Chapter one

Everything took a strange and dark turn that night. When mother and I got into a car accident..and she never returned. The story should have ended there. But for some reason, it was just beginning traumatically. 

“Emma.”

I turned around to look at dad, who was looking at me worried. 

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” I smiled. “I was just thinking.”

I grab my bags from the trunk while inhaling. Smelling the fresh air of a new life.

“Home sweet home.”

I followed dad inside the house. Looking back at the white walls I was used to growing up. So many memories coming to me at once. Dad placed some of my bags in the living room. 

“I did buy you a new mattress before picking you up in your room. If you want to make some more changes, you can."

“Thank you.”

“Oh. And Emma?”

“Yeah?”

“If you need anything, let me know.”

“I will.”

I walked upstairs, heading straight to my room. The walls were still pink and girly when I was twelve. The dollhouse was still with teddy bears and posters on the wall. I dropped my bags near the door and sat on my bed. Dad is part of the hunting team in Virginia. He’s now among the elite hunters, which has the same authority as policemen or even higher. 

Mother was worried about the dangers the hunters club would bring, but dad was dedicated to the code. Which was why they got the divorce. I walked back downstairs to meet dad in the living room. 

“Dad?”

“Out here!”

I followed his voice into the garage. By the time I got there, Dad was near the garage door speaking to a neighbor. 

“Thank you for letting me borrow it again.”

“Happy to help. How’s Barbara and the kids?”

“Doing good. They just got back from the store. Planning to have a vegetarian dinner. Wanna join us?”

“I was about to take Emma to a restaurant for dinner.”

“Emma’s here?”

The voice sounded familiar. Before he could respond, I entered the garage.

“Hey.”

The neighbor looked at me and smiled. At that moment, I knew who it was. 

“Mr. Jones.”

“Emma! It’s good to see you again.”

“You too.”

He chuckles at me. 

“Look at how much you’ve grown. I remember when you were just knee high.”

“Yeah, well I couldn’t stay that small forever.”

He laughed.

“Well, Thomas will be happy to see you.”

My cheeks blushed bright. 

“Thomas. It’s been a while since I saw him.”

“He’ll be happy to see you.”

As if hearing us, Thomas walked from his house to ours. 

“Dad. Mom is ready for you to come home.”

“Thomas.”

“Emma. You’re here.”

“Yeah. It’s been a while.”

He was different from the last time I saw him. His dark hair was now wavy and he was muscular. Totally different from the scrawny boy I used to know. Dad suddenly chuckles. 

“If you want Emma, we can join them for their vegetarian dinner tonight. If you want.”

“That’ll be great.” 

I chuckled. “Okay.”

“I guess we’ll be joining you guys.”

“Great. I’ll see you guys there.”

“Of course.”

Mr. Jones walks back to their house. 

“Emma. I was about to head out to join some friends. Do you want to come?”

“Sure. I’ll get ready now.”

“I will meet you at my house.”

“Okay.”

I watched as he walked back to his house. Dad was looking at me with a smirk. 

“Starting to fit back in?”

“Going with Thomas is better than doing nothing.”

“Then go ahead and get ready.”

I ran back upstairs to put on some fresh clothes. A lot of things have changed since I was here. But now that this will be permanent, the least I can do is get used to it. The first step would be joining Thomas and making some new friends. After making sure I got everything, I walked straight for the front door to leave.

“I’m leaving dad.”

“Emma, wait!”

He was walking towards me with a pocket knife and pepper spray. 

“What’s this?”

“Listen. It’s not safe out there. This is for… just in case.”

“Is there a killer or something?”

“It’s more of a..something. It’s not the same Virginia that you were used to. Just be careful.”

I could tell that he was really worried. I grab the pocket knife and spray. 

“Okay. I’ll be careful.”

“Good. I’ll see you later.”

I left the house and walked towards Thomas’s house. Since he was only across the street, it was easier to walk to his house everyday to hang out. It was one of the things that made us close. 

“You ready?”

“Yeah.”

We entered his car and drove to a lake. Kids were hanging around the shore and even in the water. 

“I’ll take you to my friends.”

“Who are your friends anyway?”

“Don’t worry. They’re really cool people.”

We soon came upon a group of teenagers hanging near some rocks. I didn’t remember any of them. Must have come here after I left. 

“Hey guys.”

“Thomas, you finally decided to join us.”

“We were about to have fun without you.”

“Well I’m here now.”

“And not alone I see.”

“Everyone, this is Emma. My childhood best friend.”

“Hi.”

“Hey. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Maggie.”

Maggie had long brown hair that curled at the end. I could tell by her tone and smile that she was an optimistic person. She likes to think positively. 

“And right there is Shawn.”

He had a short haircut and blue eyes. He was the jokester of the group. He nodded at me with a mischievous grin. 

“Wassup.”

“And that is Nicky.”

She had long blond hair with brown eyes. She was very pretty and bright. I smiled at all of them. 

“It’s nice to meet you guys-” 

“Sorry I’m late.”

A guy came rushing at us. Maggie smiled brightly. 

“Great. Everybody is now here. Emma, this is Alex. Alex, this is Emma.”

A spark went through my body as we both looked up. And our eyes connected. I felt my heart thumping in my chest and my skin hair was standing up. I didn’t know what it was. Alex cleared his throat. 

“I’m Alex.”

“Emma.”

The spark increased as our hands touched. But there was something else too. I saw visions of us together. I pulled away, unable to take my eyes off of him. 

“Great. Now that everybody is acquainted. We should get going.”

Everybody was getting ready to walk around, but I stood there looking at my hand. At that moment, I should have known that he would change my life. For better and worse.