Chapter One - Half a Heart

by snickerdoodle1353

My eyes slowly start to close as I watch trees, buildings, and other cars speed by outside my car window. But every time I actually realized that I was falling asleep I forced my eyes to open wide and stay awake. There is no why on earth I’m going to miss seeing our new house as we pull into the driveway for the first time. Andrew, my twin brother, is already passed out in the seat next to me. Sure, it is only 6:30 at night and I’m already about to fall asleep. Today has been the longest day ever and this is what jetlag can do to a person.

It started this morning when I had to wake up super early. I didn’t have to be at the airport until noon but I still had a lot to do before we left. Everything was already packed, that wasn’t the problem. Saying goodbye to all the people I care about was the issue.

*~*FLASHBACK*~*
“I can’t believe you are leaving me,” my best friend Annabelle exploded as she entered my house. The doorbell had just rang and as soon as I open the door, she comes storming in. Annabelle has been my best friend since we were born. Even before we were born! Our moms were best friends in college. Annabelle and I were born four months apart – give or take a few days – so we have known each other our entire lives.

I laughed as she grabbed a bag of chips off the counter and sat on one of the beanbag chairs in the middle of the empty living room. She always made herself at home here. It was like her second home. My family packed up all of our furniture yesterday and it is already on its way to California. But we needed some furniture for last night and this morning. Hence the beanbag chairs.

“Anna! I was going to take those on the plane!” Andrew yelled at her, snatching them from her.

“Well now I’m eating them,” she replied and took the chips back. “You just have to get over it,” she joked back with a huge smirk on her face. My brother rolled his eyes and walked away. Only seconds later did he return to put Anna in a headlock.

“Give them back!” Andrew exclaimed as her practically tackled her. He has always seen Anna as another sister to torture. She has always been a sister to me. That’s why this was going to be so painful.

The three of us just sat in a circle talking and laughing for about half an hour. We didn’t act like anything was wrong. I actually forgot about leaving for awhile. That was until Anna’s parents came to say goodbye to me and my family. That meant we were leaving soon. Reality finally hit; Anna and I instinctively grabbed each others hands, never wanting to let go.

“Jen, call me the minute you all get to your new house so I will know you are alright,” Mrs. Jacobs told my mom.

“Of course, of course,” my mother replied.

We all got lead out the door of our now old house, carrying all of our belongings behind us. My brother and I climbed into the back seats of the family mini van, leaving the door open so I could still talk to Anna.

“You have to call me as soon as you get to LA! As soon at the plane lands! I need to know every little detail about what it is like there,” Anna demanded me.

“Duh!” I exclaimed and hugged my best friend.

“You two are just like your mothers,” my brother pointed out with a quirky smirk on his face.

“Good!” Anna instantly retorted. “That means we will be best friends forever and ever.” Both of our mothers smiled after hearing that and gave each other a final hug goodbye.

“No matter how far apart we are,” I added. My mom and dad were now in the car and Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs were standing off to the side waiting for Anna to join them. “I guess this is goodbye…” I sadly trailed off.

“I guess it is…” Tears started to swell up in both of our eyes. We hugged one last time before sliding the door of the mini van shut. The tears I was trying to hold back immediately began to flow down my face. Anna joined her family, turned back to me, and held out one of her hands. It was in the shape of a half heart. I pressed my hand to the window of the car. It was also in the shape of half a heart.

My father started to put the car down the driveway and I began to uncontrollably sob. Andrew put his arm around me in a brotherly way and I started to feel a little better.

“This isn’t going to be forever, Melissa,” he told me. “You will see her again. Knowing you two, it will be within our first two weeks in LA.”
*~*END FLASHBACK*~*

After that, we sat in the airport for 37 hours. Ok…it was only about three. Who knew that flying took so much preparation! I don’t even know how long to plane ride took. I lost my ability to tell time a long time ago. Time changes confuse me to no end. Once in LA, the airport lost my entire families luggage. How they lose that much luggage? I have no idea. But it took a couple hours to find everything.

Since we didn’t have our mini van in California (don’t ask me how we are getting that back), we had to take a cab to our new house. It is really really hard to get a taxi in LA. I advise you to save your time and walk wherever you are going.

So here we are, in a cab on the way to my house at 6:30 and I already want to go to sleep. I refuse for that to happen though. There is no way I’m missing…

“Here we are,” the cab drive announced to me and my family. I started to bounce in my seat as the excitement started to build up inside of me. There were multiple moving trucks parked on the curb right in front and they were all almost empty. Movers rushed in and out, carrying everything that I had grown close to. Everything from my old house was here, so it’s not like I had to start out in some strange new place.

I jumped out of the car and ran into the house. The first thing I did was run upstairs to try and find my room. My father told me it was going to be purple. I entered a room with grey-ish walls. That has to be Andrew’s. The next room I go in is…a bathroom. Sure, it was pretty for a bathroom. But it wasn’t my bedroom! I tried another room and there were two men standing in it moving around a desk. That’s not the important part. Around the men were bright purple walls! I found my room!

I hugged the men – they looked rather scared when I did this – before scurrying back downstairs to explore the rest of the house.