One In Five

Chapter One

    I close my eyes and recline the chair back. For the first time the entire day, I have a break. A moment of peace. Truth is, my brother and I have been alone for the past four days. My parents, along with the parents of my best friends, have gone on a carnival cruise. They'll be back in two days.

    I open my eyes and look through the sliding glass door. I begin to stare at the trees. Watching them sway in the light, Florida mid-July breeze. I look down at my iPhone and watch the minute change. 7:57 p.m. "I should really start getting ready", I said to the empty house. I quickly run upstairs to my bedroom.

    Today is Katie's birthday, so the girls and I decided to go out to the club the afterward we'll be sleeping at Riley's house. All of us have been best friends for about twelve years. We met in Kindergarten when I ran around the classroom to the four of them and repeated: "Hi, my name is Mia". I never imagined we'd celebrating Katie's eighteenth birthday together.

    Katie is the youngest out of the five of us. Her parents, Ronald and Margret Matthews, moved her here from Michigan when she was just four years old. She's an only child. Her parents treasure her like no other. Straight brown hair and pretty green eyes.

    Next in line is Riley. Riley was adopted when she was 18 months old. Red hair, freckles and green eyes. Her family consists of five brothers and three sisters. All in which Helen and Brett Marlo adopted. Riley could probably be considered the timidest of all of us. Only us girls can seem to get her out of her shell. Which makes college a scary thought, because I'm sure our lives and goals will separate us all eventually. Then what happens to the shy little girl we've all grown to love so much.

    The "middle" child would be Emma. She has a twin sister named Ella. Rene Lanes gave birth to them in this very town. Their father walked out on her before the girls were even born. Both girls have brown hair and brown eyes but Ella has freckles. They're incredibly similar. However, Ella got to skip a grade, so now she is in going to college in Alaska. Since they've been separated, Emma has shown a drastic difference in attitude. But Ella calls her all the time and they're always texting. It's pretty sweet.

    Then there's Hailey. Hailey has blonde hair and hazel eyes. Her grandparents, Claire and Robert Paisley, raised her into the outgoing and courageous girl she is today. Her grandfather has been struggling with health problems for as long as I can remember. He's strong though and honestly one of the sweetest people I've ever met. Hailey used to have a brother. He passed away of an overdose. Hailey's parents left them when they were young.Three years ago Brian started doing drugs. And unfortunately, they took over his life. Hailey hasn't been the same since. But who can blame her? Siblings have a special bond.

    Finally, there's me. Mia Wilde. I'll be nineteen in a few months. I live with my father, Joseph, my brother, Michael and my two sisters, Desiree and Maria. My mother died when I was fifteen from liver disease. Which has been hard. Some mornings I wake up wishing I hadn't. But in the end, I look at my life and the people I'm still blessed to have by my side and it wouldn't be worth it. Plus I have Emmanuel. The absolute love of my life. He's been there for me through everything. I love him. I have curly, dark brown hair and big brown eyes.

    I get to my room and take my hair out of its sloppy bun. I begin to split it into layers and carefully straighten each section. Dancing to my playlist. Which is filled with beautiful music from my father's country?

    I hear the front door close. Sudden pounding up the stairs. I then hear the distant and constant curse words which sound as if they're coming from earbuds. And then I see him. Michael. He looks just like me but like, manlyish. He's like six feet tall and quite obnoxious. But then again what sixteen-year-olds aren't obnoxious.

    "Hey Cracky", He yells in my ear. Obnoxious.

    "Hey, can you straighten out the bumps?", I asked. " I have to leave in an hour and I'm nowhere close to ready".

    " Fine, where you going, though?", he asked.

    "I'm going to the club. I told both you and Dad this like three days ago" I scoffed.

    "Oh yeah. You got that party for uh, Riley right?".

    "Katie".

    "Right", he laughed. "No more bumps".

    "Thanks, jerkface".

    He laughed and walked across the hall to his room. Now time for makeup. I dampen my beauty blender and applied my foundation. Then concealer and powder. I contoured and highlighted for dimension and shine. Eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, brow gel. The whole nine yards. I wanted to look nice tonight.

    Hailey will be here in fifteen minutes and I haven't even gotten dressed. I slip on a long black dress and some pumps. I hooked the latch of my hoops and put on a necklace. I then grabbed a rather large purse to put my change of clothes and shoes in. I know I won't be at Riley's for too long, but I don't want to stay in this dress for too long.

    My phone starts to vibrate on the table. It's Hailee. She's in the driveway. I run downstairs as fast as I can in pumps and I run into Michael before I walk out the door.

    "I was hoping to catch you before you left. I just wanted to ask you to please be careful. And I love you. Call me if you need anything". This is the first time he has been sentimental in a long time.

    "I love you more Michael. I'll see you soon" I replied. He watched as I walked out of the door.