Far and Away

”He kissed you!” Dalton yelled, his hands clenching into fists.

“Calm down. I didn’t kiss him back. I was thinking of you the whole time,” I said, pecking him on the lips. I felt very comfortable around him in the dreamlike state. I don’t know what changed, but we both seemed a lot more relaxed. I wondered briefly if the real Dalton was having these strange dreams as well.

“Yes I am,” he said suddenly, snapping me from my reverie. Had I really said that aloud?

“I think I have an idea why, but I can’t tell you just yet. You’ll have to figure it out.”

I nodded my head. It made sense to me. Nothing was ever that easy. Today, we were back on the beach, the sun bright in the sky. We were the only ones, like always.

“So anyway, yes, he kissed me, but does it count if I didn’t kiss back?” I said, my arms wrapped around my legs, my chin resting on my knees.

“Yes. His lips touched yours and that’s all that matters,” he grumbled softly, pulling me to his chest. I felt his chin on my head, but didn’t protest.

“We’ll be leaving tomorrow,” I informed him bitterly. I still hadn’t forgiven my parents for doing this. The middle of my senior year!? I mean really, what kind of parents do that? I sighed as he stroked my hair.

“Good. I can’t wait for you to arrive. You’re going to love it here. The school is great, and the people are very nice,” he said, ignoring my tone. I shook my head and leaned it against his chest, my eyes closing under the warmth of the sun.

I sighed as my eyes opened. I had grown used to these dreams. I reflected on this last one, one piece puzzling me. What had he meant by, ‘I think I have an idea why, but I can’t tell you just yet. You’ll have to figure it out’? I laid in my bed for a few more minutes, trying to desperately to figure it out. A few ideas popped into my head, but they sounded ridiculous. I actually laughed aloud at a few of them. They were silly and just nonsense.

I got up, and dressed, deciding I would take a shower after the drive. I trudged downstairs, my eyes still full of sleep. I moved sluggishly as I prepared my breakfast. I heard my parents moving around upstairs, but didn’t move.

At half past 9 they came down, ready to go. I put my dishes into the sink and we headed out to the car. New life here I come!



I stepped out of the car and stretched. It had been a 5 hour drive from my home to here. I looked around. There was a cool breeze blowing and everything was so green. I never imagined towns in the same state could look so different. I walked up to the front of our house. It was huge. I had no idea my parents even had this kind of money. They never flaunted it or anything. I stepped in the front door and gasped. It was beautiful. The foyer was a light cream color with a small fountain in the middle of a tiled floor. There was a twisty staircase straight above it that led across the top and to the left of the room. To the right of the fountain I could see a part of a refrigerator, so I guessed that was the kitchen. To the left of the fountain, it was dark, but I decided not to explore till I was completely done unpacking. Above the fountain was a beautiful crystal chandelier. I stared in wonder at my new home. Our old house looked like a piece of junk compared to this one. I went back outside to help my parents with the boxes.

“The house is beautiful mom. How come we never lived in something like this before?” I said, carrying a box into the house.

“We’ve been saving for a long time, and we just recently came into some money. Apparently a long lost grandma left me a huge fortune in her will. I guess she left each of her grandchildren large sums,” she said. I smiled. Maybe I could learn to love this place.

I went inside and trudged slowly up the stairs. I made it to the top, and set the box down. I wandered down the hall. There were only 3 doors down here. I opened the first one to see a game room. I squealed as I saw the standard size pool table. I went to it and ran my hand over the felt. It was so new. I looked around to see a ping pong table, an air hockey table and various other games as well as a few arcade games. I took one last glance around the room and walked out. The door a few feet down on the opposite side was closed. I opened it up to see what I would now claim as my bedroom. There was a huge window seat and window directly across from my door. The room itself was quite large, a walk in closet on the left side of my bedroom, double doors adorning the front. To the right was an attached bathroom, sunlight streaming in through some window. I ran out to grab the box with my room stuff and eagerly went back, setting the box just inside the door. I leaned against my door frame, admiring my room. I went downstairs for another box, the steady pace of unpacking making me crazy.

As I was ascending the stairs, there was a knock at the door, which was open. I heard footsteps and my mother came into the foyer to get the door. I heard voices, and when I turned around, the box I was carrying slipped from my arms. There was a huge crash that sounded muffled to my ears. I was frozen to the step I was standing on, unable to move or think. Standing in my front door was Dalton Miller.