My Guardian Angel

Chapter 1

Have you ever had that feeling of dread. It's like when you miss a step on the stairs, and your whole body jerks forward but you hold tight to the railing to avoid any injury; Then afterwards you have a moment of shock. Everything seems to freeze as you think of what could have happened. Well that's what I'm feeling right about now. I am in a car that is heading straight towards my new life. New house, new town, new school, and most importantly a new father. Having a step-dad is going to be a hard concept to grasp. I never truly let go of my real father, so why was I expected to pretend that this new makeshift family was going to work. I mean yea, we did look like we got along great at the wedding. The silver plates, crystal chandelier, blue and white lights, and the overly priced wedding cake. It was all dazzling, but I just didn't want any of it. I didn't want to move. I didn't want my mom to remarry, but most of all I didn't want to accept the fact that my dad was never coming back.

Cow...cow.....cow. I stare out the window of my mom's red Dodge. So far Fairfield didn't look all that exciting. The last 30 minutes has just been a motion picture of Elsie, the cow, grassing on the open plane. I turned my head to look at my mom. Her sun kissed hair was flowing off her shoulders as the wind came blowing through her rolled down window. She was a picture of elegance, even though she wore a tan cowboy hat, a peachy colored tank, and some old shorts from high school that she was thrilled to see that they still fit. Sometimes, I wished that I looked more like her than like my dad. My curly dark brown hair always seems to wash me out, especially in the summer. My ivory skin makes me look sick to my stomach and I burn way too easily. The only thing that I liked about me were my eyes. They were a startling yellow, and around the rim it was black. They were truly mesmerizing, and a lot better than plain brown eyes like my mom's. Although I hate my features, it is kind of comforting to know that I will always have a piece of Dad with me. 

My phone buzzed in my hand and I looked down to read my text, *You will be fine. Your wonderful at making friends and if things go wrong, then you can always come up to see me!!* I smiled at my bright blue phone. My Aunt always knew what to say to me. *Thanks Rome!!!*, I typed into my phone. I can't remember when I started to call her that, but just after that Rome gave me a nickname, too. *No problem, Greece.* I smiled. What did I ever do to deserve her? "Almost there, Only 10 more minutes then we will be at our new home!" Mom squealed. I smiled at her. She was really trying to make this whole move seem more exciting, but nothing was going to change my mind. This was going to be awful!

Before I knew it, we pulled into a dirt driveway in front of an old one-story brick house. Four glittering windows decorated the front of the house along with a small garden of flowers. Roses, tulips, and daisies sprung up out of the moist dirt. Trees seemed to hug the house, snuggling it into one big natural embrace. The whole scene made me grimace. "It's so green," I mumbled, but Mom didn't hear me as she hopped out of the car. Green wasn't my color; It always made me feel and look sick. I also noticed something else that made my stomach turn. Standing on the crooked wooden steps that lead to the front door was Roger. He wore a huge smile on his face as he looked over at us.

I stood there hesitant and inhaled the fresh air. My head began to hurt as the smells of my new home hit me all at once. Smells of dirt, greenery, and animals consumed me. I stifled a cough and looked up towards Roger. He held tightly on his dog's leash, but Daisy was struggling against his hold. I bent over and patted my legs as I called her name. Barking rang clear as Daisy broke free from Roger's hold and pounded towards me. It didn't take long for her powerful legs to get over to me.  A flash of yellow pounced and I fell to the ground. Rocks dug into my back and dirt flew in the air making me sneeze. A squishy wet tongue slashed at my face. I tried to push her off, but my scrawny arms were no match for the 73 pound Golden Retriever. Daisy stopped and cocked her head at me. "Finally," I murmured and started to sit up, but Daisy pushed me down again with her front paws. I smiled as she started to lick me again. "Daisy,Daisy! Yes I know......it's been along time since we have seen each other......but I need you to get off of me, you big fluffy teddy bear." I huffed out of breath. Instantly she got off and I was able to sit up. She huffed and puffed like she was the one that just got attacked with kisses. I scuffed out a laugh at how silly, and adorable Daisy was. I heard someone giggle over near the house.

