The Second Time's the Charm

Chapter One

We moved to Edenton, North Carolina when I was around seven years old. My dad had been in the military since shortly after my older brother was born. After being in the military for almost 12 years, my dad was finally ready to get out and settle down near family. We moved into a cape style home on a street with only a few other homes. The beach was only walking distance from our home, which my mother loved. She had a job working from home while my dad was in the military. She wanted to be able to spend as much time with us as she could. She never liked the idea of someone else taking care of us. My dad was an officer so we could easily afford for her to stay home without working, but she wanted to earn extra money for us to have nice vacations. My dad had gotten a job working for the local armory. He was still in the military but was contracted to work from the armory to do paperwork. My mother had gotten a job at a local bookstore. She was always reading a book whenever she had free time, so this job was perfect for her. My brother, Alex, wasn't happy about the move. He didn't want to lose all of his friends from Kirtland AFB in New Mexico. I was excited for a new adventure. When my parents had told us they got a house by the beach I was excited. There weren't many beaches in New Mexico, or grass for that matter. We had been to North Carolina before to visit our family and I knew they had tons of grass along with beaches. I was happy to be settling down and hopefully being in that house for a long time.

When the moving truck pulled up in front of our new house, which was two stories and had many windows on the front of the house. It was a light blue colored home with a tan colored front door. I remember seeing my mom's face light up seeing the house and smelling the fresh air. We were all sick of New Mexico. Since we were so close to the beach, the air was salty and heavy. Which was a good change from the dry air in New Mexico. My dad got out of our SUV and started directing the movers on where things were going to go. I jumped out of the car and ran, more like sprinted, to the front porch. At seven years old I was sure that this was the best thing that ever could have happened, besides getting a puppy. Standing on our front porch with my favorite barbie doll, I looked over and saw two boys playing at the house next door. They were swimming in the above ground pool that was in the backyard. They turned to look at me and I waved at them. I was a very social and friendly seven year old. They looked to be about my brother's age. One of them was really tall it seemed for his age with reddish brown hair, and the other one seemed the same height as Alex with sandy blonde colored hair. Alex stomped past me into the house, not seeming to notice the boys next door. I waved again and followed Alex in the house.

After Alex and I picked our rooms, we both went to check out the back yard. It was big enough that a pool could easily fit, but my dad thought a pool would be pointless since we lived right by the beach. Instead he promised us that he would buy a trampoline and a swing set once everything was settled. After we looked around the backyard I went outfront to sit on the front steps. It was so nice being outside in this new home, I never wanted to go inside. The two boys from next door started walking over as Alex slumped down beside me. He was still upset about the move. The two boys got closer and the taller one held his hand out to Alex, "I'm Sam and this is Justin. Justin lives right next to you and I live right across the street." He said motioning to their houses. My brother shook Sam's hand, "I'm Alex and this is my little sister, Katie. As you can tell we just moved in." He said slowly coming out of his funk. Sam then turned to me and held his hand out to me. I shook it hard and smiled at him. "We used to live in New Mexico, but we wanted to be closer to family. I can't wait to go to the beach. I love the grass too, we didn't have a lot of grass in New Mexico." I said. Sam smiled back as Justin came forward and shook my brother's hand. He just waved at me then started saying something to Alex. He had green eyes and freckles that went across his cheeks and over his nose. He was the most beautiful boy I'd ever seen. He looked up and made eye contact with me which made my stomach feel fuzzy and weird. I felt my cheeks blush and I turned to Sam who had sat down in front of me. He had brown eyes and what looked like a sunburn that was turning into a tan. "New Mexico, huh. That's a far drive. The beaches here are pretty awesome." He said as Alex and Justin got up heading to Justin's backyard. They stopped to see if Sam wanted to go, but he said he'd stay with me. We sat there talking and I watched Justin walk away. Despite being four years older than me, Sam had quickly become my best friend and Justin became my first crush.