I frowned at myself in the mirror, brushing my bangs farther to the side of my forehead. An exasperated sigh echoed in my ear. I looked past myself in the mirror to Cody who sat on my bed, leaning forward on his knees.
“You look amazing,” he insisted again. “Can we just go?”
I smiled, turning to face him. “Don’t exaggerate. Besides, I want to wait for my dad to get home.”
“Oh, so that’s why I’ve been sitting here for twenty minutes,” Cody said, realization hitting his blonde features.
“He usually gets home around three,” I mumbled, checking my nightstand for my alarm clock. 2:52.
Cody stood up and crossed over to me. “I thought you didn’t talk to your dad much.”
“I don’t,” I replied dryly. “But I haven’t seen him for a week. He didn’t leave on very good terms with me. I want to make sure that everything’s okay between us.”
My dad was always on business trips. I didn’t complain seeing as it gave our family more than enough money. Still, when two people clash and aren’t around each other enough to figure things out, tension is created. When he was home, my dad and I always squabbled. It wasn’t that I did it on purpose. He just didn’t see things from my point of view. He didn’t even try.
I heard the door open and sprinted out of my bedroom door, running up the stairs to meet my dad. My mom looked over her shoulder from where she sat at the piano, barely even addressing him.
I stopped behind him and waited for him to notice me. When he finally turned, he looked surprised. We exchanged an awkward hug.
“It’s good to see you, Veronica,” he lied.
I cringed at the formal name. No one called me Veronica…except for my dad. “When do you leave again, dad?” I asked dryly.
He sighed. “I have a whole week at home. There are a couple things we need to talk about.”
“I’m sure you want to rest dad,” I tried.
“No. Now is as good of a time as any.”
As if on cue—bless his heart—Cody came out and stood awkwardly by the banister.
“I’m busy dad,” I told him, looking at Cody.
Dad raised his eyebrow at me. “Is this a new friend?”
I rolled my eyes. You’ve met him before, I reminded dad in my head. “This is Cody,” I reminded dad, trying to keep my temper down.
“Nice to see you again, Mr. Smith,” Cody said like a gentlemen, stepping forward to shake my dad’s hand.
My dad nodded. “Are you two in a rush?”
“We need to catch our movie at three,” I said, glancing at the clock on the living room wall. The living room was bright in the afternoon sun. Our two large patio doors let plenty of light through. The piano sparkled under my mother’s fingers and our wooden floors glistened. I had to shield my eyes against the yellow paint.
I studied the wooden clock more closely. 2:56. Time to go.
You know how people have themes to their homes? My best friend—Carrie—has a western theme to her house. Jonas Quigley, my mom’s best friend’s son, has a tropical theme to his house. Well, I was a seriously deprived child. The only theme to our three-story-too-large-for-four(usually three)-people-house was painted in all different colors. The only constant theme throughout the house was time. I swear, my mom was obsessed. Every room held at least three clocks. Gorgeous clocks, I’ll admit, but still… It was like she was constantly reminding me that I was running out of time to make something of myself.
“We’ll talk when you get back then,” dad said.
I nodded. “See you later, dad.”
“Bye Veronica. Bye… Cody.”
As the door closed behind us I heard my mother stop playing the piano. “Is that her boyfriend?” my dad asked, spitting out the word.
“That’s why we waited?” Cody asked me. “You barely said two words to him!”
I shrugged. “At least they were pretty much nice. No shouting. That’s an improvement.”
Cody rolled his eyes.
My twin sister Tori rushed past me. “Where are you going?” she asked me. Her blonde hair was wind-blown like she had been running and she was out of breath.
“Cody and I are going to the movie,” I said uncertainly.
“Good. Have fun!” she rushed, running past me.
I shrugged. Tori was my twin, but we weren’t identical. She was tall, blonde, and beautiful. I wasn’t short, but average. My kept my mousey hair just above my shoulders while she kept her gorgeous blonde hair clear down to the center of her back.
I watched as she ran in the house and shrugged. With my hand on the doorknob, I felt a sudden vibration. I took my phone out and flipped it open to read the message. I glanced at the watch on my hand as I did so. 2:58. I had made us late. We’d miss the first of the movie.
An earsplitting crash filled my head. Before I knew what was happening, I had been thrown into the air and was flying away from the house. Just before my head came in contact with the cement, I could feel the heat of flames on my face.