wanting to leave my only true friend. This is it, we're moving. It's not like I was entirely blaming myself, as I was the one who made the last call. If I would have just shown a mere shake of the head, there would be no move, no California. But some part of me needed this relief, the dissipation of the memory that was my father. Tears were ready to spill, but my mothers demanding voice pulled me out of the fog.
"Elizabeth, the movers are ready and were late for our flight. Say your last goodbyes and let's go." My Mother shouted, voice ricocheting around the empty rooms of our two floor home. Scratch that, it's not even our home anymore. The house has already been sold since the day after Baxter came and greeted my mother. If you ask me, I'd say that he'd already sold the house long before even asking about the move. He's just that deceitful, you could never trust that Mr. Baxter.
"Alright, Mom. Be out in a sec" I yelled back, sighing. This was my choice. My choice, and no-one else's. I made the last choice, which obviously means that I'd subconsciously needed a one way ticket out of here, right? Sighing a second time I reached out and grabbed both my travel book-bag and drape front jacket. Goodbye, house. The room that had once been mine was now a desolate, empty place, foreign to me.
~~~
"Shut.up." I seethed, turning my head to the right so that I was looking at a very loud, very tone deaf brother of mine. My headphones were no match for his nasally whine, and this perfect song was being ruined as time went on. I suddenly grabbed onto Ezra's green and black headphones and yanked it out of his ears, finally getting his attention. The horrible screeching that was emitting from his mouth finally stopped, causing the van driver on the other side of me to give me a grateful smile.
"We're almost there, guys. We're almost there." The man told us, laugh lines crinkling around his dark eyes. Ezra groaned and stretched his legs across mine, a pop sounding around the car. I pushed his legs away from me and leaned towards the window, searching for the home that my Mom had shown me online. I have to admit, that house was really nice. Although, I'd only caught a glimpse of it before turning away. The move hadn't seemed real to me at the time. But this was definitely real. The eight-hour flight had been real, the half-hour wait for the movers van to pick us up had been real, and this, me sitting next to my brother Ezra on our way to our new family home, was real.
I heard the long beep of a truck as we pulled into the huge driveway.
"Oh, sir, I think you might have the wrong address. Our house isn't nearly as nice as this one. Maybe try around the block." I chuckled, gesturing towards the brownish house. It was unbelievable that this guy thought for even an instant that this was our house. I'd seen it, even though it was only for a second. He pulled out of the driveway, turning while speaking.
"Oh, I thought that I got the address right ma'am. I'm so so-" He started until my mom ran up to the car window.
"No no no, sir, this is the right address." She said breathlessly. "Elizabeth, didn't you hear me calling you?" She continued, pulling Ezra's side of the door open.
"Oh, I'm sorry Mom, I had music playing."
"Its all right sweetie. Just come on out here and take a look around." She said, looking up with wide excited eyes. I can't remember Mom ever being this happy. I gingerly stepped out of the van, supported my mothers arm. "It's even bigger than it looked on the website. There's even a pool baby, A pool! And not one of those filthy bug ridden pools that you need to clean weekly, this one cleans itself!" The words kept rolling off her tongue in sporadic bursts of excitement as we slowly walked towards the house. Her words were ended and started at about the same time, and it was enough to throw me off track with whatever it was she was saying. She was describing something along the lines of a bedroom when my eyes wandered into the simple door that we'd already wedged ourselves between.
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"Wow." Was Ezra's response and I agreed, even though I had no idea that he'd followed us.
"Right? Wait 'till you see upstairs, its a real mind blower." My mom said, clenching her hands together in excitement. I liked this side of her, all traces of her business as usual tone of voice disregarded.
"Race you." My brother's simple words caused me to bolt past him just as he bolted up the stairs. I muttered a curse and ran upstairs two steps at a time. As soon as I reached the top step I slowed down and claimed victory.
"Looks like track did me good." I said, no signs of weakness showing. A wheezing Ezra gave me a scowl, (a painful looking one at that) and flipped me off. "Well, you should've taken me up on my offer a few years ago. You would have been running track right beside me" I laughed, continuing on as my mom followed.
"Well," He started, slowly regaining his stature. "I'd rather not wear shorts that are way too short, way too baggy, and way too shiny for my taste."
"Well aren't you quite the fashionista."
"Ha. No. I just don't feel like getting made fun of."
"Yeah, right." I said, ending the conversation. We rounded a random corner, and I instantly claimed whatever room was in the simple door.
"Do you like it, Elizabeth? I knew you'd like it. Its so isolated and quaint. Its gotta be the quietest room in the house. So go ahead, take a look inside." She said, pushing me forward. I turned the doorknob and stepped inside.
"This is quaint?" I asked, actually surprised. This room seemed to me like a master bedroom, maybe even more as I walked into it. I could already see how my furniture could fit perfectly into the space before me. I could maybe even add some more if I felt like it.
"Yep. Your own thinking space. How about you go start unpacking your things then take a look around? The whole house'll be waiting for you when you get back anyhow."
"I think i'll do just that." I whispered, entranced by the place that i'd call home for a long, long time.
I swear I didn't know about any of it at first. Not the lies, the deception, the twisted ugly games being played in that neighborhood. I was simply another victim, someone who needed another life, just like all of the others. Mr Baxter's greedy roots dug themselves into all of us, His demented plans taking root in us one by one until there was nothing left but an empty husk, ready for his bidding.