I had to squint out into the dying sunlight to find Roger and Mom smiling at us on the porch. They were hugging each other, and wait, did they just kiss? I spat at the ground disgusted and made a choking noise, and I was glad that they were too occupied to hear me. "Daisy has missed you so much since the wedding," Roger turned his focus on me while still holding mom, "We should get inside. It's getting dark!" Roger suggested loudly, not bothered by the 20 foot gap between us. As Roger and Mom went inside I looked up at the sky, and marveled at the setting sun. "It's absolutely beautiful tonight," I whispered to Daisy as she laid her head on my legs. I absentmindedly started to stroke her hair as I continued to take in my surroundings. You know maybe I would get use to this place after all. No! I am going to hate it here. I tried to lodge that thought deep into my mind. Maybe if I absolutely hate it here, then we would move back to Alaska. It is worth a try.

I lifted Daisy's head off of me, and got up off the ground. Daisy wagged her tail viciously back and forth and started up at me. "Hey, I bet that I can beat you to the house from here," I challenged, and got down in a running stance. I smiled and focused on the house. "Okay.1...2," I started running, hoping that my head start would work. My old track coach once taught us to keep our eyes on the goal, and not to focus on our opponents, but I couldn't help myself.  I moved my head back to look at my competition. Daisy's head bounced up and down as she chased after me. Like a cheetah she ran faster and faster heading past me and towards the door. No matter how hard I pumped my legs I couldn't beat the amazing retriever. Fire filled my lungs as the air whipped my hair back. I frowned at the thought of me not taking first place.

Reaching the house I bent over huffing and puffing as Daisy sat there still, probably wondering why I was so slow. "Okay....you win.... I'm just not as fast as you," I confess, "But I also haven't had a lot of time to run recently, so you had an advantage," I hated losing races. I hopped up the steps to the door. Tripping on the last one, I fell on the warm wooden ground. Pain hit my chest, and I winced as splinters dug into the flesh on my face. Slowly I pushed off of the wood I whispered, " And this is why I was thrown off of the track team," I frowned and brushed dust off of my shorts. Daisy barked as I opened the door to my new house.

I walked in and tried not to show mom that I was in pain. She was sitting at the dinner table with Roger to my right. Straight  in front of me was a small living room, and to my left was a long hallway that most likely had the bedrooms and bathroom down it. "Would you like some hot chocolate Diana?" Mom asked from where she was sitting. I looked down at her, and noticed that she was holding hands with Roger who was sitting next to her. "No, thanks. I do want a glass of water though. Where is the kitchen?" I asked and took another glance around the place. "Just behind here," Roger was the one who answered. I walked closer to them, and looked over to see the "kitchen". It was hidden behind one of the living room walls. I smiled down at them and walked towards the sink. I looked in one of the few cabinets and got out a glass. After filling it with water, I turned around and rested my back against the counter. 

The kitchen was small as was the rest of the house, so I think it is safe to say that this place was built for either just two people or a really tight family. We were neither. I stared at Mom. She was making googly eyes at Roger, and was doing that thing with her hair that she always did when she was feeling flirty. She used to do that when my dad was around. Something shuddered inside of me, but I tried to hide it as I took another sip of my drink. When Mom leaned in and kissed Roger on the nose, I lost it. I slammed my cup down and glared at them. I was surprised that the glass didn't break in my hands. They stared back at me in surprise, but still didn't stop holding hands. "Diana!" Mom sounded astonished. "I'm going to bed, you can finish this once I'm gone," I said sternly, and watched Roger sigh. I stormed out of the kitchen and down the dark hallway. I figured that my room was the one with the bright blue paint on the door. As soon as I slammed the door, I regretted it. Smell of toxic air flooded my mouth. Roger must of just painted my room, so the smell was killing me. I was about to walk out the door, but then realized that I didn't want to die of embarrassment. No, I walked over to my bed, and buried my face in the sheets. I laid there for a few minutes, until I fell asleep. The last thing I thought of was how they seemed so happy.