CHAPTER 4 - PREPARATIONS
My house was a small, two story, colonial cottage that was the color of a plum. My Mom had always done weird things, so the day I came home to find my house purple, it was no surprise. Still, I thought the bright green shutters were a bit much.
It was a fifteen minute walk from Dr. Cave's office to my house, and by the time I got home, the sun was setting lower and lower in the horizon. I could smell my Mom's meatloaf in the oven.
"I'm home," I yelled as I opened the front door and made my way through. "Mom?"
No answer came.
Must be in the kitchen, I thought.
Sure enough, she was. "Oh, hello dear. How was your session? You're home early."
"It was fine," I said, as I usually did. "Dr. Cave had stuff to do, so we cut the session short. Besides, we really didn't have much to talk about."
My Mom smiled at me and chomped off the tip of a carrott. "And did he mention my call?"
"Yeah, he did. It was nothing though, hardly even worth mentioning."
"Oh," my Mom said, going back to her cooking. "That's good."
I nodded. "Yup. Better get started on my homework. Call me when dinner's ready."
I made my way up to the second floor of our house, which wasn't very big. It consisted of a bedroom that wasn't even big enough for a double bed, a small bathroom, and a broom closet. My room was at the end of a short hall.
As I laid my head against my pillow, I tried to remember Carter. I remembered seeing her three distinct times, but had I seen her other times too? What if she hung around me and my Mom when she wasn't on a quest?
It was hard to imagine having a twin, but that's what I imagined her to be, except that I was one of the only people who could see her. So, was she more like an imaginary friend then? No. She was real. Zane had said so.
Getting up off my bed, I grabbed the suitcase in the small closet and set to work packing. Okay, so I'd need clothes. A toothbrush and toothpaste, definately. An extra pair of shoes would be nice too. Hand sanitizer - because no way was I going anywhere without it.
I glanced around my room. On my sidetable was a picture of me and Beth at summer camp. Actually, it was an aviation camp, and it had been pretty cool. We actually got to learn to fly a plane, not that I was any good at it. But my Mom said it might come in handy one day. I snatched it up and stuffed it in, along with a picture of my Mother. I grabbed a small first-aid kit that was tucked under my bed. I was sure that would come in handy. From my dresser, I grabbed a small knife. My Mom said it had belonged to my Father, but we never talked about him.
Truth be told, I knew almost nothing about Brad Pardil. I didn't even know what he looked like, but I suspected he had my grey eyes, or rather I had his grey eyes.
I glanced around my room for anything else.
And I was ready. Well, almost. I'd need to grab money and food, but after I caught a sniff of my Mom's meatloaf, I pushed it out of my mind and made my way downstairs.
"Smells amazing," I said as I entered our eat-in kitchen. "I'm starved."
My Mom laughed. "Oh, sure. I bet you're completely famished, huh?"
"As a matter of fact.."
Now, one thing you need to understand about my Mom's meatloaf: It wasn't real meat. It was tofu. Now, I know what you're thinking, but tofu isn't that bad. Really! Anyways, she put enough spices in it that it tasted heavenly. That's one thing I love about my Mom: The woman can cook.
