Painting Flowers

This was it. I was officially starting my life over. A new book was being written, a new journey was being lived. My life was going to get better.

Right?

I continued driving down the highway as John Mayer quietly played from the speakers of my car. I had been driving for the past 7 hours and was almost to Lutherville, Maryland from Boston, Massachusetts to live with my Aunt Lizzie until I could go to college. She was young, only 27, and lived alone in her small two-story house. She owned a local coffee shop right down the street from where she lived and by what she's told me, it was popular around the small town.

I turned into the driveway of my new home and parked my car in front of the garage. As soon as I turned my car off, Aunt Lizzie ran from the front door to my car and engulfed me in a hug.

"It's so good to see you again!" She exclaimed, "You've grown so much!"

I laughed, "It's good to see you too, Aunt Lizzie."

"Do you need any help with your bags?" She asked. I nodded my head and popped open the trunk, both of us grabbing a few bags and walked inside. From there, I followed her up the stairs into what I was guessing to be my bedroom. The walls were perfectly white with hardwood floors. There was a white fur rug in the center of the room and the bed had a purple bedspread on it with black designs on it. Under the window, there was a few purple candles aligning it and a purple window seat.

So much better than my old room.

Aunt Lizzie caught me smiling. "I'm guessing you like your new room?" She asked, laughing. I looked back at her and nodded my head.

"Can you tell?"

***

Once I was completely unpacked, I looked around my new room. My black guitar was on my bed along with my laptop and camera. My now-empty bags found a home in my closet along with the clothes that weren't in my big dresser and my iHome was softly playing music from my bedside table. After I heard the doorbell ring and voices downstairs, I crept into the hallway and peeked down the stairs. At the bottom in front of the door, stood a middle-aged woman and a teenage boy who looked to be my age. The woman was quietly talking to Lizzie as the boy stood there awkwardly, hands in his pockets, looking around.

"I'm going to head upstairs and see how she's settled in," I heard Aunt Lizzie say. The mysterious woman nodded and muttered "off course" before Lizzie started up the stairs. Before she saw me, I rushed back to my room, jumping onto my bed. Hearing a soft knock on my door, I turned my head. "All settled?" She asked, looking around.

"Yeah, I finished a little while ago." I said, sitting up. She nodded.

"Well dinner's ready. I'm having a few people over if you don't mind, just some friends of mine and their son." I smiled.

"Great," I said getting up. I followed her downstairs and into the kitchen where the woman and son were now sitting with a man whom I assumed to be the husband. I sat across from the son as Aunt Lizzie sat at the head of the table.

"Sydney, this is Peter, Isobel, and Alex Gaskarth." She said, gesturing to the father, mother, and son. "Everyone, this is my niece Sydney." I looked across from me to see Alex smiling at me. I smiled back.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Isobel said, "Your Aunt could not stop talking about you. I'm just glad you're finally here so I don't have to listen to her anymore!" Aunt Lizzie laughed. And Alex?

He was still smiling at me.