Reasons Why (Jeremy Shada Fan Fiction)

Prologue

****2 Years Ago****

I walk through the gate in my backyard and walk towards my house. I take little notice of my Dad’s car and the garage door that is open with my Mom’s car in it. When I walk upstairs, that’s when I finally realize that everyone is home. I glance to the kitchen to see my parents and brothers all sitting there looking at me. “What’s going on?” the words escape my mouth and I see my Mom look at my Father encouragingly.

“Put your things down and come join us.” He says without any emotion in his voice. I turn around and walk down the hallway to the family room where I put my Vera Bradley Vera style Boysenberry print bag down beside the couch. Grabbing my phone, I turn around and head back to the kitchen. I slide into a chair beside my twin brother Aaron. “I got the job.” My dad states quickly.

“The architecture thing?” I ask.  My mother nods, across the table my oldest brother Jackson looks startled and my younger brother Kyle sits there looking unfazed by this.

“We will be moving in six months to California.” My mom’s eyes focus mainly on the table in front of her, “We’ll let you all finish the school year out here, but your father and I will be out of state a lot while we look for a new house. The house will be a lot bigger. You boys will now have your own rooms.” She eyes Kyle and Aaron when she says this.

“When should we start packing? I mean, like, when are we moving exactly?” Jackson asks quickly.

“As soon as school ends.”

***Six Months Later***

I stand over my bare bed and pack away the last of my books and CD’s as I'm doing this I think about how not even 24 hours ago, I said goodbye to people I may never see again. I tape it closed with the pink zebra duct tape my mom gave me to represent what boxes were mine. I grab the small bag off the floor that holds my phone, iPod, and a few other items and set it on my bed. I sense someone standing at the door and see Aaron looking at me. He walk towards me quickly and states what he wants without hesitation. The one quality he has that I sometimes envied in him, “I don’t like how much you’ve changed in these past few months,-”

I cut him off before he says my name and state in a semi-snappy tone, “Taylor.”

He stares at me for a moment blinking, “Why do you want to go by your middle name?”

“I want a fresh start Aaron,” I pause and start talking again before he starts, “Middle School was hard on me. I want to try and forget about that girl and try to be something else. I don’t want to be fake. I just don’t want to seem like nobody, the girl I was. I want to be more than that.”

“So you want to forget who you really are?”

“No, I just want to seem different to my peers.”

“I don’t like this Taylor.”

His eyes were fixed on me never breaking contact, I can tell he wants to continue until Kyle runs down the hallway with Jackson trailing behind him at a much slower speed. Jackson sees us and walks in spinning his key fob around his fingers. “You guys ready?” I nod and walk out of the room holding the last box of mine and with my bag hanging at the crook of my elbow. I descend the stairs quickly and walk out of the house and to the driveway where I put the box in the car.

“Everyone ready?” my mom says once we’re all outside. Everyone nods and we climb into the car, my dad starts the engine, drives away from the house leaving it and my old life behind.