You Remember Me, Right?

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 

Today was the day.

 

Beca slung her backpack over her shoulder, pushing her hair behind her ears so that the strands wouldn’t get tangled in her headphones. With one last lingering look at the place she called home for the past ten years, Beca turned on her heel and made her way to the awaiting car.

 

She wasn’t sure that she could bear the long car ride from New York City to Atlanta, Georgia with her father and the “step-monster”. Beca couldn’t deal with her father’s attempts to talk to her about how she was, how living with her mother had been. She surely couldn’t handle Shelia’s comments about her dark makeup and protruding ear spike. It was going to be the beginning of a car ride from hell, Beca just knew it.

 

“Hi, Dad,” Beca said as she opened the car door, pulling herself up and into the seat. Dr. Mitchell nodded hello, “Beca. It’s been awhile. I’ve...we’ve...missed you.” The next hours were mostly silent, except for the occasional comment about how much older Beca looked or if she wanted a snack. Sheila didn’t say one word for the entirety of the ride. She sat erect in her seat, occasionally shooting looks of disapproval at her stepdaughter through the front mirror. It was okay though. It wasn’t like she cared what Sheila thought anyway. It was actually better that way. No words meant no fighting, and she was so tired of fighting. Beca readjusted her headphones and melted into the seat, nodding off to the beat that flowed through her ears.

 

Soon enough, Beca’s eyes opened ever so slightly. Awoken by the sporadic stopping and starting of the car, Beca glanced out the window, taking in the sights. Everything was like she had remembered. It was almost like the town was a time capsule, remaining exactly the same as it was ten years ago. The car slowed to a gradual stop, finally halting in front of a large, blue house. Beca pushed open the door with her foot, picking up a handful of the bags with her empty hands. As Dr. Mitchell got out of the car himself, Beca took in the house in front of her. It looked smaller than it looked when she was seven. The windows weren’t as big, the fence wasn’t as tall, and the steps on the front porch weren’t as steep. Something did feel the same though; maybe it was the smell of the roses growing outside or even the smell of chlorine wafting over from the backyard pool.

 

Seeing her father and Sheila already making their way inside, she ambled towards the front door. Even though many years had passed since the last time she had stepped foot in the house, she retreated up the stairs and to her old bedroom without even having to think about it.  Pushing the door open, she stepped inside and let her shoulders drop as she looked around the room. It was a good thing she had taste when she was a young girl, always making a fuss when Sheila wanted to paint her room pink. The walls were a nice shade of purple, just how she liked it. Beca laid her bag of mixing equipment on the desk and pulled her computer out of the larger suitcase. That was all she really needed, her equipment and her computer. Everything else held little value in Beca’s mind.

 

Shoving her clothes into the various drawers of her dresser, Beca gazed upon the wall at all her old pictures. There was one with a young redhead, Chloe. The young girls both had smiles upon their faces, large chocolate cones in their sticky hands, and ice cream dripping down their chins. It had been so long since Beca had talked to Chloe, who used to be one of her best friends. They were inseparable. It was sort of strange, given Chloe’s bubbly personality and Beca’s allergy to doing anything social, but they always got along so well. Beca remembered the two of them chasing each other around Chloe’s backyard for hours, pretending to be secret agents on a mission. She should go see her, Beca thought. That’s what she should do. Visit Chloe. If only Beca remembered where she lived.