636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLR4gftj2k
Reaching the outskirts of Beverly Hills along the highway took longer than Rhénee had expected. The huge traffic jam back in town had slowed her down and she grew a little impatient just dying to get out of Beverly Hills and away from her old life.
When she was out of town and along the highway, Rhénee breathed out an air of relief. She was finally going and there was no turning back.
It was going to be a long journey to Madison, and as far as Rhénee could remember, the town was really far away and it would be one tiring journey.
After a few miles down the highway, Rhénee pulled over by a gas station to fuel up her car and collect some snacks for the road.
When Rhénee pulled over by the fuel tank, she got out of the car leaving Sophie behind who was fast asleep.
Rhénee got into the store, got a bag of crisps, two cans of coke, a packet of chewing gum and two bottles of milk for Sophie in case she got hungry on the journey. She got to the counter to pay the bill to the cashier who was staring at a small television at the end of the counter. And he didn't seem to pay attention as Rhénee approched.
"Excuse me," Rhénee spoke softly, trying not to frighten the cashier.
The cashier's wide blue eyes flew to Rhénee's face. He didn't look startled at all when Rhénee spoke to him.
"Oh, sorry, didn't see you there," said the cashier as he got to work scanning the price tags.
"Its fine," said Rhénee, giving him a little smile.
The cashier looked up and smiled back. Rhénee took a chance and started to scrutinise him and she realised he wasn't that bad. He was definitely handsome. His hair was cropped up on the left side leaving part of his blond hair to his right above his sky blue eyes. He had a diamond stud on his left ear and that reminded Rhénee of her brother.
"So, that will be $28.50," said the cashier.
"Oh, ya," said Rhénee as she started to fumble around in her pockets to get the money and she soon paid the cashier.
"Going on a holiday?"
"I..... um..... it's not really.... ah..."
The cashier looked at Rhénee and a smile appeared at the corner of his lips. Rhénee started to blush as she looked away and cleared her throat. She hated it when a guy like him made her nervous.
"Its not a holiday," Rhénee replied clearly, "I'm moving."
"Moving?" the cashier looked puzzled as he looked out through the glass doors at her car packed outside. "It doesn't look like you are moving."
"Its a long story. I'm moving into an old relative's house."
"Oh, I see."
The cashier put the things Rhénee had bought in a plastic bag and gave the bag to her.
"Here you go," the cashier said with a smile, "have a safe trip."
"Thanks," Rhénee replied blushing as she quickly walked out of the store.
After fueling up the car, Rhénee hit the road with Soohie still fast asleep in her basket.
Driving to a far off place proved to be pretty tiring and boring. There was no one to talk to with Sophie asleep and all Rhénee could do was listen to some music and chew some gum.
Years ago, it never used to be as boring as this travelling to her grandmother's house for the holidays. Along the way, Rhénee always made sure to carry some board games or cards for her, Zoey and Ryan to play to keep themselves busy while their parents were in the front seats not really minding at all. It was so much fun.
But now that she was all grown up, everything was different.
Completely different.
Leaving unfinished business at home wasn't what Rhénee had planned for. Her father would be furious, she definitely knew he would. But what could she do? She needed a break away from her family, especially her father.
He wouldn't understand me, no matter how much I try to help him realise it.
Rhénee knew very well that her father loved her a lot. He had always taken care of her and favoured her more than the others. But as time went by and Rhénee grew older, his fatherly love and care became Rhénee's deadly poison.
Mr Johnson became really strict with her that sometimes, Rhénee wouldn't even go out of the house to even meet her friends. He would always push her more in school to study really hard. Rhénee was already a bright student in high school, but she knew her father was pushing her to become something more and she couldn't take it.
With all the strict rules beared on her, Rhénee decided to take action. She was still a teen at the time and instead of going out and have fun with her friends, she was locked up in her own home.
She became a little rebellious and she would sneak out of the house and come back before her dad got home. And her attitude towards her father started to change little by little.
