A fresh start is exactly what London McLaren needs in order to forget the demons of her past. A new last name, a new town and a new school.
She's about to start her final year of high school, ready to obey her parent's orders to keep her head down a...
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Saturday, March 21st, 2020
The last time I had slept over at someone's house was the weekend before my brother did what he did.
It had been with Millie. We had stayed up all night talking about who we would take as our formal dates next year whilst stuffing our faces with junk food.
I'd just broken up with my boyfriend of three months, Ryan, but it hadn't been that serious. Nonetheless, Millie always planned sleepovers if one of us was heartbroken.
Little did I know, less than a week later she wouldn't even talk to me, let alone look at me.
Everything I used to worry about seemed so cynical now.
Who the fuck cared if I had a date or not for the formal, I wanted to scream at my past self. How did you not see what your brother was about to do?
I'd snuck out twenty minutes ago and I was just arriving on foot to Kennedy's house.
She'd hounded me all week about having a sleepover with her. She'd been really worried about me throwing up in the bathroom but I reassured her I wasn't sick. Sick to my stomach with worry maybe, but not ill.
I had successfully avoided the girl from my old school all week, whose name I still couldn't remember.
I reluctantly agreed that I would stay over but that I'd have to leave early the next morning. I needed to make sure my parents didn't see that I was missing.
I'm about to knock on her door when it swings open. I expect it to be Kennedy herself but it's not.
"Oh! You must be London!"
It's clear straight away that its Kennedy's mother. They have the same dark brown hair and brown eyes. She has an easy grin, one that instantly makes me feel welcome.
Kennedy had already informed me all about her mother. She was a news reporter for the local paper, which already made me uneasy. I had a bad history with journalists.
"Yes, hi."
"I'm Laurel, Kennedy's mother. It's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard so many wonderful things."
"Oh," I blush, not knowing what to say to that. I couldn't think of a single wonderful thing about myself. I was sure that Laurel was just saying this to be nice anyway.
"Come on in, London. The girls are both upstairs in Kennedy's room. I love your name, by the way."
She was so much like Kennedy that it was almost scary. She seems so genuine and sincere that when she turns back to smile at me, I feel like I am talking to Kennedy, just thirty years into the future.
"I'll show you the way," she says, guiding me up the stairs.
I notice the family portraits hanging on the walls, mostly candid shots. I notice one that stands out of Kennedy and what must be the younger brother she had briefly mentioned before, Finn.
