Chapter 3: Mystery

I have lived in Wimberley my whole life and went to school here since preschool. Let’s just say I know everyone and everything in this town.

That’s until I am on my way home and see moving trucks driving on my road, when I first saw them, I was a little worried they were at my house. I go to check it out and see that someone is finally moving into the Williams house, they moved away a years ago, there’s been lots of people looking at that house but never actually bought until now.

As I'm watching I see moving guys start unloading the items in the back of the truck when a vehicle drives by me as well, I watch it park in the driveway of the Williams house. A woman in her early 40’s gets out of a dark SUV, she has mid back length blonde hair, and she is wearing loose jeans and a loose t-shirt, she must be a mom. The woman goes over to the mover guys and starts talking to them like she knows them very well.

As I’m watching her a dark gray truck drives by slowly and pulls in the driveway behind the SUV. A boy with light brown curly hair gets out of the driver’s seat.

‘He cannot her husband, must be her son’ is all that runs through my head. I see the shadow of someone else in the truck as well.

The boy goes up and hugs his mother, they turn around and look at the front of their new house. Which is weird to me because it’s still the Williams house to me. The mother waves for the shadow in the truck to get out and come look with them. I see the door open and expect another son to get out but when I see who gets out, I think I forget how to breathe.

Getting out of the passenger side of the truck is a girl with long golden blonde hair that goes almost to her butt, it’s not perfectly straight but it doesn’t have curls. When she turns around to see the property around the house, I can see that she has the lightest blue eyes, they remind me of the sky on a nice summer day with no clouds. Her skin is a nice golden tan color like she lived somewhere warm. She is beautiful in every aspect, and I feel my mouth going dry from it hanging open.

The girl walks up to her mother which I know because she looks just like her and wraps her arms around her. The mother kisses her head, and they look at the house for a minute. Then the mother claps her hands and guides her children up to the house.

I decide to finish walking home and take a shower, after I get dressed, I go down to my kitchen, where I find a note from my mom

‘Had to make a few runs will see you in a couple hours, dad will be home late again dinner is in the microwave- Mom’. Just like always I’m by myself again, which has been a normal thing lately since I turned about 11 and my parents didn’t care if I was home alone anymore. I heat up the food my mom left in the microwave then sit at the counter and eat it.

After I’m done, I go to sit on the couch to watch a show or movie when I see the lights of a car flash my walls, I go to look out the window and see it’s my new neighbors going somewhere in the son’s truck and leaving. I see one of the women aren't in the truck and must be staying behind, maybe bringing boxes in the house. I decide I’m going to get some fresh air and maybe go meet whoever it is maybe the daughter.

When I step out, I feel the nice cool air on my face that got sunburnt earlier this week at football practice. I start walking down my porch steps when the mom looks up at me and waves. I get a little nervous but decide to walk over to her house anyway.

“Well hello neighbor, are we making too much noise over here already?” the mom says as I'm halfway down their slightly long dirt driveway, sending me a sweet smile.

“No ma’am, I just figured I saw you guys drive up earlier thought you might want help with the heavy stuff?” I ask her, which is the truth, but I also came over here to learn more about her beautiful daughter.

“that is very kind of you, I have two children but I sent them to go check out the town and pick up some pizza so they probably won’t be back for a while which I don’t know why I did with all this stuff out here” she laughs, but you can tell it’s a stressed laugh, “my name is Jennifer Hills you don’t have to call me ma’am and definitely don’t call me and Mrs. Hills That’s gross, just call me Jennifer” she says reaching her hand out for me to shake it.

I shake her hand and nod at her

“I will try but around here everyone calls everyone Sir and ma’am so don’t be upset if I slip up” I tell her while picking up a box that I noticed she was struggling to pick up.

She smiles at me and grabs a box and starts to walk inside, I follow her with the box I’m carrying.