In Rhénee's final year in high school, her father had caught her sneaking out of the house and he was absolutely furious. He took her to the living-room to scold her in front of everyone.
Even though Rhénee had let her father's words bring her down several times before, that day she wasn't going to take anymore of it. She finally spoke her mind in front of her father and that left everyone in the house stunned. No body had ever confronted Mr Johnson in such a manner before. And the surprising thing of all was that it was his youngest daughter who was his pride and joy.
Ever since then, Rhénee was no longer afraid of him. She wasn't scared to speak her mind even if it hurt her father a lot.
He always took the chance to hurt my feelings. I don't see the wrong in doing it myself.
It was said among people who knew the Johnsons, that Rhénee was very much like her father, always eager and determined to win an argument whenever there was one.
But Rhénee knew that she was completely different from her father, despite the similarity that they were both stubborn. She knew all those years back that her father was trying to shape and transform her into something she was not.
He wanted Rhénee to be just like him.
Rhénee put in more gum in her mouth trying to forget the past. She was going to start a new life all by herself and she knew it was going to be one heck of a ride.
***
As Rhénee drove on, the landscape started to change. She was approaching a town called Cottonwood. She could see the cottonwood trees along side of the road and the trees became a few as she approached the town and some industrial buildings came in sight.
A few minutes drove by and Rhénee found herself in the town centre of Cottonwood. The town buildings weren't as tall as Rhénee had thought since she hadn't passed this town in a really long time. There were a few new infrastructures but there were some old buildings Rhénee recognised. But all that didn't matter, she felt closer to her destination even if it was a few miles away.
A sound of a car's horn behind Rhénee quickly woke Sophie up. Rhénee laughed at the cat's reaction as she took one hand away from the steering wheel and patted Sophie on the head.
"Looks like someone had a peaceful sleep," said Rhénee as Sophie yawned and stretched herself. She settled back comfortably in the basket, but this time, she didn't fall back to sleep.
Rhénee looked at the time on her purple wrist watch. It was 5 P.M and the sun was starting to set. She wondered if she should just go and get a cup of coffee and relax for a few minutes or she should continue on her way to Madison.
She finally made her decision and found a place to park her car across an old café she knew when she was little. Whenever Rhénee was going to Madison with her family, they always made sure to stop by the café to drink some delicious coffee.
Rhénee got out of the car leaving Sophie inside. She locked the car door and turned to look at the old café across the road. It still looked the same and nothing seemed to have changed. The outside walls of the café still had that dark brown colour similar to chocolate and the roof had the cream white colour. On the windowsills of the café there were little red and white flowers.
Rhénee felt the cold air bite her skin and she realised that she had been standing in the cold admiring the old café for almost two minutes. She quickly got to the café, pushed the glass door and got inside.
The sudden warmth and the scent of richly brewed coffee, greeted Rhénee as soon as she walked in. She closed her eyes and took in the scent of the coffee.
The walls of the café had the same toffee brown wallpaper, but they must changed it whenever it was necessary because it looked quite new. The thing was that they still chose the same colour Rhénee was so familiar of.
Rhénee took a table at the corner of the room. The sweet sound of country music was being played by a music box across the room. Rhénee took a look around the place and saw most of the tables were occupied by couples who were taking quietly amongst themselves.
Rhénee smiled and for a moment she wondered why she was all alone. She would have bought Sophie along but as usual, no pets were allowed.
A tall blond blue-eyed girl came to take Rhénee's order. She wore a white shirt and black skirt with black pumps. She smiled widely and her big blue eyes gave Rhénee the creeps. And in some way or the other, the girl reminded Rhénee of the cashier whom she met at the gas station.
"I will have a cup of coffee and a slice of cheese cake, please," said Rhénee.
"Alright, coming right up," said the blonde waitress as she cheerfully took Rhénee's order on a note pad and walked away.
Rhénee started to tap her fingers on the wooden table until she felt the vibration of her phone in her pocket. She took the phone and looked at the screen.
