Chapter Two

The flight was smooth and the skies were actually clear. As the plane landed and we got off into the terminal, it finally hit me. All the emotions I was trying to ignore. All of it came at once smacking me hard in the face like a brick wall. No more nail salon trips and talking about our latest crushes with Sarah. No more clean, nut pure exciting fun with the twins’ parties. Daryn, oh there was Daryn. I am going to miss our talks. He listened to anything I had to say and was ready to comfort me when needed. He was the one that let me cry when I was frustrated about not figuring out what is wrong with my messed up head. He let me cry for what seemed hours. I wished there was a way to repay him for being there and now I have to move on. Leave him behind. It would be the same with just talking on the phone. His green-blue crystal eyes were what really helped. They always seemed to be beaming with life and always comforted me. I am going to miss his gentle smooth voice, never harsh. It was hard to admit my feelings were stronger than just a as a friend. I never wanted to ruin our friendship though. I dated other guys and told him about my dates, wishing the whole time he was there instead of the other.

The airport was a tiny shack compared to the big city airport I was used to. We rented our compact car that just big enough for the two of us. We piled our black generic luggage into the trunk and some in the back seat. We didn’t need to take much so we sold most of our possessions. We were planning on buying a car in town.

We pulled up to the beautiful two story house. It was made of rusty red bricks and blue trimming. It had a white veranda that wrapped all the way around the house. Staring at it made you feel like you were in a different era. It almost made me excited to be here. This was a dream house. I started to take my bags in the house and my mom flashed me that are you sure you can handle this look. “Mom I can take my bags in I’m not that helpless.” I could already feel the difference with the air. My blood didn’t pound annoyingly in the veins in my head. And my head wasn’t spinning out of control as I climbed the steps to the antique porch. The entry was breath taking. A sparkling gold chandelier hung in an oval entrance with smooth rich mahogany wood floors. My eyes panned the beige walls until I found the door way leading to the living room. The wood flooring continued through- out the rest of the house. The kitchen was open and flowed into a family room. As I was taking it in a voice behind me said hello I am Martha. I turned startled. A woman wearing a plain gray dress and a white apron was standing in the middle of the kitchen. Her eyes though were sincere were worn and a faint smile was pulling at the corners of her mouth. “I have been with this house for years, when I heard someone was moving in again it made me so happy!” Martha had been the keeper of the house since she was a young girl. Her mother worked for the owners until she died. When she died Martha took over. Mom came, gliding in the room and said hello. “Finally nice to meet you Martha”, my mom said energetically. “It is a pleasure Mrs. Brown”, Martha warmly chimed. “Aimee, I figured it would be nice for a change for someone to help around the house until you know, you are feeling a lot better.” Martha said she can keep up the house and it would be her pleasure. Well at least I am going to have a break from that for a while. Still I feel pretty horrible letting someone else do chores that I am pretty sure I am capable of doing. I went upstairs with my bulky luggage and threw myself on my little twin bed. I sighed, a huge breath out my lungs hoping it made me feel better. It didn’t. I stared up at the smooth

Chapter One

The pain comes and goes. I can feel it coming on like a wave of heat just before an Arizonian monsoon. And as it comes its like someone jabbing a knife in the side of my head. I just scrunched my eyes closed as tight as I can as if it helps but it doesn’t. Sure I am going to miss my home in Gilbert, Arizona but it will be easier to start over again. The doctor said if I want to subdue some of the pain I need a cooler climate. Northern Idaho. Not my first choice but it is frostier than what we are used to. No more 110 degree summers. The doctor better be right. He said until we can figure out what is going on the only thing he can think to do was to move me. All the tests came back negative. Some thought I was just faking it. But why would I need to fake something like this. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy if I ever had one. I desired to turn in early since we had a morning flight. I wanted to get as much sleep as I could so my head could at least try to be clear for me. I didn’t want to leave anything behind. I already told my friends good bye. It was hard to tell Daryn good bye the most. He was my best friend. I had known him since the second grade. We did everything together. We told each other everything. I thought it would be easy, but the look on his face when I had to tell him. The anguish on his face, he held my gaze as long as he could bare and then turned away. I knew he was trying to hide tears. I reassured him that I would call and write every time I got the chance. We would after all be going to college next year and we both applied to the same colleges to improve our odds at getting into the same one. I thought he would have been tough at our farewell. He was always the tough one. For crying out, loud he is a boy. I told Chris and Cameron the Patterson twins, good bye at school on Friday. They were the ones who knew how to party, but the good kind of party. Root bears and rockin’ roll. Who could beat that. They offered to throw me a parting party, but I had to pass. I didn’t know how I would be feeling. Sarah had known a month about this before all the others. I owed it to the sister I never had. Growing up in a family of eight boys and one girl you need a sister. You need a sensitive side somehow. We went to the store on the corner to have our nails done. I let her pick the color to make her mood a little better. She thought it would be awesome to pick a color that was bright and would stand out. I had the problem of picking neutral colors that blend in with everything. I didn’t have the guts to pull it off. So to my dismay the color she picked reminded me of the bloody nose Ernie Boston had last week. She seemed so proud of herself for getting me to do this that I had to fake a huge smile. And to top it off she brought a pair of flip flops so that I couldn’t cover them up ugh! She thinks of everything. I was lost in thought about my new home when she broke the silence. “You know I am going to miss you bunches, and I will love ya forever!” I had to fight back the tears and return the love ya. She gave me that goofy smile she always did where her eyes would squint almost shut because she was smiling so big. Her dimples popped in. Sarah was a gorgeous girl. She had naturally curly golden blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes. Her skin was the coloring of a porcelain doll. She never had to worry about her figure. It stinks because I eat one cupcake and you can find it on my thighs the next morning. I don’t think anyone could replace Sarah Conway as a sister. I was dreaming of the day I had to tell Daryn of my going away, when I heard a buzzing sound. It was the alarm clock. I thought I was ready for this so why did I have this horrible tug in my stomach.