Every Which Way

Meeting The Family

The flight attendant announced that we are finally landing and after a long, calm flight I am officially panicking. I hope to the heavens above that the couple is decent and they don't live in the ghetto. The plane starts to shake as it hits the ground. Since I am closer to the front, thank you Jesus, I grab my things from the overhead bin and get off the plane first. While walking I take out my phone and see a text from Layla, my new "mom".

"I'm waiting out front. :)"

I walk out front and see Layla waiting for me. She had unnatural, long red hair and pale white skin. She was wearing black and red work out clothes, demon black contacts, and a few face piercings. As I walk up to her, she sees me, smiles widely,and gives me a bone crushing hug.

"Hi!", she says, releasing me.

"Hey, what's up?", I reply.

"Not much, but hop in the car I will break the rules on ya before we get to the house to meet my husband, Salem.",she said as she got in the driver's side.

"Ok", I say and I get in the car.

The first 30 minutes are spent in silence. Then Layla finally speaks up.

"So, this might come across as somewhat insensitive, but Salem and I are not going to be your parents. I guess you could say it'll be like living with friends opposed to an authority figure." she states, occasionally looking at me.

"I think I would actually prefer that over parents." I say.

She looks relieved.

"Good because when I saw your profile picture and your history I thought you would fit right in with the other."

"Wait, you have other adopted kids" I was confused.

"No, you're the first. I was just talking about our group of friends. They're around our age." She said.

The rest of the way home was silent, but not at all awkward. We pull into the driveway of this huge, black, two story house. The house is surrounded by gigantic trees, which I think is wonderful because it reminded me of home. The only horrible thing about my life in Savannah was the chain of events that lead me to La Push. Everything else about the city was wonderful. Since it was a small town everyone knew each other, I would take long walks in the woods in my backyard, and whenever it rained I would put on a tank top and shorts and go dance barefoot in the rain. I loved it and now I hope get to do it again, here. We get out of the car and start heading up to the house. Before I can knock, the door opens and before me stands who I think is Salem.

"So, you're the new girl, huh?" he says.

"Yep, that's me." I reply.

" Cool, your room is up the stairs, last door on the left, and the shipping company called and said your stuff and Silverado will be here tomorrow." he informs me.

I think to myself ,Thank god! I absolutely can't live without my things and my truck.

"Thanks", I tell him and I head upstairs.

When I get to my room I can't believe what I am seeing. It's like a dream come true. The walls are a dark maroon. The dresser, nightstand, bed frame, and Tv stand are a dark mahogany. The floor is a soft, dark, brown carpet. The room has a small walk in closet and a conjoining bathroom with a large countertop, separate shower and tub, and a toilet. The last thing that is one of my favorites is my window. It opens up like double doors and has a large sill, perfect for sitting on. Right outside my window to the right is a huge pine tree and for some reason that makes me happy. I set my bag on the queen size bed and head back down stairs and into the kitchen.

"Hey, where's Salem?" All I see is Layla

"Oh, he's off to work at the shooting range. How do you like your new room?" she asks.

"I love it. Sooo, what's your job?" I ask her.

"I work as an herbologist. I make natural medicines out of plants and I make a lot of house calls to heal people." She replies.

"That's cool," I say.

"I actually have 10 house calls to answer right now," She says while grabbing her purse and keys, "And Salem and I are going out with friends after work and won't be back until, like, really late tonight."

"Oh that's ok," I say, feeling kind of sad now.

"Here are the keys to the house and the harley out back. There are take out menu's on top of the fridge, but if you wanna eat out the address to The Diner is on the fridge and some money is clipped behind it."

When she finishes her ranting she gives me a hug, sprints out the door, and speeds away in her car. As soon as I see that she's gone I run to the open, fenceless backyard and leaning against the wall of the house that is a beautiful, silver and black Harley with a note on it. It says "Willow- Salem doesn't want this bike anymore and it is now yours. Enjoy!". This is just awesome. Not only do I have a beautiful black truck, but now I have a motorcycle too. It feels too good to be true. I go back inside and head upstairs to get a shower. It's only 11.00 a.m. so i'll just go to the diner for an early lunch and head down to the beach. After my shower I go to my new room to get dressed. I packed a small suitcase of clothes and things to hold me until the rest of my things arrived. I put on my dark maroon bikini and over that I wear a pair of denim booty shorts with a thin, black see through jacket and then I slip my dagger in my waistband. I grab my black, heeled sandals, my keys, some money, the directions to The Diner, and go out back. I start up the motorcycle and gently ride away. I hadn't been on one in years.