Alex.
Alex, one of Rhénee's closet friends, who was drop dead gorgeous and a complete show-off, was a really caring and understanding guy. Some people would consider Alex and Rhénee a couple and that they looked good together, but the two would always deny it. Alex always had a span of girls waiting on him. Rhénee always called him a playboy and wouldn't want a guy like him to be her boyfriend. Him being a friend was more than enough.
Rhénee continued to stare at the phone as it vibrated in her hand. She accepted the call and placed the phone to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Hello? Rhénee?" came Alex's voice at the other end, "were you driving? I hope not."
"No, I wasn't, Alex. You called at the right time."
"Don't I always call at the right time?"
Rhénee rubbed her forehead with her other hand in frustration. "I'm kinda not in a mood for your jokes at the moment."
"I wasn't joking when I said that."
"Mmm.... figured."
"Zoey called a few minutes after you left."
"Thats good. I'm glad she called you because I wasn't going to call anyone myself."
"You shouldn't have left. At least if you were going to stay with someone at the mansion it wasn't going to be a problem."
"My goodness, you sound just like my mother. She said almost the exact same thing."
"Of course, because she cares about you a lot."
"Tell me something that I don't know," said Rhénee with a little bit of irony.
"You shouldn't have gone alone, Rhénee."
"I have Sophie along with me."
"Sophie's a cat!"
"Well she is a better companion than other people I know of."
"I hope you don't mean me."
"Alex, no, of course not. You're my best friend."
"Then you should have taken me along with you, don't you think so?"
"Things would get complicated if you came."
"What? Your parents wouldn't like it if you stayed with a guy like me?" Alex laughed and then all of a sudden, he became serious. "Its dangerous to be alone, Rhénee."
Rhénee sighed. "I will be fine alone, Alex. I know I will."
"I don't know. I don't like this at all."
"I'm not a baby, Alex. I'll do fine on my own. You just got to have faith."
"Okay. But you should at least try to give me a call everyday, alright?"
The blonde waitress came with Rhénee's hot cup of coffee and cheesecake. Rhénee took in the scent of the coffee and smiled.
"Don't worry, Alex. I'll try calling you as much as I can."
It was half past five when Rhénee had left the café after a good cup of coffee with cheesecake and using the ladie's room. She got into the car and noticed that Sophie was at the back seat. The cat was obviously waiting for Rhénee and she didn't like staying put in her basket.
"Sorry, I'm late, Sophie," said Rhénee, "time seemed to have flown by."
Sophie hissed angrily showcasing her sharp teeth. Rhénee smiled at the cat and put the key in the ignition. The cat quickly jumped into her basket and sat in it quietly as the car drove up on the road as the sun continued to set.
***
The stone bounced on the surface of the water and bounced four more times until it finally sunk. A few moments later, another stone bounced on the surface just like the previous one, but it didn't bounce far off than the other and it quickly sunk.
636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnP8btGYzcN
"Yes, I win!"
"Not fair! I want a rematch."
"Not going to happen. I won fair and square."
"Come on, Eugene. Do it for me. Please."
Eugene stared at his eight year old brother stand beside him at the banks of the river. Eugene ruffled his brother's brown hair and carried him away from the river. The little boy laughed in excitement.
"Put me down, Eugene!" the little boy exclaimed in excitement.
"Alright, if you insist," said Eugene as he put Albert on the ground close to the trees.
Albert smiled at Eugene and said, "we should come back here tomorrow and do a rematch."
"No, little bro," Eugene said, "I have work tomorrow. And besides, the sun is going down. We better go back home quickly before mum gets angry at us."
"You're right. Its starting to get very cold out here too."
Eugene and Albert had their bicycles packed under a pine tree. They went on their bicycles and cycled away from the river into the forest. They reached the gravel road and rode on until they reached their small town in only a matter of minutes.
They passed a blue post office where they saw a tall chubby man getting out of the white and blue post van. When the man saw the two brothers, he waved at them.
