Chasing Sunsets

3

I pulled my car over to the side of the street, parking and looking at up to the house in front of me.

I've never been in this part of town before, even though it only took me twenty minutes to get here from my house. It was on the opposite side of the town, away from the ocean. I opened the text from Chase, double checking I got the address correct.

The house was ordinary enough, but in poor shape. The paint was peeling off the siding, the lawn was overgrown, and there was a plethora of children's toys thrown across the lawn. I exited my car and made my way to the front door, stepping over a pair of small bikes that were tilted on their side on the pathway.

I quickly knocked on the faded brown door, glancing around at my surroundings while I waited. The house next door was so close I felt like I could reach out and touch it. The door opened, and there stood Chase.

"Hey," I greeted him.

"Hey, you found it," he said with a small smile, opening the door and allowing me inside.

"With help from my navigation system. I've never been to this part of town before," I told him, as I walked into the house.

The door opened to a small living room that housed mismatched furniture, a couch and a few chairs. The room was filled with kids toys, just like the front yard. I flicked my eyes back to Chase who was watching me with a frown on his face.

"It's a bit messy, I have six brothers and sisters who don't know how to clean up after themselves," he muttered as he moved across the room and started to collect the toys from the ground.

"Wow six? That must be so fun. Don't worry about the mess, honestly. It's fine," I smiled, trying to assure him. I've always wanted siblings, being an only child was lonely, especially when your parents are never home.

"What is Indie Adams doing in our house?"

I turned my head to the direction where the voice came from, and found a younger girl with brown hair staring at me. She was standing in the small entrance to what looked like a kitchen, looking at me with her mouth open.

"Hi," I greeted her with a small wave, "Chase and I have a project together."

She turned to look at Chase with fury in her eyes. She strode over to him and grabbed his sleeve, dragging him back into the kitchen with her. A small chuckle left my lips, but Chase didn't turn to look at me.

"You couldn't give me a warning that Indie Adams was coming to our house? Seriously Chase?" She whisper-yelled at her brother in the kitchen. I'm assuming she didn't know that I could in fact hear her. Even though she was in a different room, she was only 15 feet away from me.

"Why the hell would you need to know?" Chase whispered back, annoyance ringing out in his hushed voice.

"Are you joking? Seriously is this a joke? You are the worst brother ever!" The girl whispered back, causing me to erupt in giggles.

A moment later, the girl bounced back into the room, with a smile on her face this time.

"Sorry about that. I'm Alicia. I go to Lakeview too, I'm a freshman." She said nervously, her eyes wide.

"It's nice to meet you, Alicia." I smiled back at her, fighting to containing the giggle that was bubbling from me. Chase walked back into the room then, an annoyed look on his face.