** REWRITING ** Tidal Wave

Chapter One

We've been driving for at least a thousand years. Or that's what it felt like, considering my brother Andrew, drove slower than an old woman. He even sat like one too. He was slouched over with his eyes squinted, scouring the deserted road. I sighed as I stuck my feet onto the dashboard, earning a scowl from him. "Honestly, Ellie, why do you feel the need to dirty up my car?"

"Our car, you mean," I said, reminding him that I turned sixteen only a few months ago and this baby was under shared custody.

Andrew rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the road. Satisfied by his reaction, I leaned further back into my seat.

The radio began to play one of my favorite songs so I turned it up. Loud. I started to sing and Andrew's reaction was immediate.

"Stop, please!" he pleaded,"You sound like a cat!"

I giggled and only sang louder. He tried again, glancing to our mother in the backseat for support.

"Mom? Please?"

She laughed and shook her head. "No can do, darling. Us Parker women have the voices of angels!" Then she joined in.

We sung and laughed until our throats were so sore, we could barely talk. Andrew, though he never would admit to it, did sing some of the choruses with us, making our discordant harmony even worse.

As soon as we starting driving along the coast, I couldn't peel my eyes away from the sea. I was mesmorized by the sun glittering off the deep blue waves. It was the first time I've seen the ocean in six years. Six whole years.

Andrew's voice brought me back to reality,"Thinking about the Taylor's?" he teased me.

"No," I snapped, "its been six years. I can't expect everything to just go back to what they were before."

Andrew wiggled his eyebrows, "Well under certain circumstances..."

"Shut up," I told him, "You honestly can't tell me that you aren't nervous about seeing your friends after what happened?"

Andrew clenched his jaw and his knuckles turned white on the steering wheel.

Mom responded for him, "Can we just please just get along until we get to the house? Please?"

"Fine by me," I scoffed and Andrew grunted in agreement as he slammed the button to turn the radio off.

We sat in that uncomfortable silence until we reached Coby. Nothing could keep us from perking up at the sight of our hometown. I rolled down my window and my blonde hair blew all over the place but I didn't care. I just enjoyed the last of the summer breeze. I would be going to school tomorrow and I was nervous. Really nervous.

As we drove through downtown, we noticed everything was different. I pointed out that Harry's Hardware had finally been painted again, but it was already chipping, my mother saw that a garden had been planted in front of the library and Andrew observed that the park now had four lacrosse fields instead of one and a baseball diamond. Of course.

We reached the beginning of our street and I got excited. I was about to nudge Andrew to drive faster but he was already was driving the fastest he had this whole trip. I wondered what he was racing for. Or who. Our house loomed in the distance. They were figures moving around in the driveway. Probably just the movers. But when we got closer, I saw who they reallly were. The Taylor's.

I was mortified. "Mom! Please tell me you did not!"

Grayson, Ethan, and James all stood in a line, awaiting out arrival. Andrew looked my way and smirked.

"Well this should be interesting." he said. I slouched down in my seat, trying to hide from them.

Like that was going to help!

My mom ignored Andrew. She leaned forward to squeeze my shoulder. "Honey, somethings we can't leave in the past."

If only I agreed with her. I looked up and over the dashboard. My breath caught. Only twenty feet away was Grayson. And he was staring. At me.

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