THERE SHE GOES | ❝This is the worst day of my life.❞
Seventeen-year-old Hallie could have thought of a million better places to be staying for two weeks than her Aunt's home. But since her parents have cleared off for a romantic getaway, she wi...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CHAPTER ONE ❛ dumped with sydney novak. ❜
MORPHEDBLURS OF PITTSBURGH FLURRIED PAST THE WINDOW, my eyes focusing in and out on small details in between; a general store sign here, a dog walker there. I tried not to look at the duffel bag tucked between my feet, tried not to listen to my parents laughing with each other obliviously, tried not to stare at the mountain of luggage emerging from the back for the trip...
Which I wasn't coming along to.
I'll rewind to the moment I found out. It was a perfectly normal evening, and we were eating dinner (a mundane lasagna, if you're that interested) so I wasn't expecting anything out of the norm to happen. Things that fall into the category of 'out of the norm' are things like your Dad suddenly announcing "Hallie, your mother and I are going away for a week or two."
Okay, I think to myself. But what does 'going away' imply? Is it for work? Or an emergency? And I ask them if I can come.
That's when Mom pipes in, a grin plastered across her face as she adds "No, sweetie... it's for us two to have time together. Like a romantic getaway!"
'Romantic getaway', my ass. Since when do my workaholic-accountant-slash-marketing-manager parents just decide to escape for a lovey-dovey escape out of spontaneity? And not just that, they're going to some place in Wyoming to go hiking. Hiking. Ha! I would kill to be a fly on the wall there, to see my parents attempting to be at one with the outdoors.
Mom caught my gaze in the rear view mirror and sighed. A wave of irritation rushed over me as I fidgeted in my seat. "Hallie, chin up, sweetie. You look like you've been sucking a lemon."
"Hey! When life gives you lemons..."
"Dad, I'm not in the mood." before he could say any more dad jokes, I shot him a glare in the rear view mirror that wasn't too cold, but just enough to remind them that I wasn't on board with any of this. "You know, I like hiking too. Or I could, if I really wanted to. Why can't you take me along to Samoyoga—"
"Saratoga."
"— okay, I get it. Wyoming. Why couldn't we just go later in the year? I'd be happy to come."
Mom was turning around in her seat now, the belt twisting awkwardly in such a way that just made me feel the overwhelming urge to correct it. But I resisted, bracing myself for the lecture I was surely about to hear.
