Locked in Love

Welcome To Baker

     "It's only for the summer." My mother said.

     I have heard these words for the past  twelve years. It was kind of getting old.

My parents divorced when I was only five years old. I thought I was finally old enough to decide whether I wanted to go to Baker for the summer or not. If I didn’t want to go, I shouldn’t have to.

"Mom, I don't want to go. I go every single summer and nothing ever changes. There is nothing there worth my time.”

"Honey, your dad is there. I know he misses you. You need to go." Even though my parent were divorced they were still really good friends. They didn't have any tension like a lot of divorced parents did. Whenever they just had to be around each other, they were super friendly and talked just like they were best friends in high school. Whenever my dad called to talk to me, he and my mom would talk for a good thirty minutes before he gave the phone to me.

I sighed and rolled my green eyes. "Whatever." I said and started up the stairs.

"Avery, pack your bags, please!" She hollered up.

My dad has never had much interest in me. Whenever I go to see him over the summer, we just sit around the house and eat junk food. We never do anything entertaining. If we aren’t sitting around, he leaves me at this house while he goes to work and sometimes doesn't come home until early the next morning, leaving me to survive by myself. After the summer, I have to go to the gym every day just to work off the weight I had gained by doing nothing. I didn't know anyone there, so that just meant I would spend every afternoon sitting on the couch watching reruns of One Tree Hill. 

    I went to my closet and pulled out my black and yellow suitcase, preparing to pack for the most boring summer yet. My mom had no clue how bad it got during the summer. My dad didn’t want me there. He had me come visit him to make sure when he needed me, I would be there.

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         Baker is a small city just on the coast of North Carolina. The air always smells like sea water and it is sticky. Just arriving to the open ocean air was probably my favorite part about coming here.  I took a deep breath and sat there in the car with my head facing forward. My dad and I barely spoke five words. Just "hey" and "it's good to see you." It was always an awkward greeting between us.

      We passed by the boardwalk and the beach. There were people everywhere, even this early. I saw a mom following behind a little girl on her new bike, barley able to keep up with her. The little girl was laughing the whole time.

"So um, Avery, I have someone for you to meet." My dad said casually.

I looked at him for a few seconds. "Okay. When? Who?"

Instead of turning down the road to get to his beach house, he kept on going straight until this pale pink house came into view. "Oh crap!" I thought.   As soon as we pulled into the driveway, a woman dressed in a too tight tank top and khakis came out wearing a wide smile. Behind her was a small red headed girl wearing a red and white bathing suit.

"Avery, this is Amy, my new wife and this is her daughter, Cammie.” My dad glanced at me then to his wife.

He’s married? When the heck did this happen? And why wasn’t I invited to my own dad’s wedding?

"Um, hi. It's nice to meet you." I said, plastering a fake smile onto my face. She smiled back at me.

We stood there, awkwardly, while my dad grabbed my bags and took them inside. I cocked my head to the side and asked, "Dad, why are you taking my things in there?"