Warrior

Drew's POV.
"Thank you for flying United Airlines we hope you enjoyed your flight."
The speaker squawked above my head. "Welcome to Toronto ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy your stay."

'Enjoying' is not exactly the word I would use to describe my stay here. I didn't want to be here. I was forced to come. If there was any other way I could have stayed in New York I would have. But that wasn't an option. So now I'm here. In Canada. /You just have to grin and bear it./ I thought to myself. /Maybe if they think you've changed they will let you go home sooner./

I sighed heavily and walked to the baggage claim. I readjusted my carry on over my shoulder and tapped my foot impatiently. /I just want to take a nap./ I thought as I looked at the time on my cellphone. 9:00 pm.
Great. I had been sitting on a plane for 4 hours and let me just say, I was exhausted. Something about traveling always made me tired.
My bag slowly but surely rolled down in my direction and I picked it up off the turny thingy. Just as I set it down I heard a voice call my name. /At least they remembered to pick me up/ I thought, /that's a good start/.

I turned to see my cousin Lilly and her twin brother Aaron walking towards me.
"DREW!" Lilly yelled as her pace got faster. She was getting closer and closer until I was almost tackled to the ground.

"Hey Lil," I coughed.

"Hey D!" Aaron laughed as he walked up to where me and Lilly were standing. "Longtime no see."

I gave him a small smile. "Tell me about it." I hadn't seen them in 8 years. /Wow/. I thought. /8 years./

My thoughts were interrupted by Aaron's voice. "Come on Lil. Let Drew breathe." He said as he tried to pry Lilly's arms from around my shoulders.

Lilly finally loosened her grip and dropped her arms to her sides. She was smiling so big. I could tell she was happy to see me. I wish I could said the feeling was mutual, but I'd be lying. I didn't want be here.

But of course I didn't let her think that. I faked a smile and giggled, "This place is so different."

"A lot has happened in 8 years." He said. He put extra emphasis on the word a lot.

Lilly broke out of her silence and started to rant. "How are you? Was your flight ok? My god you are tall. How is your mom? What about your dad? And your sister? Is she ok? God I miss them. What's the weather like in New York? Your hair smells nice. Wow your teeth are so white. I love your shoes! Do you have a boyfriend? You look tired. Are you hungry? How is-"

"Lilly!" Aaron yelled. "That's enough."

Lilly rolled her eyes at her brother and looked at me. "How are you?"

"I'm exhausted. I'm glad to be off the plane." I said.

"We'll you look tired," Aaron said.

Lilly slapped him arm playfully.
"Ow! What was that for!?" Aaron whined.

"Don't tell her she looks tired! She probably already knows that!" Lilly scolded.

"We'll sorry. I'm just stating the facts." Aaron replied defensively.

They went on arguing for ages before I decided to butt in. "Guys! As much as I love your brother-sister bickering, I really just want to get out of the airport." I said quickly.

"Sorry" they mumbled in unison.
I smiled at them.

"Lets get home. Dad and mum are dying to see you." Lilly squealed.

I smiled as Aaron reached down to pick up one of my suit cases. "Let's."

We got out to the car and the twins helped me put my bags in the trunk.

We got I the car and Aaron started to drive us home. "It's about a 45 minute drive so get comfortable" Aaron said.

•••••

As we drove into Stratford I realized how small it was. And there were ALOT of trees. More than I like. It's really spaced out too. Well spoken like a true New Yorker.

We pulled up to the modern 2 story house and Aaron stopped the car.

We all just sat there in the car staring off into space for a few minutes before Lilly clapped her hands in front of my face and giggled, "We're here D."

I looked at her and smiled lightly. "Right." I said.

We all got out of the car and Lilly and Aaron helped me got my bags out.
I looked up at the house that dwelled before me. Even it had changed a little bit. The front yard was redone. The color of the house was a faint brown. Now it's a light blue. I hardly recognized it when we first pulled up.

"Hey are you coming or not?" Aaron shouted at me. I just realized I had been standing there, probably looking very confused, for about 10 minutes.

"Yea. Sorry." I said as I walked up to the front door.

I walked into the foyer and looked around. /At least this hasn't changed/ I thought. I walked forwards into the Living room. "New couch?" I asked.

"It's nice, huh?" I heard a voice say from behind me. I turned to see my aunt Victoria smiling at me. I smiled as she walked towards me. I opened my arms wide as she did and walked forwards. She hugged me tight and I hugged back she was the only one of the Parker family to know the whole reason why I came here besides Lilly. "I'm glad your here," she said quietly.

"I wish I could say the same," I whispered loud enough only for her to hear.

She looked down at me. She gave me a sad smile. "I know you don't want to be here. But you and I both know that this is better than the alternative," she said seriously.

I looked away from her and nodded slowly. She dropped her arms from around my shoulders and stepped backwards. "There's leftover dinner in the fridge. Are you hungry?"

"Not really, I had dinner on the plane," I shrugged.

"Ok. Well I guess Lilly will show you to your room."

Lilly walked came down from the upstairs and jabbed her thumb over her shoulder, "Your room is downstairs in the basement."

I sighed again. "Alright. I guess." I mumbled.
I followed her down the staircase to the basement. She walked down a short hall and opened the first door on her right. I walked behind her into a large room. Ok large was an understatement. This room was huge.

"After all the times I was here as a child, how did I never find this down here?" I said amazed.

"We put this in about 3 years ago. It's nice huh?" She said smirking slightly.

"It's great! What is this?" I asked walking towards a pair of doors. I pulled on the nobs and they opened to an enormous walk in closet.

"That's your closet." She replied sitting down on the bed.

"I don't think I have enough clothes to fill this place." I said with a small chuckle.

"Well the door next to that is your bathroom." She pointed towards another door.

I opened the door she directed me too. I walked in to a beautiful white bathroom. Everything was white marble.

"Whoa," I said breathlessly.

I suddenly got really excited and ran around the room opening every cabinet and door around. Then. I came to the last door in the bedroom.

"I think you will like this one the most," she said smiling at me.

I gave her a confused look. She nodded towards the door in front of me. I turned back around and grabbed hold of the doorknob. I turned it slowly. I looked back at Lilly, glaring at her suspiciously. She nodded again and I turned back to the door. I twisted the doorknob and opened the door. I gasped it was a state of the art recoding studio.

"It was mom's idea. She knew that you loved to write songs to blow off steam so she had this built for you." She smiled wide.

"I-I don't know what to say." I said. My eyes were filled with tears.

"We know your going through a tough time. We just want to help." She said standing up from the bed and coming over to give me a hug.

"A tough time is an understatement." I said stepping away from her. I didn't want a hug. I don't need a hug. I've been thorough more shit then anyone should ever have to go through. And she doesn't understand the half of it. Sure. When I lost a brother she lost a cousin. But there was more than losing a brother. There was what my parents call, "the accident". But that's another story.

She sighed and looked around the room. "Well call me if you need anything. Sleep tight. I love you drew. Good night." She said.

"Goodnight Lil. See you tomorrow." I said back.
I got ready for the night and crawled into my temporary bed. I turned out the light and went to sleep.