"Hello, Mr Whittle," greeted Albert, waving with one hand.
"Hello," Mr Whittle replied.
After the post office, the brothers passed by Ms Petunia's flower stand where the scent of beautiful roses and lillies caught their noses as they rode past.
And Mr Smith's bakery shop seemed to be full of customers going in to buy some delicious pastries. Mr Smith was known around town to be the best at what he does. Making delicious pastries.
Even though Madison was a small town, to Eugene, it had always been home. The friendly people around town made Madison what it was and always will be. A peaceful town.
After passing Madison park, the two brothers finally reached their neighbourhood.
The houses along each side of the road were almost the same except their colour and the way people had decorated their front lawns with different kinds of flowers and also the way they took care of the hedges.
Eugene and Albert soon reached their house. A sky blue coloured house with a white roof. They got off their bicycles on the driveway and walked up to the garage where they packed their bicycles inside the garage next to their mother's blue Nissan. They used the door in the garage which lead them straight inside the house.
The sound coming in from the living room meant that the tv was on. Albert and Eugene found their mother sitting on an old brown sofa facing the tv. She had a blue blanket covering her and a remote control in her hand. A bowl of popcorn was settled on the coffee table. By the looks if it, she was fast asleep.
Albert slowly went towards to his mother and called out to her.
"Mum."
His mother's eyes flew open and she almost jumped in fright. Her mousy brown hair was in disarray and her eyes looked a little tired.
"Oh, its just you, sweetheart," said Mrs Chamberlin, "what took you two so long?"
"We were having fun. Isn't that right, Eugene?" Albert faced his elder brother.
Eugene smiled. "Yes we were. You look awfully tired, mum."
"I had a lot of cleaning to do today and I had to make sure I made supper a little early," said Mrs Chamberlin as she rubbed her eyes and yawned.
"Don't worry, mum, you sit down and rest. I will heat up the food and set the table for dinner."
Mrs Chamberlin smiled at Eugene. "Thank you, honey. You really are a life saver."
"Is dad coming home today, mum?" Albert asked.
Mrs Chamberlin flinched when Albert asked the question. Her tired green eyes looked at Albert and then at the floor. Noticing the tension, Eugene decided to break the silence.
"Hey, Albert, weren't you going to show me the homework assignment you wrote for school tomorrow?"
"Oh, I almost forgot. Let me go and get it."
Albert quickly dashed upstairs to his room. The sound of his bedroom door opening and closing made Mrs Chamberlin sigh in relief.
"That was close," said Mrs Chamberlin, putting her hand on her chest. "I wasn't ready to answer him."
"I know, mum." Eugene sat on the sofa. "But you can't hide from the question forever."
"What do you want me to do, Eugene? If he knew what-" Mrs Chamberlin choked on her words as tears flowed down her cheeks.
Eugene placed his arms around his mother's shoulders. "Stop crying, mum. I know this is going to be tough but you should-"
"No! Eugene, no. I'm not going to do it."
"But we can't live like this. You can't live like this, mum."
"I just can't, Eugene. Understand me. I can't."
The sound of Albert's bedroom door opening was heard and Albert quickly came rushing down the stairs with a paper in his hand. Mrs Chamberlin qucikly wiped her tears.
"Here is my assignment," Albert gave the paper to Eugene.
"Oh, you wrote an essay about the Nigara Falls? Thats great," Eugene ruffled his brother's hair.
"You two can look at the essay," said Mrs Chamberlin as she stood up from the sofa. "I will go and get supper ready."
"I thought I was going to to that," said Eugene looking puzzled.
Mrs Chamberlin's eyes still looked red. "No, I'll do it."
She quickly walked away from the living room and entered the kitchen. Eugene and Albert were left in silence.
"Is mummy okay?" Albert asked.
"Ya. Something went in her eye, thats all. Now, lets take a look at this essay, shall we?636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9X3Fe7Uy5z
