New home… Pain tightened in my chest. I didn’t want a new home. I wanted my home. Where my mom was. Where she used to love me…
My eyes focused on my scar again. What did I do to make her mad? Why don’t I deserve her love anymore?
“You’re going to love this place,” my father repeated. “The air is fresh, a lot of room to run around, explore and play, and there are all kinds of wild animals you’ll be able to see.”
That got my attention. “Will there be bunnies?”
My dad smiled. “I’m sure we’ll see some eventually.”
I liked bunnies. They were so cute with their wiggly noses. “Where are we?”
“Upstate New York, in the Adirondack Mountains.”
My nose crunched as I tried to say that word. “Adder-dick?”
My dad belted out a hearty laugh. “I think I like that pronunciation better.”
I giggled, my mood improving.
The truck slowed, and my dad took a left onto a dirt road. It was bumpy, and I bounced around a lot, but it was fun. My dad even made fun noises, getting me to laugh.
By the time the trees opened up, I was all smiles. It wasn’t so bad. I had Dad. He loved me. He promised he would for all eternity. I believed him.
“Daddy, can you do a magic trick for me?” I asked.
He smiled. “Once we settle in, I’d be happy to. But look, we’re here.”
I peered out the window. The trees thinned out into a large clearing. A lawn sprawled through the entire clearing and the largest house I’d ever seen sat in the middle. The road we drove widened into a driveway for this house.
My eyes popped. “Daddy, this is our new house?”
“It’s not our house, but it’ll be where we live,” he said.
I didn’t understand what that meant. Daddy said we were going to our home. Did he mean this was only temporary? Maybe it was. Maybe we weren’t allowed to stay here long. But if we couldn’t stay here, where would we go?
My dad pulled up to the big house and turned the truck off. As he did, the front door opened, and two people walked out onto the porch. My dad unbuckled his seat belt and then helped me with my booster when I struggled with the buckle.
I scrunched my nose. I could do it myself. I just needed more time.
He at least allowed me to hop out of the truck on my own. I knew how to do that. It was easy and fun to slide off the bench to the ground.
My feet landed hard on the ground and my knees gave out. My hands caught me from falling on my face. “Oof.”
“You okay, Ace?” Dad asked. He sounded worried.
I giggled and stood, rubbing my dirty hands on my pants. “Yep.”
I shut my door and scurried over to where he stood in front of the truck. He placed his hand on my head and we walked up the porch steps to the two people waiting for us. I ducked behind my dad when they were too close, and peered around his legs.
They were both old. Like grandpa-and-grandma-ancient-old. The man was tan, like he’d been out in the sun for a long, long time, like my dad, and had snow-white hair. The lady was pale like me and had long, braided pale blonde hair. Her blue eyes were vibrant, and she had a fairly muscled body for someone who was old. She seemed younger than the man, but I wasn’t sure how much.
The longer I looked at her, the more familiar she seemed to me, but I wasn’t sure why. I’d never been here before. And I was sure I’d never met this lady.
“You made it, Darius,” the man said. He then smiled at me. “And you must be Astrid.”
My dad rested his hand on my head. “Astrid, this is Pete and Randi. They own this retreat.”
Randi? Why does that name sound so familiar?
