If Only

Chapter 4

   "Someone's at the door. I'll get it," I say nicely. I'm walking down the stairs to answer the door. I'm looking out the door window now and I see a girl who looks to be about my age. I'm now opening the door to see her still standing there.

   "Are you going to say something?" I ask her nicely after a few seconds of silence.

   "I thought you were going to say something," she says.

   "Oh, well, I actually thought you were going to speak to me since you came over here."

   "Oh, um...Hello."

   "Hello, where did you come from anyway? I don't see a car, bicycle, or anything."

   "I walked over here."

   "You walked over here?"

   "Yeah, I live next door."

   "So, what brings you here?"

   "Well, I thought since there's a new family in town that maybe the parents have children or a child around my age."

   "Did it work?"

   "Well, I think it's working now. How old are you?"

   "Eighteen."

   "Me too. Do you have any siblings?"

   "Hey Katie, who are you talking to?" Jase shouts to me from upstairs.

   "None of your business."

   "I'll make it my business," he says while coming down the stairs.

   "Well, hello," he says to the girl.

   "Hi," she says cheerfully.

   "KD, you didn't tell me you are talking to a girl. She's a pretty sight."

   "Do I have to tell you that?"

   "As my sister, it is your job to inform me when you are talking to a girl so that I can say hello."

   "Get real," I say to Jase.

   "Let me know if she is staying for a bit."

   "Will, excuse me, won't do."

   Jase glared at me and then headed back upstairs. I'm still standing here and so is the girl.

   "I take it you have a brother."

   "Yeah."

   "How many?"

   "Just one brother and no sisters."

   "I have a half brother who is twenty."

   "My brother Jase is seventeen."

   "My half brother's name is Niles. We have the same dad but different mom's."

   "So, what is your name?"

   "My name is Shaden Danes. I assume your name is Katie."

   "Yeah, my name is Katie Austin."

   "Nice to meet you, Katie."

   "Nice to meet you, Shaden."

   "You can call me Shae."

   "Okay, Shae," I say, smiling. "Do your parents know you're here?"

   "They're at work."

   "Oh, well if you want to come in you can come in. We should be friends."

   "I can stay for a little bit. I brought my cell phone. I can text my parents and let them know I'm hanging out with you. A new friend and neighbor."

   "Alright, let me show you my room."

   I showed showed Shae my room and she said I should come over sometime to see her room.

   "What's it like in Virginia?"

   "Nice, pretty, can be fun at times. Are you originally from Florida?"

   "I moved from Georgia when I was three. My brother had been going back and forth between his grandparents and our dad for a while and both families live here, so we moved here. My mom and dad met here."

   "Wow. Not to be rude but what happened to his mom? Your half- brother's mom."

   "She got cancer. Passed away when Niles was one. When Niles was two, I was born. My parents met when they got out of high school. They became best friends. They met at a wedding. My mom was dating a friend of my dad's previous wife. It was my dad's previous wife's brother's wedding. My dad was dating Niles mom and she brought my dad and invited her friend. Her friend brought my mom. My mom and her ex boyfriend are best friends and they realized they were better as friends. My parents became best friends at the wedding. After Niles mom died in April of 1995. My dad started dating my mom in June of 1995.

   It was June 27, 1995. December 16, 1995 my parents knew they wanted to get married. That was their wedding day. He asked her to marry her him on November 8, 1995. They have been married since Decemeber 16, 1995. That's basically about it."

   "That was a very long and interesting story. Sorry about Niles mom."

   "Don't be. She was a Christian and went to Heaven."

   "I'm glad to hear that."

   "Yeah, we all are, too. My mom was best friends with her too."

   "My parents were high school sweet hearts. They actually met when they were four in church."

   "Wow."

   "Yeah, they started dating in the fifth grade. They were ten."

   "Did they ever break up?"

   "Nope, been together ever since."

   "So sweet."

   "Yeah."

   "Maybe if you have a free day this week, you could come over and visit my room."

   "Sure, wanna see the rest of my house?"

   "Okay."

   I showed her the rest of the upstairs. Now we are downstairs again.

   My parents are in the kitchen and I'm introducing Shaden to them.

   "Hey Katie, who's this?" My mom asks me.

   "Mom, Dad, this is Shaden. She lives next door with her parents."

   "Hi, Shaden," my mom says.

   "You can call me Shae."

   "Nice to meet you," my dad says.

   "Yes, nice to meet you," my mom says to Shae.

   "Nice to meet y'all, too."

   "I'll show you the rest of the house now, I tell Shae.

   So I just showed Shae the rest of the house. I gave her a nice little tour.

   "I better head home. Thanks for the tour. It was nice meeting you. We should text sometime."

   We just exchanged numbers.

   "It was nice meeting you, too, Shae, my new friend."

   "Bye," Shae says to me.

   "Bye," I reply back.