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Sia - California Dreamin'
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My heart begins pounding loudly in my chest. She couldn't have been talking about the boy with the black hoodie? Could she?
Anxiously, I walk through the door, still showing a friendly smile on my face. The first thing I notice when I enter the house that it was now completely different to the last time.
The last person too stay in the house died in hospital over a year ago after she was attacked by a bear. She was very kind to me, and I often came over to keep her company.
She went out to walk her dog in the woods during the day, I remember sitting at my window watching the leaves fly down the street when she left the house, just a typical middle-aged woman and her dog. She walked along the pavement out of sight and was never seen alive again.
Once she was pronounced dead, the house remained empty for a long time. No one bought it, no one wanted it. I'm surprised that it was even still up for sale nevermind sold.
All around the walls were paintings which was normal for a family. My mom had them all around the house from when she painted, and it really brought our house to life. I unfortunately didn't have this talent, I was a pathetic painter.
The thing that stood out in every painting was the one thing they all had in common, a wolf.
Every painting was different, some being vibrant and warm - with colours that contrasted and looked beautiful.
I may not have been good at art, but damn I had a good eye for it and whoever had painted these was good, really good.
One specific canvas stood out, it was an ink paining which used many colours. In the centre it had a wolf's head, and from the fur around it it stretched into a variety of blues and pinks and purples.
"It's my favourite one." Aidon smiles, bringing a tray of tea with him.
Such a clichè, I laugh to myself.
"Oh no we..." Amy began immediately getting cut off by Rose.
"It's okay, we thought it'd be rude not to to offer you something for coming to introduce yourself ." She says kindly, she had the smoothest voice I'd ever heard and it gave be goosebumps.
"Sorry about the tea." She continued, never dropping her smile.
"It's just what we're used to, after living in England for a few years."
"Do any of you girls want a Jaffa cake?" The tall man spoke, sitting down in the couch across from us In the large living room.
"A..Jaffa what?" I laugh at him, hearing the funny sounding name of the small sponge thing that was placed before me.
But oh my gosh it was delicious.
Both Amy and Em took at bite, and were just as surprised as me at the yummy taste.
"These are amazing!" Em smiles, taking another one from the plate below on the coffee table. It was nice to see her so comfortable so quickly around strangers.
Aidon smiles contently and continues the conversation, "So where do you girls all live?" He asksEm and Amy, giving them a warm smile as he places his hands on his lap.
Em spoke first very confidently,
"I live a few doors down From Cece, I've lived here most of my life but I used to live in New York." She finished, eyeing up another Jaffa cake.
"Help yourself." Rose smiled, taking a sip of tea and watching us contently.
"I live a few streets away, but it's close enough to walk too." Amy smiles at the tall, stunning woman unable to refuse food.
Suddenly, I blurt out something I hadn't even had time to properly think about, probably sounding rude and arrogant.
"What's up with your weird fascination with wolfs?"
The married couple looked uneasy as I immediately regret what I said, breaking eye-contact and unknowingly looking at each other.
Way to go me.
"Those would be mine." A new voice spoke from across the room. Quickly, I turn my head in the direction that the male voice comes from.
Standing at the bottom of the stairs was the dark haired boy with the black hoodie.
He had bright blue eyes like his mother but longer black hair like his father, aswell as a well-sculpted jaw and muscular upper chest. He stares at me, jaw locked and eyes wide.
"Nice jump earlier." He tells Amy with mockery in his tone, a smirk forming across his face as he tries not to laugh at her fall. He was watching us.
"Thanks" She whispers, immediately going bright red from embarrassment. He sees this, and laughs lightly to himself, content with the blushing he had caused. So he's one of those guys.
"Hunter, come introduce yourself."Â His mother shouts to him, ordering him over sharply.
"This, is our only son Hunter." His father speaks to us, "Hunter this is Cecelia, Amelia and Emmaline."
At the sound of my name his eyes shoot up out of interest, he looks at his parents and looked again at me. His eyebrows narrowed.
Me, cringing at the sound of my full name, now felt it was time to say our nicknames since that's what we had pretty much gone by since our early teens.
"Cece, Em and Amy. If that's any easier than that mouthful." I suggest, feeling slightly awkward that black hoodie guy was in the room.
Black hoodie guy, I like that.
He lightly chuckles to himself, causing me to think the impossible. There was no way on earth he heard that, maybe I mumbled it and didn't realise it.
"Do you like wolves?" Rose asks me, in which I didn't even need to think about giving an answer.
"I would sacrifice my life before going anywhere near a wolf that looked like it wanted to eat me." I giggl, neither members of the family looked content.
"They....they terrify me." I admitted, ashamed. "So do the woods, there's always been something so secretive and sinister about them."
"Do you believe in legends then, like werewolfs ?" Rose asked again, curious to see my answer.
"Of course!" I laugh, all of them release a breath they didn't realise they were holding.
"I also believe in the Loch Ness monster, fairies and monsters that hide in closets and under beds." I laugh to myself, not realising that they thought I was being serious.
The only three people to laugh were my best friends, and black hoodie guy. Who happened to put even Amy in her place when it came to laughing hard.
Both of his parents were staring him down, as if to warm him. But him, completing the total bad boy look he refused, making things a bit weird between everyone.
Em broke the silence that had begun to make things awkward.
"Well thanks for having us, and for the Jaffa thingys, but we've been here taking too much of your time. It was nice to meet you though!" She says, almost sounding fake. She stands up and grabs both me and Amy, practically dragging us to the door with a short goodbye.
"Yeah, we best get going now. Thanks again." I say this time as we're dragged towards the door before we can protest.
Both Rose and Aidon got up to walk us out, with smiles back on their faces. It also seemed like our goofiness was entertaining to them.
"It was no problem having you here." Rose grins, "if you want to come back over at any time, we would enjoy the company." She leans against the doorframe as her husband comes up from behind her, placing a loving hand on her shoulder.
"Thank you." I smile, standing outside her door with my two friends.
"Also, I'm sure Hunter would appreciate a friend." Rose starts, almost as if she planned on mentioning it beforehand but forgot," he's starting at the high school on Monday. Perhaps you might see him."
"Oh." Was all I could reply. My eyes shooting back into the house to look at him. He sits on the couch, looking back at me with as interest as I had in him.
"I hope he settles in!" Em shouts as she walks across the road to my house without me, Amy beside her.
Rose then shuts the door, and I couldn't help but hear the very loud conversation they were having.
"Why would you--!"
"I didn't know it was-"
"She.....good impression!"
I found that I was being very rude, and not hearing anything that made sense, I made my way back to my house. The whole experience of being around that family was peculiar, almost inhumane.
But I had at least one thing to look forward to, my birthday on Friday and seeing black hoodie guy in school.
As much as I denied it in my head, my heart had decided to betray Ash....things we're gonna get bad and one of us was going to get hurt. I couldn't help the interest I took in Hunter, it wasn't normal.
But a smile comes across my face as I count down the hours to seeing him again, and we hadn't even had a proper conversation yet.
Thanks for reading, I was gonna continue but I found that i spent wayyyyy to long talking about the new family, what do you think of them?
Please vote and comment.
And to that one reader who one day will appear that loves my work, will comment at every single bit. I love you, and I can't wait until you find me.