“You can put that one here in the living room, this one goes upstairs to my room” she says as she stars walking up the stairs that are on far wall to right of the front door.

I start to look around and notice that the house is still the same to when my friend Deke used to live here. It’s just emptier and doesn’t smell like his mom’s gross flower candles that she used to burn 24/7. As I looked around, I noticed a family picture on the top of a box. I walked over to the picture and picked it up.

In the picture was Mrs. Hills hugging a tall man in a military uniform smiling up at him she was wearing a navy-blue dress with thin straps, he has dark blue eyes, and I can see his sideburns are a light brown like her son’s hair so he must be their father. The man has one arm around his wife I see their son is standing on the other side of his mother with his one arm around her, he is smiling at the camera with reddish eyes and very flushed cheeks, he is wearing a light gray button up shirt with black dress pants and his curly hair is cut short so you can’t tell its curly.

As I scan over the picture, I see the beautiful girl standing on the other side of her dad wrapped in his other arm. She has the biggest smile on her face, but you can tell she was crying before the picture just like her brother, her hair is thrown up in a perfectly messy golden bun. She is wearing a white dress with blue flowers on it, the white of her dress makes her tan skin look even more tan. I look at her face and see the tops of her cheeks and nose are speckled with the lightest but most beautiful freckles. Her eyes are the brightest blue I had ever seen especially with her dress that she’s wearing.

As looked at her in the picture I started to feel my stomach floating, I was nervous, and I wasn’t even next to the real her.

“That’s my husband Chris” She says coming down the stairs making me jump, “he’s in the Navy. Which is why we moved here, maybe for the last time. These are our kids Barrett and Rosalie; he is about to turn 17 in August, and she is going to be turning 15 in July.”

“I’m going to guess one of them is around your age?” she asks me, and I nod my head

“Yea I’m 15 so I will be in the same grade as your daughter.” I start to get nervous just thinking about it.

“I hope you to get to know each other, she can seem very stand offish, which is our fault for moving them around so much but she really is sweet and loves meeting new people and would love to have a really good friend.” she says as I look at the picture of her, I know that she probably isn’t supposed to be saying these things to me and if her daughter were here she would probably be yelling at her to stop.

I put the picture down in the box I grabbed it from and looked at Mrs. Hills

“Should we bring the rest of the stuff in?” I asked her pointing to outside.

“Oh yes let’s get everything in before it gets dark, and I have to look for boxes with flashlights.”

We bring all the boxes in the house and right as we brought the last box in her kids pulled into the back driveway of the house. While she was excited to see her kids again and walked to the back yard, I snuck out the front door, not ready to meet the most beautiful girl in the world quite yet. I don’t think she would want to meet me anyway

“Come meet this sweet boy who lives down the road I think you will like him” I hear Mrs. Hills say as she walks to the living room where I was.

“Mom there is no one here?” I hear Rosalie’s angelic voice say

“He was just here a second ago, maybe he had to go home, ah it’s okay if I see him I’ll introduce you too.”

“What was his name?” I hear the brother Barrett ask.

Mrs. Hills stops to think, and I hear her hands fall against her sides.

“Well shit I didn’t even get his name” Ms. Hills said.

“Mom, I think it’s time for bed” Barrett says

“I’m not Crazy there was a boy here he is the same age as Ro.”

“It’s fine mom we will meet this strange boy another day for right now let’s go eat some pizza and then crawl in your bed and watch movies” Rosalie says getting excited about sleeping in her mother’s bed.

“Of course, it’s tradition” Mrs. Hills says, and I hear them walk back to the kitchen.

I sneak out of their yard and to my house when I get inside its silent again and I remember I’m alone. I almost wish I would have stayed there and met my dream girl and maybe not spend the rest of my night by myself.

Instead, I go upstairs to my room and lay down in my bed wishing I had a family like the one that just moved into the neighborhood.

Eventually my eyes drift shut, and I sleep through the night in my quite lonely house.