Behind The Trigger

A tear fell down my face as the last of our boxes were packed into the van. Today was the day we were leaving Indianapolis, Indiana and moving to this town called Willamette, Illinois.

"Marissa, sweetie. It time to go. We have a three hour drive ahead of us," my mom, Erin, tried to coax me out of the oak tree that was next to my old room.

I shook my head and gripped the tree branch tighter, "No! I don't want to move to stupid Illinois!" I yelled.

I saw my dad, Kurt, step out of the house. He was a tall man, with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. A smile was never far from his face. He looked at my mom and signaled for her to continue doing whatever she had previously been doing.

"Permission to climb aboard?" He grinned.

I couldn't help the giggle that left my mouth. I nodded my head and replied, "Permission granted!"

He climbed the oak with little hassle. Reaching the branch I was on, he plopped down next to me. We sat in silence for a few moments, letting our feet dangle.

"I don't wanna go," I mumbled.

He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me into his chest, " I know baby girl, but one day when you're old and boring, you'll understand. I gotta do what's best for you and your mom. This job in Chicago is exactly the way I can do that," he explained.

I nodded my head causing a few tears to land on his shirt. "You're not even that old, neither is mom. She's 27 and you're 29. You guys aren't boring either," I put in my two sense.

My father let out a beautiful baritone laugh and squeezed me tighter, "Come on, you're momma's waitin' on us."

I let go of him and made my way down the tree. Once my feet landed on the grass, I took a second to glance around the street I spent all seven years of my life on. I was so sad to be leaving, but like my dad said, it was what was best for our little family of three.

I hopped into the car with my mom, dad was driving the moving truck, and we were off.

"Don't cry sweetie. Life will be good in Illinois, I promise. We'll all make new friends together, okay baby?" My mom asked.

I looked at her and gave her a smile. Her own lips turned up in a grin before she turned her eyes back to the road. Her chocolate brown hair flapped in the wind and her green eyes were full of life.

I was the perfect combination of my parents. I had my mother's hair and lips and my father's eyes and built. It was just the three of us. My parents showered me with love, not necessarily giving me material items. They taught me strong morals and used stern reinforcements. My mother and father were the apple of my eye. My father was perfect in my young vision.

We made many stops on the way to Illinois, mostly for my sake. I was a child and got antsy easily.

After nearly four hours, we arrived in Willamette. All around our neighborhood, there were kids of a wide age span playing outside.

"See baby girl? I told you that we'd make friends," my mother patted my cheek, flashing a toothy grin.

We pulled into a driveway. The white house before us was two stories, a red front door with black trimming. The lawn was lush and green, a small garden was along the front of our house. Beautiful flowers adored the soil. From where I stood, I could see a large tree in our backyard.

On the right side of our house, I saw a boy and girl playing. They looked younger than me. I glanced slightly to the right, and noticed a boy, about my age, staring at me. Upon making eye contact, he began making his way over to my yard. He said something to the other two children and they nodded in response. He stopped a few feet from me, holding his hand out in front of him.

"Hi, I'm Pete. That's my sister Hillary and my brother Andrew. Who're you?"

I hesitantly grabbed his hand and shook it. "Hi, I'm Marissa," I shyly replied.

Pete smiled at me, "How old are you? I'm almost 11. Hilary is 5 and Andrew's 3."

"Um, I'm 7," I tentatively replied, still unsure of the unusual boy in front of me.

"Do you have any siblings?" He asked. I shook my head and he replied, "You can take Hillary or Andrew if ya wanna."

I couldn't help the little giggle that left my mouth, which made Pete grin wider.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by a woman hollering from his driveway.

"Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz the third! Why are your younger siblings by themselves in the yard?" She demanded.

Pete huffed before he responded, "Ma, I'm just across the fence from them! And besides, Dad's in the house!"

"Don't you give me sass mister!" His mother shamed him, "Oh, who are you young lady?"

I blushed slightly before I offered her my hand to shake, "Hi, I'm Marissa Andersen."

"Well, it's lovely to meet you sweetheart. Welcome to the neighborhood, I'm Dale. My husband is Peter," she smiled softy.

My parents walked out of our front door and my dad quickly swooped me into his arms.

"Are you causin' trouble?" My dad grinned as he kissed my cheek.

Dale laughed, "She was being perfectly polite, my son Pete was the one causing trouble."

"Nah-uh! I was just introducing myself, you're always tellin' me to make friends," Pete argued.

Our parents laughed. My mother held her hand out to Dale, "Hi, I'm Erin and this is my husband, Kurt."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. I'm Dale. My husband is Peter. We have three kids, Pete, Hillary, and Andrew," Dale said.

My dad let out a whistle and set me down, "Sounds like you got a house full."

Dale laughed. Our parents continued to talk, but my attention was elsewhere. I felt Pete tug on my hand and drag me towards his yard. I asked where we were going and he said he had something awesome to show me. He put his hands over my eyes and led me to his backyard.

"You gotta keep your eyes closed until I say so, okay?" Pete instructed. I nodded my head in compliance.

Finally, he removed his hands and allowed me to open my eyes. A wide grin broke across my face.

"Woah, that's the coolest tree house ever!" I squealed.

Pete grabbed my hand and drug me to the rope ladder, "My dad made it for me cause of Hillary and Andrew. It can be our special place, just you and me against the world!"

I looked at Pete and grinned wildly, "Yeah, you and me against the whole wide world!"