Pure Belleza | ✔️

(49)

Mom and Dad's house in Hermosa was brand new twenty years ago. Which sounded like a long time ago. But for a house, it wasn't considered old.

Plus, they had regular renovations done to it over the course of its life.

The gated driveway came off the road and went around to the back of the house where it met an internal access four car garage.

The deck surrounded the house. Large and stained so it was rich and weatherproof. The lounge chairs were spread on the back deck and it stepped down into the sand which soon met the water.

Their own private beach.

Mom loves this house. She has fond memories here. I had to hope that Abby couldn't see me as I got out of the uber and jogged up the steps.

The wide windows along the deck opened up to allow indoor outdoor flow. But it was all closed up at the moment. I didn't bother knocking, I punched in the code on the front door and went straight in.

Nothing much had changed. To the left was the kitchen. Open and overlooking the water. An island made of marble countertop sat in the middle of the room.

The appliances were state of the art and had been installed just a few months ago. Half the house could be controlled from the fridge. Smart appliances.

The kitchen followed through into the dining area which also had a sliding door onto a deck on the side of the house.

That was where Lucas, Abby and I ate a lot of our dinners when we were little. We had our own table outside because our meals often ended in food all over the floor. It saved time on clean up.

To the right of the front door was the living room. The sofa had its back to the kitchen and a coffee table sat over a rug.

Another couple of love seats were arranged at opposite ends of the couch and the television was mounted on the wall above the fireplace. Not that the fireplace was ever needed.

Down the corridor in front of me were spare rooms, a bathroom and the internal access for the garage and then of course, upstairs was the master bedroom and more spares.

Mom and Dad still had claims on the master bedroom. No one touched it so it was how they wanted it when they came back.

The decor was bright and open. Luminous with white walls and light timber floors and fixtures.

There were a lot of windows. Almost more than there were walls.

And plants in vases or hanging from the ceiling offered colour. I loved this house. It was hard not to feel relaxed and calm when you were in it.

It was serene.

I began moving towards the floating staircase. It was odd. As if each step was hovering in midair. But before I could go far, Abby appeared from the ground floor bathroom and gave me a quizzical stare.

She did look thin. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it before.

Her hair was wrapped in a bun at the top of her head. Her cheek bones were prominent. Her collarbones, her shoulders.

She was wearing a tank top and shorts and she immediately began to shift as if she wanted to cover herself up.

"What are you doing here?" She folded her arms.

My poor baby sister. My heart felt like it was shattering. She was so frail. I wondered if she even realised how bad it looked.

"I came to see you," I slipped my hands into my pockets and walked towards her. "You weren't answering my messages or calls."