She Was Ugly

Chapter 1: Homecoming

Leo's POV:

I looked up at the old Victorian style house as I took off my helmet. Finally, I was home. After 6 long years in France, I was home. I had not felt this happy for as long as I could remember. The house in front of me held so many memories from my past. Not all of them were good, but I was still glad to be home.

"Leo, stop standing there and help your old man with the bags." I glanced over at my father. In the past 6 years, my father had aged a lot. What were once vibrant blue eyes were now dull, plain blue eyes.He had some wrinkles surrounding his eyes and his mouth. His short black hair was graying in some spots and his face was littered with freckles.

My heart ached at the sight of him. Not having my mom around anymore had really taken a toll on him. He loved my mom with all his heart. Ever since she died, he's never been the same. That familiar spark of happiness in his eyes has been gone for the past 6 years.

In a way, it was like he had lost a daughter too. Neither of us has seen Via since the day before we left. He had to make a hard decision, but in the end letting Via stay here was the best thing for her.

As I was thinking about my father and Via and our situation, my eyes wandered over to our front porch. A memory from a long time ago pushed it's way to the surface.

8 years ago...

"Tag, your it!" Athena exclaimed as she tagged Via and took off giggling. I watched as Via chased Athena around our front yard. They looked absolutely ridiculous. Arms flailing everywhere. Hair whipping across their faces in the wind.

My legs swung back and forth as I sat on the porch railing. Not paying attention to my mother, she snuck up behind me and shouted "BOO!" The surprise startled me enough to make me fall into the bushes below. I looked up and saw my mother laughing at me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Via and Athena had stopped their game of tag and were laughing their butts off at me. My cheeks burned bright red with embarrassment. 

The memory faded away as I walked inside my house. Everything was covered in white sheets and a thin layer of dust. My father couldn't bring himself to sell the house, so it sat untouched for the last 6 years. I made my way upstairs. The 7th step up creaked as I stepped on it. I always forget about that. The 7th step up had always made a creaking noise whenever you stepped on it.

My bedroom was the first door on the right. The door opened and I was hit with the overwhelming urge to sneeze because of all the dust. My eyes wandered around, taking it all in. 

Some of our stuff had been delivered from France before we arrived, so my bed, desk, nightstand, and clothes were already here. Near my window was a couple boxes. I pushed them out of the way so I could look outside. Athena's curtains were closed, so I'm assuming that she isn't home right now.

Maybe I could leave a prank in her room to let her know that I am back. No, I thought. I can't do that anymore. I'm 17, I need to act more mature. Oh well, I could always do something to her later. My back turned to my window, my eyes skimmed my room trying to decide what to unpack first.

After a minute they landed on some boxes labeled 'clothes'. Might as well start there. I dragged a couple of the boxes into my closet. It would take at least an hour to unpack all my clothes. My closet was a walk-in but it wasn't that big.