Ch 1-Welcome Home!

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Four years. That's all it took to realize that my very own home town that I had once grown up in, shared childhood memories in, laughed with friends, and even had my first kiss in didn't feel like my own anymore.

It was the beginning of August and school would be starting soon so the sun was still beating down hard in North Harbor, Virginia. I turned the steering wheel towards Whickham Street and watched as my old neighborhood came into view and the all too familiar gray brick house seemed to just appear out of nowhere.

I thought I would be excited coming home but, I wasn't. I felt that I had to start over again and make new friends. After all the last time I had really talked to my friends from here was probably two years ago on Kayla's birthday. Since then we just had a falling out. Nothing happened. The space just seemed to come between our friendship.

I didn't even tell her I was coming back for our senior year.

My parents on the other hand were ecstatic. They loved North Harbor probably more than they loved me. As soon as my mom laid eyes on the house we once inhabited she squealed with delight pulling out her cell phone and texting my father who was following us in the car behind us with my little sister.

It was honestly annoying. We would be there in less than five minutes. She really couldn't wait to just tell him in person how excited she was.

As her fingers ran across the screen of her phone I day dreamed about my life back in Miami, Florida. It was a life I didn't want to give up and to many of my old friends I probably wasn't the same person I was back in eighth grade. I had grown up and become more confident. I wasn't the shy nerd that had a hard time making small talk with even the most friendly of people. I had a great life in Miami along with a decent group of friends and even a few boyfriends along the way. Coming back here was a buzz kill and not just because it wasn't always going to be 85 and sunny majority of the year round.

"Hayley did you hear me?" I was snapped out of my trance to see my mom staring at me. Her eyebrows raised in question when I finally looked her head on.

"Sorry I wasn't listening." I said lamely and my mother did her notorious sigh that she did when she knew I wasn't interested in talking to her.

"Are you happy to be home, honey?" I veered my attention away from the road once more and shrugged my shoulders.

"I guess. I'm just going to miss my friends in Miami." I answered stepping on the break a little so the car would slow down and come to a halt in front of our house.

My mom knew I didn't want to talk and she knew how disapproving I was of this move. There was nothing here for me in North Harbor. At least not anymore.

"We're here!" My dad practically sang as he jumped out of our Toyota 4 runner letting my little sister out on the other side.

"Yay." I said sarcastically as I jumped out if the Lexus taking in the nice white rose bushes in the front yard. At least that was pleasant.

"Okay is this what people call summer here?" I heard my younger sister say from behind me. She had lazily gotten out of the car and it looked as though she had been sleeping the whole trip. Of course she wouldn't remember. She was only 9 when we moved to Miami and I guess the weather didn't impact her memory that well on this little town.

"Ashley it's not that bad." My mother snapped at her as Ashley only gave her notorious eye roll and grabbed a light jacket out of the front seat of the car.

Ashely was 4 years younger than me but, it felt like a lot more by the way she acted sometimes. She was like the definition of pre-teenage hormones and attitude.

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