1 Chapter 1

For years, I've visited the lake in the woods near our house. It was always so peaceful and the water sparkles when the sun or moon's light reflect off it. It's a welcoming feeling; I could be there for hours and sometimes forget the time, which angers my sister, Isabelle, since Mom always sends her to get me. Today was a normal, but tiresome day. Summer was slowly passing by and the leaves began to change color, but the weather remained nice enough for me to enjoy the lake after a long day. There's not much to do besides throwing pebbles into the water, but it didn't bother me; I always find things to do. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I watched a family a ducks swam by, one of the babies struggling to keep up with it's mother. 

"Cute," I mumbled as they floated away. 

I glanced up at the sunset; the sky was a bright shade of orange and yellow with a bit of blues and purples. That meant it was time to go. I gathered my belongings that were resting beside me and pushed myself up from my uncomfortable spot on the rock. 

"Annabelle!" A voice called to me as I walked towards the entrance to the woods that led me home, but a tall figure  bumped into me; she stumbled a bit, dropping something small and hard on my foot. A phone. Ignoring the throbbing pain, I glanced up at her, staring into her hazel eyes. "Oh, I was just coming to get you," she said, placing her hands on her hips.

I swung my bag over my shoulder with a smirk. "You were looking for me?"

She scoffed. "Actually, Mom sent me to tell you to come back because it's getting late." Her eyes scanned our surroundings, the trees and the ground, then she shook her head. "How can you deal with this?"

I rolled my eyes. Belle hates being outside for long periods of time; too many bugs and poisonous things, she says. She suffers from allergies, which makes her hatred grow more. Unlike her, I love the outdoors, but I'm always wary about the poisonous plants like poison ivy. "The lake there is calming to me," I started as I walked past her. "You should come down here with me sometime," I said with a shrug.

"No way. You're on your own with that." She quickly picked up her phone and followed next to me.

"How do you get your fresh air?"

"We have windows, Anna."

~~~

The hike home was quite pleasant and it didn't take long for us for us to reach our back door, laughing at old childhood memories and crappy puns. It's times like this I wonder why we always spend time away from each other. As Belle opened the door, we can hear Mom yelling over the phone, gripping tightly on her coffee cup in her hand and pacing back and forth from the kitchen to the living room. She then tossed her phone in that room and let out a sigh.

"Everything okay?" Belle finally asked while I closed the door behind me.

She pulled out a chair from the table and sat down, her back towards us. "Yes, everything's fine."

"You sure?"

"I just need some alone time, that's all."

Belle glanced over at me and I shrugged a bit. She sighed and walked out the kitchen; I stood there, watching Mom for a few seconds as she took a sip from her coffee cup, then walking out myself. I didn't want to bother her her when she's like this. I worry about her. She hasn't been the same since Dad's passing. They were involved in a drunk-drinking accident, but only she survived that night with a few scratches and a little bash on the head. She looked so  lost without him.

"Just give her some time to calm down," Belle said when I climbed up the stairs and saw her in the bathroom. She was in her nightgown, brushing her long purple-dyed hair. 

I started pulling off my shoes. "I just hate seeing her like that."

"I do too, but you know she'd not gonna let us help her." She sat the brush down. "Maybe she'll talk tomorrow."

"Right..."

It went quiet then. As I got myself ready for bed, I couldn't stop thinking about what Belle said, 'Give her a while to calm down...' I heard her room door close and I knew she was going to bed. I walked into my room and threw myself on my already messy bed. Mom's word repeated in my head as I drifted off to sleep.

Everything's fine.