Invisible

Chapter One

Sunday, August 11th

"Jack baby, it's 12:30 in the afternoon! You need to get your lazy butt out of bed and come downstairs before I come up there and drag you out myself." Ah, that would be my adoring mother Renee, ruining yet another perfect day to sleep the day away.

I lift my head just barely enough to yell, "Yeah, I heard you! Give me a minute." I lazily stretch and let out a muffled yawn into my pillow before flipping over onto my back. Sighing, I look up at my white ceiling, pondering what my day was going to look like. Absolutely fucking nothing. I will be doing nothing. Nice Jackson. I wait a few more minutes before I slowly sit up and swing my long, slender legs over the side of my bed and rub the rest of the sleepers out of my eyes. It's Sunday and I don't even get to sleep in, what the hell is wrong with this picture. Standing up, I look around for my flannel pajama bottoms, finally seeing them crumpled up into a ball on top of my hamper. Sliding them up my limbs, I make my way to the door and then down the hallway to the staircase, skipping two steps at a time. As I enter the kitchen, I see my mother sitting down at the counter going through the Sunday paper.

"You know mom, there's only like three weeks left of summer before I have to go back to school and you're making me wake up at 12:30 on a Sunday. Either something actually happened in this pitiful town or you just hate me." I sarcastically say while grabbing the milk out of the refrigerator.

"You know Jack, there's only like three weeks left of summer before you have to go back to school and you haven't done a single thing" she mocks. Point well taken mom, I've taught you well.

"Yeah but it's kinda easy when you live in the most boring town in the whole freaking world." I pour my cereal and milk into a bowl and sit down next to her.

She doesn't even look at me when she says, "Jackson, sometimes I think Ketchum isn't the problem. I'm thinking it's your strong lack of friends."

"Renee, how many times are we going to have to go over this?" she finally turns and looks at me, "I'm just not ready for the commitment. People are wretched human beings anyways, what's the point? Half the people at my school are complete morons who couldn't pull their heads out of their butts." Giving a small chuckle, she places the paper down.

"At least you got something from your father. Sometimes I just wish it wasn't his strong sense of humor." With the mention of my father, I stop smiling and continue to eat my cereal. "But anyhow, we actually have new neighbors." That made me perk up a little.

"New neighbors huh?"

"Yep, that's what I said." I laugh a little and shake my head.

"Who in their right mind would move to this shit town?" I laugh some more and she playfully slaps my arm.

"Language Jackson," I grin with food still in my mouth, "seriously though, I went over there earlier to welcome them to the neighborhood and they seem pretty nice."

"Mom, no offence but sometimes you give people too much credit."

"I'm being serious. They moved all the way from California." I nearly choked on my food. California? What the hell is wrong with these idiots? You couldn't pay me to move to Idaho, especially from California.

"Wow, they're dumber than I thought."

"Jack, don't be so mean. You know," she stands, taking my bowl and placing it in the sink, "they have a daughter." A daughter?

"So what? She's just a girl." Yeah, but she's a girl. A girl I would never stand a chance with. Or she's ugly.

"I think she's about the same age as you, I know she'll be starting school with you in a couple weeks."

"Okay? What does that have anything to do with me?" My mom turns around and leans against the counter, giving me a sly grin. "Why are you looking at me like that? Something wrong with my face?"

Chuckling, she says, "No of course not baby, I just thought you should go over and say hi, maybe you can become friends." Of course she wants me to become 'friends' with her. What are we? The welcoming committee?

"Mom, no. I'm being serious."

"Jacky, she's new and doesn't know anybody!" I look at her with disbelief, "besides, she's very pretty." Snorting, I lean back and cross my arms. You'd think a donkey's ass was pretty if it meant I'd talk to it.

"You know how I feel about girls. We just don't mix and I'm sure she'll be fine. Every high school is shit anyways, it's just in a new location. It can't be very different than her last one."

Renee sighs and starts walking out of the kitchen before stopping and looking back at me, "Jackson, I know that things have been different since your dad. But one day you'll have to stop being so cold and start talking to people. You'll end up an old, senile, man." She gives me a small smile and turns and leaves.

Under my breath I say, "yeah well it's not like you've done any better." Maybe I don't give a shit, maybe that's what it is.

With nothing better to do, I rise from my seat and walk back upstairs to my room and sit down on my bed. Sighing, I begin to wonder what my life will actually be like when I'm older. Suddenly, I hear a soft laugh and a dog barking. Curious, I make my way over to my window and push my curtain aside and peek down.

And that's when I saw her, the first girl to ever take the oxygen out of my lungs and put a stutter in my words. She had the most beautiful blonde hair that flowed graciously down her petite back, soft pale skin that was peeking out under her clothing. Clad in a powder blue skirt and pink floral crop top, I had never seen someone so stunning in my entire life. Holy shit. As she ran around laughing with this mutt of a dog, I felt something stir inside the pit of my stomach. I wasn't quite sure what it was, maybe indigestion, but it was undeniably present and it didn't seem to be fading as I continued to stare down at her frail body. I would later find out her name was Charlotte. Charlotte Louise Anderson.

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Thank you for reading!