Finding Home

Chapter 2

Willow's POV

The next morning after I did my routine of showering, and dressing in jeans and a hoodie I made myself some instant oatmeal and strong coffee. I was going to treat this town like I have treated all the numerous towns before and spend the first day exploring and taking pictures with my high end digital camera. So after I cleaned my few dishes in the bathroom sink I put my boots back on grabbed my jacket and camera bag then locked the door behind me on my way out.

It was mid morning so the streets were fairly empty. Kids were in school and most people would already be at their jobs. I walk down the street towards what looks like a park. It was while walking that I heard a familiar voice yell my name. I look behind me and see Lia running towards me.

"Good morning!" She greets me cheerfully.

"Good morning." I return a little skeptically.

"I have decided we're going to be friends." She stated matter of factly.

It's been awhile since I've had a friend. Most of my girlfriends from before didn't know what to say to me after the tragedy and just kind of fell away except for my best friend but we know why she stuck around and it wasn't for me. The day I moved my things out of my old house, she moved hers in. In the long run it was better this way. I would rather have no friends than to surround myself with fakes and liars.

"Have you now?" I ask with a smirk as I turn around and start walking the way I was originally going.

She moves beside me and matches her long strides to my shorter ones. She is almost a foot taller than me which wasn't so noticeable last night when I was sitting on the stool but is painfully obvious when we are walking side by side. "Yup, my Daddy always said to watch out for those smaller than me." She says with a wink.

"OH, the short jokes start already. Okay, Okay. Give me your best ones, get them all out of your system. Then I will teach you ones you've never heard of." I said with a laugh. I have never felt self conscious about my height, after all things only grow until they are perfect I just reached that level quicker than most people.

As we made our way to the park we exchanged jokes laughing and groaning equally at all the cheesy short jokes and tall jokes alike. We laughed until our faces and sides hurt. I can't remember the last time I laughed like that. Seriously, I can't remember it..... that's really sad.

We walked around the park stopping periodically so I could take pictures of trees, pretty leaves, birds and other things that caught my eye. I found out she is actually a couple of years younger than me. She's 26 and I'm 28. We made our way to the swings and sat there side by side gently swaying back and forth as she told me all about how she grew up in this huge house with her parents, her older brother Dominic, his wife Liliya - who passed away in a car accident 5 years ago, their son Ryder – who I saw last night in the pub, and a bunch of extended family and even some close friends. She said that meal times were crazy where they had anywhere between 10-25+ people and that was on a regular basis. When they had parties everyone had to go outside because there was literally not enough room in her huge house for everyone.

I can't even imagine that. I was the only child of only children which means I didn't have any aunts or uncles, no cousins, not even my grandparents because they passed away before I was even born. I have no one left, I'm a complete orphan. I always wanted a big family but that isn't possible now. SHIT it had been a long time since I thought about that and I figured it was because I was over it, guess not as I turned my head away from Lia and quickly took some deep breaths and willed the tears away, just barely.