surprises

16. Another Addition To The Family..

I quietly tip-toed down the stairs, my hands gliding over railing. I don't think the boys would like to be woken up at 7 o'clock in the morning, due to my clunking around downstairs.

As I reached the kitchen, I was surprised to find Lizzie already sitting at the counter with her laptop in front of her, a bowl of porridge in her hands. She must of come back from her trip late last night. I made my way over to the fruit bowl, picking out an apple and munching into it, savouring the juiciness and tang. Lizzie must of noticed my presence as she looked up from her computer screen and gave me a small smile. "You're up early Faith"

In truth, I was up at 3 am, trying to go back to sleep but I had the irritation of seeing the photo frame of my parents moved from its place where I left it. Well, that along with the fact that some stupid bird was singing their bloody song before sunrise. "Yeah I guess. I thought I might go for a walk"

I was actually thinking of going for a walk to clear my head. Living in a house full of boys can be quite overloading a times, so sue me if I need some alone time. "Alright dear, you wont get lost?" she asked sardonically.

"I shouldn't, but if I'm not back in a couple of hours, you better send a search party" I laughed, earning a chuckle as Mrs Miller waved me away. Throwing my apple core in the bin before I left, I walked along the hallway to the front door, swinging it open and closing it softly behind me.

I started off down the long driveway, climbing over the fence and onto the road. I slight hiss escaped my lips as the sharp point of the fence scraped my ankle, leaving a long red mark. Rolling my eyes at how typical this was, I ignored the slight sting and continued on down the path, passing the houses on either side of the road, each house bigger than the one before.

I remembered my old neighbourhood in California, how similar it was. You could hear seagulls passing by and the faint crash of waves on the beach not far away. Every so often, a car would cruse by, as the sun slowly rose higher in the sky, making it tinge pink and orange. By now I had probably walked a couple of kilometres from the house, as I could see the water meeting the sand on the beach, crashing and fizzing before calming and the water receding back into the choppy waters.

Wisps of my blonde hair had blown in front of my face, as the cool ocean breeze swept through my hair, making it trail behind me. I walked along the edge of the sand, before reaching the pier and turning back around to retrace my steps back to the house. By now there were a few early morning joggers passing about, gracing me with a brief smile of a faint 'good morning', to which I complied.

As I turned into my street, I passed the small park which consisted of a swing set and a couple of picnic tables. I heard a rustling in the bush beside me, making me jump about a foot in the air, before my feet landed back on the ground. It was too loud to be a lizard, and the bush wasn't big enough to be a bloody grizzly bear, so when it rustled again I took a step closer, only to see the cutest thing that ever walked the earth to come out. Looking up at me with big blue eyes, was a small white fluffy cat, with four little grey paws and a grey face.

Now, when I say something's cute, it means it's frickin' adorable.

Picking it up off the ground I looked for a collar, only to find squat. It was then and there that I made a decision.

"Welcome to the family, Puss In Boots"

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"I'm back!" I hollered. Looking up at the clock in the living room, I figured the boys would be up and moving at 10 in the morning. Walking down the hallway with Puss In Boots cradled in my arms, I followed the sound of plates clinking, and cutlery banging together and found myself in the doorway of the kitchen with 4 boys shoving all sorts of breakfast food into their mouths.