Black Smoke

Balanced

We parked outside a yellow mansion-like building with white columns and Gothic architecture. It looked freshly painted, with beds of tulips and yellow carnations planted just beside the concrete porch and a long walkway connected to a dead-end circle of the road we were on. In the driveway were two vehicles: a sleek black Mercedes-Benz and a small scarlet-painted convertible with chrome rims.

"This is it?" Vanessa asked. "It seems...different."

That's what I had pictured, though—something different from where you'd ever see me standing or, much less, living. Dad had made it clear she went on to live a better life away from the poverty mud we were usually stuck in.

"I feel if we step out of the vehicle, some nerd cop in a cashmere sweater will come and write us a ticket for loitering on expensive property," Dante stated. "The types of ones that ride around on those mall scooters. You know what I mean?"

I drummed my fingers on my knees, contemplating my next decision.
Kristieanne Markson. 
We had come all this way for me to reconnect with my own lifeline, and yet, the feeling of just being a few feet from her front door was upsetting enough. I always wondered how my life could've been had this split never happened. How would I even start this out? Would I barge in and ask for her? Sure, I had her address, but I didn't have her phone number. Maybe I could've just called her from home and saved ourselves the trip as Dad suggested.

I took a deep breath and placed my hand on the door handle. "Well, here I go." I opened my door and stepped out. Surprisingly, everyone else, including Melanie, followed.

"What?" Vanessa asked. "You didn't expect me to wait in the car, did you?" She walked over to me and kissed my cheek. "You're too cute. I drove you over here, genius. I wouldn't let you do this alone."

Dante shrugged. "You can't leave me here, either. I've been doing this with you since day one."

We all looked at Melanie. "I'm not staying in the car alone," she said. "And I guess I don't really have a choice."

We stood there for a second before continuing toward the front door. "What do I say?" I asked.

Dante shrugged once more. "What would you think if you found four random strangers on your front doorstep?"

Vanessa shook her head at him. "Just introduce yourself, Zay. Maybe your mom will answer the door, and who knows? Maybe she'll recognize you."

I nodded and finally gave a quick knock, one that I knew could've been a bit louder. I heard Dante scoff behind me. "Dude, This place looks enormous. I doubt they heard that." He stepped up and knocked a little harder.

"They don't even know we're here!" I hissed. "They'll think you're the police or something!"

"Well, give me a battering ram if they don't answer the door in the next five seconds!"

Melanie moved us both out of the way and glanced at us questionably as she placed her finger on a small button beside the door frame—a doorbell. From inside the building, the classic ding-dong echoed through space. We waited about a minute until someone finally answered, a tan face creeping around the door. It was the face of a small kid about seven years old or so. I felt my heart drop heavily, my chest slowly crumbling on the inside as every bit of hope and anticipation faded from within.

"You're not the pizza guy," he said, his two front teeth missing. 

Seeing that I was too in shock, Vanessa gave her sweetest smile and crouched to his level. "Hi, sweetie. My name's Vanessa. What's yours?"

"I'm Jaxson," he said quickly. "I'm this many." He held up five tiny fingers.
Close enough.

"Jaxson?" Vanessa asked playfully. That's a cool name! Can I call you Jax?"