Soulmates and Exceptions #Wattys2016

The Move

She watched the brothers trying to outdo each other in the pool - a smile gracing her face as she set the night's dinner in the crock-pot. In a few hours, the smell of the cooking meal would fill the kitchen. She had a few hours to think about everything that's happened and how she got here. She can't help but recall meeting them for the first time - the day everything in her life changed. Her family moved into the neighborhood just before she started fifth grade and they were the only other kids her age in the neighborhood.

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"I don't want to go to school here!" Gabriella whined to her mother, as they watched the movers unload their belongings into their new home.

Her mother checked the contents of one of the boxes that were on the lawn. "We've been over this Gabriella. Your father got a new position in his company and that means we have to move closer to the new office."

"But I liked our old home! My friends are there!"

Her mother faced skyward, taking a calming breath before continuing, "Gabriella, this is our new home. I'm sorry that we had to leave your friends and everything you've ever known, but it is the best for our family." Gabriella crossed her arms across her chest in a small pout. "I'm sure that we can find lots of things to do - and maybe make some new friends." Her mother looked down the quiet street, feeling guilty that she and her husband chose this neighborhood. It had been one of the few they could afford to move into. From everything she had seen thus far, the homes were filled with older couples matched long ago and well-past their child-raising years, or they were more recently matched couples in various stages of eagerly beginning their families.

"GIVE IT BACK JACKSON!" Gabriella and her mother jerked their heads towards the direction of a boy's voice. A boy looking a little older than Gabriella raced around the moving truck and across Gabriella's yard, clutching a football. He seemed to be tall for his age and had dark brown hair that was shorter on the sides than the top. A younger boy, with light brown, wildly spiky hair, was chasing after him.

"You gotta catch me first! Good luck with those little legs of yours!" The boy mocked the younger boy, who appeared to be closer to Gabriella's age.

The boys raced around the yard, completely unaware of the stacked boxes awaiting their turn to be moved inside the house. Gabriella guessed the older boy was 'Jackson,' and he was about to run into a couple of boxes close to the porch. "WATCH OUT!" She yelled a moment too late. The boy crashed into the boxes, sending them falling onto the walkway.

"Are you alright?" Gabriella's mother helped the boy to his feet.

"Yes, ma'am." Jackson replied. "I'm sorry about this. I um..." he reached the back of his neck and began to scratch it nervously.

"Jackson! Are you okay?" the wide-eyed, younger boy stopped in front of the mess. Jackson nodded.

"Don't worry about it - Jackson, was it?" Gabriella's mother smiled at the two boys. "I'm Rose. This is my daughter, Gabriella." Gabriella gave a small wave. "And you are?" She asked the other boy.

"I'm Spencer, ma'am." The boy stared at the woman, intrigued by her. Her short, honey-brown hair fell to her shoulders. Her hazel eyes showed a niceness that he hadn't been accustomed to from other adults, let alone women.

"Nice to meet you both, Spencer and Jackson. Do you boys live nearby?"

"We live..." Jackson began.

"Jackson? Spencer? Boys?" A frantic voice interrupted. "Jackson? Spence - boys!" A slightly disheveled man about the same age as Rose, with spiky brown hair raced up to them. The dark circles under his eyes and worry creases in his face let Rose know instantly that there was a good chance that he and his family most likely struggled as much as her own. In a voice that changed slightly from worried to more stern, the man grabbed each boy by an arm. "Boys? What did I tell you about staying by the house?"