One

        Where We Started

        “This is it?”

            I nod my head. “I guess so.”

            “I don’t remember it looking so…”

            “Little House on the Prairie?” I finish, raising my eyebrows at her. Despite recent events, Belle laughs lightly.

            “Exactly.”

            “I lived here for thirteen years,” I explain, setting down the small suitcase beside me. I always had one packed for emergencies and hid it under my bed. “And it even looks strange to me.”

            Greenwood Plantation sits directly in front of us with only a small dirt path and a not-so-white picket fence between. Large Oak tree’s line the driveway, casting most of the front yard in the shade. The wraparound deck looks a lot smaller than I remember it. The two rocking chairs sit beside the screen door with no one in them. In my childhood, I don’t remember a time when my parents weren’t sitting there, drinking tea.

            “Do you think we’ll be allowed to stay if we offer to paint?” Belle asks, squinting her eyes in hopes to make the old farmhouse look better.

            I do the same and shake my head. “I don’t think painting the thing is going to make much of a difference. Anyways, let’s go knock and see Grandpa.”

            I push through the small gate and listen to it creak as it swings back and forth behind me. I’m halfway down the path when I realizing that my footsteps are the only ones I hear.

            “Belle?”

            Turning around, I see her standing beside the emergency suitcase, unmoving. Even from this distance, I can see the tears in her eyes.

            “Oh, Belle,” I whisper, starting towards her. “I meant let’s go see Grandpa and Mom. She’s here too, I promise.”

            She wipes her eyes before picking up her things and skipping towards me. I swear sometimes that her mood can change from hopeless to care-free in a second. But I don’t think she would be so happy now if she knew the real truth about Mom.

            At the front door, I hesitate before knocking. My hand hangs in the air, just in front of the door for over a minute. When I finally do knock, my heart starts to beat rapidly in my chest.

            “Just a minute,” an old man’s voice calls. I hear our Grandpa slowly come towards the door and the second it opens, his mouth falls open.

            He looks exactly like I remember him. His grey hair is perfectly combed, not one strand out of place. His blue eyes twinkle through his thin glasses as he looks us over, speechless. I don’t remember a time where he didn’t wear plaid and overalls, and apparently, the time still hasn’t come.

            Belle is the first to speak. She sighs his name as she drops the suitcase. As soon as she wraps her arms around him, everything seems completely normal and the silence is broken. He hugs her back, a stray tear falling from his eye as he pulls away.

            “What brings you here?” He asks, pulling me into his arms. I’m still searching for the words long after we’ve parted. What am I supposed to tell him? I don’t want to repeat the scene in front of Belle for her to hear, but I also haven’t the slightest idea of how to explain. “No need to tell me now,” he smiles, holding the door open for us. “Come on in for some Iced Tea.”

            “We left,” I explain, once we’re seated in the old living room. The beige couches and matching chairs are stitched with fading red and pink roses.

            “Dad wouldn’t let us-“ Belle starts but I quickly nudge her in the side with my elbow. “What was that for?” She snaps, looking to me with narrowed eyes. Grandpa watches us curiously from the couch across from us.

            “What Belle was saying, is that Dad wouldn’t let us stay home by ourselves. He was admitted to the hospital,” I explain with downcast eyes. I feel Belle’s watching me, wondering why I’m not telling our grandpa the whole truth.

            “Oh no,” Grandpa gasps, setting his white tea cup down on the brown coffee table between us. “Is he okay? What happened?”

            “Yes, Stevie,” Belle says, her eyes still glaring. “Why don’t you tell us what happened?”

            As quickly as I can, I come up with a lie. I can’t tell Grandpa what really has happened over the past three years, not after all he’s done for Mom. Besides, the sooner Belle starts to have a normal life, the better.

            “I think it might have been a heart attack,” I whisper, meeting Grandpa’s eyes. For a moment, he looks devastated. “He says he probably won’t be out of the hospital until the end of the summer, so he told us to come here until he gets out. Then he will come and get us.”

            “If that’s alright,” Isabelle chimes in, lowering her Iced Tea onto her lap.

            “Of course.” Grandpa smiles, adjusting his glasses on his nose. “You both are welcome here at Greenwood any time.”

~~~

            “Do you really think he’s okay with it?” Belle asks, tucking her legs up onto the rocking chair. Cradling her Iced Tea, she gets comfortable before turning to me.

            “He said he is,” I nod, taking a sip out of my plastic cup. The sun is setting in the field across from the house, which Grandpa owns. The tree line along the side of the rode creates darkened silhouettes of the long branches and crab apples that have started to grow. “I mean, he must enjoy our company. We never see him and I’m sure he gets lonely.”

            Belle catches my gaze, her eyes shimmering. “But he has Mom.”

             Sighing, I rest my Iced Tea on the front deck underneath my feet and turn to her. Pulling my legs up to my chest, I hug my knees.

            “Belle, how much do you know about why we moved away and Grandpa moved in with Mom?”

            She looks at me, confused. Turning away, she stares down at the deck, thinking. “Dad said she was sick and that we couldn’t stay and help her get better.” Belle pauses, meeting my eyes again. “But he never really told me what she was sick with, and why we couldn’t help her.”

            “There’s a lot he didn’t tell you, or even me,” I explain, looking away to stare at the sunset. “But I think right now, we shouldn’t talk about that. I think we just need to enjoy the time we have away from Dad while we can.”

 A/N: This is short, but I promise I've already written the next few chapters and they are longer. I also promise that there is a love interest in the next chapter and things will get more interesting :)

Picture of Stevie on the side -->

I'm having trouble finding someone who looks like I imagine her, so let your imaginations run wild!