CHAPTER ONE
Amabella
Sipping on my cup of hot coffee, I look out the kitchen window. The cold will be here soon, the trees have already shed their clothes and twist in their nakedness toward the sky. They look so desolate, so starving and free from any nourishment that even the birds have left them.
Not that the birds are to blame. I’d leave this place too if I could.
Our house lies isolated at the end of a crooked road and it’s been my home for the last five years. In these grand halls, I laughed from joy when we first moved in and bawled my eyes out the day that mom left. She couldn’t handle how there was nothing of substance here. I clenched my fists and cursed her for leaving for a long time afterward, but now as an adult I sort of understand where she was coming from.
The summers, springs and autumns are alright, I guess but the winters...the winters are horrid. Winter brings out the worst in this place with its heartbroken and haunted silence.
I don’t think I’ve ever hated anything as much as I hate the cold.
It makes me think of all the people it nips with its iciness, its merciless cruelty and I shiver when a tingle crawls down my spine. Putting my mug back into the sink, I grimace because dad will probably bark at me for not washing it and I grab some dish soap and a sponge. I’ve been nagging him to get a dishwasher but he insists we’re fine without it.
And of course, we’re fine. Considering I’m the one doing most if not all of the housework.
Glancing at my wristwatch, I’m relieved that there’s still some time left. Walking into the living room, I put my feet up on the coffee table and turn on the TV.Perfect. Nothing like a syrupy matinée romance to distract me from my moodiness.
I smile to myself when the couple kiss and embrace in the middle of a crowded street and I adore how charming the male lead is. He’s so gentle with her, so sweet I almost get a toothache and I giggle but pout when I feel a pinch of envy.
I’ve never been kissed like that in my life.
But I know of girlfriends who have been. Most of my girls married after high school or went to college. They all fled this town faster than you can snap your fingers, and I drag a breath when I for the tenth time this day wish I’d done the same. Stabbing my fingers through my messy hair, I cross my arms and figure that I guess I’m just supposed to stay here.
Grabbing a pillow, I make myself even more comfortable because this is the good part when the male lead confesses his undying love and if I was an emoji, I’d be doing heart eyes right now. This is just so dang cute...
“Time’s up. Lunch hours over,” dad grunts, grabbing the remote and he turns off the TV and I gawk.
“Hey! I was watching that.”
“Romance is a made up concept and I don’t want you filling your head with that nonsense.” He walks out of the living room. “I need you in the office.”
Groaning, I rise and leisurely drag my legs down the hallway. The grandfather clock chimes and I silently tell it to shut it. Can’t stand that clock, always giving me a bleeding headache like everything else in this house.
Dad’s already behind his desk when I enter the office and inwardly I sigh. Honestly, I don’t know why he bothers. He’s a writer of these bland books on botany that hardly anyone reads and yet he claims he’s insanely popular. Truth is that there are probably only a handful of people who know who he is and that’s me being generous.
Sitting down on the desk by the window, I start typing while dad dictates. It’s what I do. I help him with his manuscripts. I started right after high school because dad begged me to. He’s never thanked me for it though, just takes it for granted but I said yes because I didn’t have the heart to say no.
Deep in thought, dad pushes up his glasses on his nose and reads, “Many flowers are toxic, producing substances that kill everything that surrounds them...”
I hide a yawn, typing away and I regret not drinking more caffeine. The sun streaming from the windows is too pale to keep me awake and I squirm in my seat. We work for hours, until I grow so drowsy I accidentally nod off.
“Amabella!” dad snaps and I jerk, blinking and look around in surprise. Dad’s eyes narrow. “This is a highly interesting subject and yet you have the audacity to fall asleep.” He shakes his head. “What am I gonna do with you?”
Looking down at my hands, I sulk and dad adds,
“Wipe that sour look off your face. Your brother’s coming home tonight.” Dad’s voice turns excited and my shoulders slump. He’s always favored Bryce, my older brother who’s at college. They’ve always gotten along like two peas in a pod. I was the odd one out, always yearning for only an ounce of the attention and affection my father lavished on Bryce.
“Yippee,” I mutter and dad throws me a stern glance.
“Don’t you give me that attitude. I’m not gonna want any of your primadonna behavior around Bryce. He’s been away from home for a long time and besides...,” dad rubs his forehead, “he’s bringing a friend.”
Another loser like Bryce in the house? No thanks.
“How long are they staying?” I ask, begging it’ll just be over the weekend when dad replies,
“They’re here to work on their final thesis. They’ll be staying for a month.”