CHAPTER~ONE
Before

Hayden Levitz

Just give me five more minutes. That's what Hayden was thinking as he heard the voice through the vents yelling to get up. Every single morning, he slept in and ignored the multiple alarms that sounded nothing but a low, labored, groaning zzzzz in his sleeping state. All that was needed to turn the sound off was to simply lift a hand and tap the button on the iPhone that was on the nightstand right next to the bed, easy.

What really was an alarm was the thumping sound of his mother's footsteps, stomping to his room. That not only woke him up but it induced fear that got him up and out of bed before she reached the door. That is the normal routine, every school morning. Except where were those alarming footsteps? The ones that replaced coffee in the morning.

All this thought in the morning before the migraine pill is not good for Hayden, it makes his head hurt. His right eye squints open but snaps shut when searing pain replaces the light.

Both hands move over his face in an attempt of shielding himself from the pain, "Ouch" Hayden winces.

"Alright. Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty." Someone says from outside and all of a sudden his door swings open. "Mom is on the phone so you have me to deal with! Lucky you." Mila, his younger sister is standing in the doorway with a playful scowl on her face.

"Hold on." His finger goes up above his head while his eyes are still closed. "If I have to talk to you this early, let me take my pill first." Hayden swings his legs around to the side of the bed so he's now sitting upright and stands up. His hands are out as if he were a blind person and he makes his way to his dresser where the migraine pills are.

As he's taking the pill, Mila moves further into his room. "Jeez I'm not that bad. You don't have to pop pills." She starts to laugh and when Hayden swallows the water in his mouth, he does too.

"Oh, I think you are that bad!" He turns around, now with his eyes fully open, and goes back to his bed to grab his phone. The lock screen reads 6:28am-April 7th, 2017. "Only two and three-forth's months left until summer." He says to himself but Mila hears.

"Yeah, how did the school year go by so fast?" When Hayden looks over at her, she looks almost scared which bewilders him. All he can think about is how relaxing and what a relief summer is, no more school for three months.

He walks over to her and bends down so they're eye level. "Hey, it'll be okay. You have amazing grades and school next year will be a breeze, I'll help you." Mila sighs in relief at his words. "Come here," Hayden opens his arms just wide enough for her slim figure to fit before he squeezes her and lifts her up off the ground.

"Ahh!" Screams are heard around the house while he spins the both of them around and eventually throws her onto his bed.

"There, feel better?" He says as his face lights up with a bright smile. Mila glares at him once she brushes the mess of chestnut colored hair out of her face. "Well I sure do. I'm definitely awake!" Hayden then walks into his closet to find what he'll wear for the day.

The walk-in closet connected to the room is moderately sized, with racks on both sides and shoe holders underneath. It's filled with clothes that he doesn't wear often because his mom made him spend a certain amount of money on clothes. He lets out a sigh. Right by the door is the section of daily use clothes where Hayden's eyes focus immediately on. In under a minute, an outfit is taken off the rack: A navy blue button-down shirt with a casual black jacket over the top, black jeans that surprisingly don't have any holes in them, and black high-top sneakers.

When he walks out of the closet, Mila skips back into the room. "Mom is making us some eggs and bagels, if you want some." She taps her fingers on the doorframe before heading downstairs.

The sound of rumbling comes from his stomach so he quickly throws schoolwork in his backpack, grabs everything he needs for the day and follows Mila downstairs. The scent of cheesy eggs and what can only be described as the perfect way to start the morning wafts into Hayden's nose as he turns the corner to the kitchen.

"Hey, honey. Your plate is right here, the milk is in the fridge if you want some." His mom has her phone in between her ear and shoulder as she finishes making breakfast. "I'll be off the phone soon," She reassures both of Mila and Hayden once she sees their withdrawn expressions.

He nods while setting his phone and backpack down by the kitchen island and going to get the placemats, cups and milk. Their father comes walking down the stairs in a charcoal colored three-piece suit. The button-down shirt underneath is a lighter shade of gray which compliments the tailored jacket with a single breastplate on the left side.

Him and his sister look up. "Hi, daddy." She gets up and scoots over a seat so their father can sit down too.

Tobias Levitz—their father—walks over and sits on the stool. "Hey, Birdie." He smiles at Mila. "Hey, Cookie Monster," Hayden looks over at his dad and rolls his eyes.

"I told you not to call me that anymore." He grunts. "I was hungry, and it was only one plate of cookies!"

"Well, you'll always be my Cookie Monster," His father looks at his mom and smirks.

"Yeah okay, I'll see you when I get to work." His mom pauses, "Bye bye." Her eyes focus in on Hayden and then she smiles. "Okay, Cookie Monster. I'm off the phone now so we can eat."

"Agh!" They all laugh at Hayden's expense, yet he ends up laughing too.

"Mmm, this is delicious!" Everyone looks over at Mila who is devouring her eggs and is now moving onto her bagel. "What? I'm hungry!" She tries to explain herself but Hayden is too eating his eggs and soon they all are.

"This is amazing Mom, thank you." Hayden says.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it." His father is getting up to get seconds already while he is still working on his first plate. "Okay, now hurry up. I don't want you to be late for school. The bus will be here soon and you need to be at that stop." Shes pointing her fork at Hayden, as if it were a weapon and she were a bad guy.

He holds his hands up, "I'll be there, I have all my stuff down here already!" He points to his backpack and phone and they both laugh.

"Good." They all finish eating their breakfast quickly so they aren't late for the day.

Hayden grabs his backpack and swings it around his back as soon as he stands up. He then picks up his plate and takes it over to the sink and rinses it swiftly. Him and Mila make their way outside and he slips his earbuds in before they make it to the bus stop.

The music that switches on is one of his favorites, Wish I Knew You by The Revivalists. It transports him to a place in his mind and creates an emotion that only music can, pure bliss. He notices an odd feeling in his stomach, nostalgia? Memories cloud his eyes of his mom and dad singing, dancing, and making the little boy with two dimples, laugh.

"This right here Hayden, is a great song. You can't get much better than this!" His mother said as she twirled around the kitchen with a wooden spoon in her hand, using it as a microphone.

She moved over to the kitchen counter and tapped her fingers on the surface. Her eyes were closed while doing this, giving his father the chance to sneak up on her.

"Boo!" He whisper yelled in her ear as she spun around with a look of pure surprise.

She swatted his arm and smiled back at Hayden. "You scared me!"

"Sorry, Darlin'. You just looked too gorgeous. Dance with me and our son?" She nodded and looked back at Hayden who came running at the mention of him.

The three of them swaying in the kitchen, Hayden in the center of the two of his parents was an all too perfect memory that he kept at the front of his mind.

"Hey, the bus is here. Come on." Mila pulls on Hayden's earbuds so that he isn't lost in his music and memories anymore.

{•Author's Note•}

Song: Wish I Knew You by: The Revivalists

First official chapter, hope you enjoyed it!

Listen to the song during the flashback;)

Please comment, vote, follow, and share:)

Much love, xoxo<3

Date published: May 31st, 2020

Word Count: 1500