Angel

Chapter 1

"Tell me again why we're moving to Hadleigh? It's in the middle of nowhere Oregon?" I asked my dad. He laughed as we followed the orange U-Haul truck along the highway.

"I thought we deserved a fresh start." He replied. I looked out the window of the passenger side of the car. The trees were one green blur as we drove about sixty miles per hour.

"But we don't need a fresh start. Besides all my friends are back there."

"Honey, I needed a fresh start."

About a month ago, my dad decided we were going to move. He and my mom had finished getting a divorce, and the worst part about it, she got full custody of my little brother while my dad got full custody of me. I wasn't sure how holidays and summers were going to work anymore, being states away from half my family.

"Look on the bright side, sweetheart. There's plenty of opportunity for you to make new friends over the summer so the transition into a new school isn't as hard. You might even find Hadleigh charming."

I wasn't sure I even wanted to find the new town charming. From what I had googled, the town was mostly forest with abandoned buildings from extinct careers. I checked the map my dad was using to guide us there. We had nearly arrived at the town. I hadn't realized we'd passed the border of Idaho. The states had just meshed together the entire ride.

As we drove through the town, people out and about stopped and stared at us. Some of them seemed surprised, and some of them seemed confused. I sat back against the seat. We hadn't even moved in yet and we were already singled out to the town.

"They must not get a lot of people here." My dad commented.

"I mean they are pretty small and almost isolated from the rest of the state." I answered. My dad didn't say anything as we pulled into the driveway of our new house. 

"Why don't you take in your backpack and pick a room. You could even have the master bedroom if you want." I gave him a smile.

On the porch of our new house, stood a man smiling and waving us over. I assumed he was the realtor that had sold us the house, and was giving us the keys.

"Jack Gordon?" The man asked.

"In the flesh. You must be Alan, the realtor?" My dad asked, shaking the man's outstretched hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you in person. Here are your keys for the house, and this is the schedule for garbage and recycling pick up. That's all I have to say, and welcome to Hadleigh!" My dad passed the keys on to me and continued to chat with the realtor, probably to work out minor details.

As I entered the house, I decided to take my dad up on his offer of having the master bedroom. It was up the stairs and at the end of the hall to the right. For a small town, they had houses with ensuite bathrooms and massive bedrooms. The room was already painted light blue, pale enough I didn't mind, and it had a bay window. I set my backpack down on the bed and headed back down to help my dad and the movers bring the boxes into the house. The only furniture we took with us was my dad's desk from the study back at my mom's house since it was an heirloom.

I took all the boxes labeled with my name up to my room, and took some of my dads boxes to the other bedroom at the other end of the upstairs. We put all the boxes for the kitchen on the kitchen counter, and I watched my dad direct the movers on where in the room on the main floor his desk was going to go. That room would be his study.

"Did you check to see if there was a guest room, or a room that could be a recreational room for you and your peers?" My dad asked once the movers had finished bringing everything in from the truck and setting up the desk.