Summertime Madness

Prologue

Families all have their own dynamic. There's a Spanish saying that translates to "Every house is it's own world." Personally, I agree with that statement one hundred percent. There are no two families alike. As for my mother and I...Well, we have a very unique relationship. We love each other something fierce, and we are very invested in the well being of our family, but sometimes our personalities clash because our thoughts on how to succeed are often different.

My family and I were all headed to Martha's Vineyard for the summer and the drive down to the ferry was, to say the least, an experience. My parents were bickering which was extremely unusual for them because while my mom and I were worlds apart in many aspects, my parents were like two peas in a pod. They agreed on absolutely everything and almost never fought about anything. It made agreeing on executive household matters a lot easier for them. I had seen them fight a handful of times over the course of my life and all of the "discussions," as my mother liked to put them, seemed to blow over before they really even started.

This time their squabble was about whether Martha's Vineyard was safe enough for Graham, my little brother, and I to stay on alone every once and awhile. The topic should have been put away altogether. I was nearly eighteen and taking care of my little brother was not such an overwhelming, laborious act.

"Are we there yet?" Graham moaned out in his annoyingly cute voice. My mom turned around and looked at Graham for a few seconds before responding.

"We have about half an hour before we get to the ferry. Then after that we'll be on the boat for about another twenty minutes. So in less than an hour all of us will be living it up at the beach." I rolled my eyes slightly. It's not that I didn't want to go to the beach, it's just that I didn't want to go to the beach.

My mom was still looking at Graham with that twinkle in her eye she got every time she thought about Mira. Graham was looking more and more like her every day and my mom missed her best friend a great deal.

When my mom was in college she met her best friend. Her name was Mira. Beautiful is too simple a word to describe her. She had an ambience that just radiated fresh, loving, and kind. Her allure stretch out to the physical too. Mira was stunning inside and out. She was tall and had a modelesque figure and long blonde hair with the most intriguing green eyes. Everyone wanted a piece of Mira. My mom and Mira became friends very quickly. They roomed together for four years and were inseparable. But everything good has to come to an end. My mother and Mira graduated and they both decided to take a long trip to Europe.

There Mira met John Collins, who she would later describe to be the love of her life. My mom instantly realized that Mira had found someone special and decided to go back The States, leaving with some pseudo excuse she came up for Mira to stay. In her love drunken stupor Mira didn't realize my mom was lying, but my mom was doing it out of love.

John was a very wealthy man. His father had been a regular on the Forbes Top 100 list of billionaires and John had inherited all of his father's fortune as well as the large one he had amassed on his own. Needles to say he was very well off. Mira and John hit it off instantly and their love story was one for the books.

My mother and her best friend stayed in contact throughout it all though. They never forgot about each other and were always each other's constants. A few years after Mira's fairy tale wedding my mom found her own Prince Charming. They settled down and had me shortly after.

When I was younger our house was filled with laughter, love companionship. Mira and John visited quite often and they both loved me like their own, spoiling me to the point where I didn't have enough space in my room for all of my things.

However, money can't buy all of our hearts desires. Both Mira and John were desperate to have kids. For many years it seemed that it wasn't in God's plans for the Collins family to have children. Mira never gave up though. She went to fertility clinics, changed her diet, counted her cycle. Everything that was humanly possible she did. In the end it paid off because when I was about seven years old Mira and John Collins had their miracle baby. Graham Collins.

Mira's life was a like a movie. She had infinite love in her husband, her baby, her family, and her friends. She had beauty, and not to mention a pretty hefty net worth. But none of that could overcome the laws of life. Everything that lives, must die. Mira and John died on their way to come visit my family. Leaving a beautiful baby boy behind.

My mom was devastated when this happened. It was the Easter of 2007. I was only eight years old, but I remember it like yesterday. I was wearing a cute white dress, with flower prints all over it, and a pink bow. My hair was up in two pigtails, and I was wearing my mom's lipstick because I had a little crush on John, so I always dressed to impress.

We were expecting them at around four in the afternoon. My dad was mowing the lawn. My mom cleaning the house, it was a time to celebrate. It was always a happy time whenever Mira and John were coming.

But this time they never came, instead a call was delivered. At 3:27 PM, our lives changed forever. Mira and John's taxi was hit by a truck, only one survivor. Graham Collins.

That day we lost two people, people who meant the world to my family, but that day we got something too. Mira and John had given us their most prized possession, Baby Graham. Who for all intents and purposes was now my baby brother.

Graham was so beautiful, he had Mira's hair, and eyes, John's tan complexion, and light brown hair, you could tell he was going to be a looker when he grew up, just like his mother and father. And, with Graham also came other things. Mira and John had left Graham their company, money, land, and houses.

Which leads me back to driving to the ferry. We were all heading out to Graham's house on Martha's Vineyard. School had just ended about five days ago. Graham was bouncing off the walls with excitement. He just finished fourth grade and was ready to spend the summer at the beach. Me? Well I was pissed.

I have this dream of going to Oxford Law School in London. But in order to achieve that you have to have a pretty amazing resume. I had gotten this internship at a very prestigious law firm in Manhattan. It was only about forty minutes away from where we lived. My mom made me turn it down. My mother, Anna Marie Atwood, made me turn down an internship at White & Case, the biggest most powerful law firm in the United States. I worked my butt off, for three years in order to get that internship. They almost never accept high school students, preferring the more developed and cultured college crowed. To my appreciation one of the partners was apparently so impressed by my tenacity that he gave me a chance. I was suppose to be working with some of the most powerful and successful lawyers around the world.

This would have been my ticket to Oxford Law School. But my lovely mother thought that summer was a time to have fun. This was one of the major differences between my mother and I. So here we are, in our car driving to the ferry that will take us to Chilmark, Martha's Vineyard. 

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Hello!! This is my first story here on Wattpad, and I've posted a few other things, but for now this story is going to be my main focus. I plan to update every Saturday, and maybe even more if possible. I am really excited to embark on this journey with anyone who is willing to join me, so if you like what you're reading so far tell me! Vote, comment, and share it with your friends. Tell me if there's something you'd like for me to add, give me feedback. The more involved people are the better.

What do you think is going to happen to Thalia this summer? Is she going to have a good time and enjoy herself? Or do you think she'll mope around for a few months?

Thank you everyone!! I'll post another chapter next Saturday!!