Nadia Grace Collins knew little about love, but just as every girl she thrived to feel it. Moving out of her hometown of Columbus, Ohio to a city half way across the country to Calabasas, she hoped she'd learn what love meant. What it felt like. She...
I gazed out the window of the my best friend's Audi Q7, watching as each tree passed it. Looking to my left Tessa was singing along to Lost Boy by Ruth B causing me to smirk and roll my eyes in her direction. We'd been in the car for nearly two days, driving from our home of Kettering, Ohio to our current destination of Calabasas, California.
Weeks ago I was sitting in my college dorm room trying to figure out what to do after I was done and now here I was. The last thing I saw myself doing was going out to California for the summer, yet here I was. The idea came out of the blue from Tessa Raine Collins whose family had a home out here that they weren't using and although I knew it was impulsive I agreed.
"Hey, Nadia we're here." Her voice voice rose above the sound of music, breaking my thoughts and my eyes followed her index finger out the window.
The house that sat in front of me was made of concrete that was painted a solid white, with greenery surrounding the property. The home of the Collins family, that would be my home for the next four months.
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"Nadia, I could use some help." I blinked a few times and turned to where Tessa was unloading our bags with a struggle and a look of 'what the hell?'
As I opened the passenger side door I was hit with the smell of the greenery around me. I got my bags from the back and met Tessa at the doors of the house, "My aunt and uncle won't be in all summer but they left me a list of where everything is, you get the room upstairs to the left, mine is across the hall. Make yourself at home."
"We're staying here by ourselves? Are your aunt and uncle drug addicts?" The house was beautiful, way too beautiful to just let two twenty something year olds stay in alone.
"No. It's not that big of a deal, they stay at their house in San Diego so they are rarely ever here. Relax." She attempted to reason with me and although I doubted anything bad would happen I still had an uneasy feeling knowing we were responsible for anything that could happen. I had little time to dwell on that feeling as my feet carried me, and I carried my bags, to my room.
Walking into the house I was surrounded by very white decor and modern technology. The living room, kitchen, and dining room all looked like something you would find in an IKEA magazine, as cliche as that sounded.
Like the outside and the rest of the house, my room was very white. It was the kind of house I expected when I came to California. There was a full sized bed along the wall on the left and beside it stood a white night stand each with with a lamp and small, fake plant. In front of the bed, directly in the middle of the room was a cow printed rug that felt good along my feet. One of the last things in the room was a white dresser that doubled as a tv stand. The flat screen tv that stood on it was one of the only black things in the room, not taking away from the open feeling of the room.
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After admiring the room I slowly began to unpack, knowing that I wouldn't want to do it any other time and as I did so I thought about I, Nadia Grace Fair, found myself in Calabasas for the summer.
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After I finished the tedious task of unpacking all that I had brought, I laid down in the bed quickly sinking into the blankets. The bed was surprisingly comfortable, causing me to miss my bed at home a little. But I did not miss the feeling of constantly being watched over by my parents. As much as I didn't want to admit to Tessa that I was happy we were here alone, I was. Up until this point adults had always been looking over my shoulder even as I started college and moved into my dorm, but somehow I still missed that as well.
"You're laying down right now? Get up." Tessa's voice resonated across the room and I sighed.
"I just unpacked and was going to rest for a little bit." I reasoned, sitting up in the bed. She rolled her eyes and sat next to me, laying an envelope at my feet, "What's that?" My only response was a small smile. I took the envelope, reading the front:
Girls, Please enjoy!
Inside was a letter that I assumed was from her aunt and uncle, that read:
Hello girls, I hope everything is ready for you we tried to make the house easy to navigate. All the drawers in the kitchen are labeled as are the cabinets. There should be enough food to last you girls for a few weeks, on that note if there are any problems do not be afraid to contact us. We will be as understanding as possible! We know there may not be that much to do in our town so in that case we attached a little surprise to the inside of the envelope. Please enjoy them and have fun!
I scoffed a little at the statement claiming there wasn't much to do in Calabasas and before I could look inside the envelope again, Tessa was already holding the contents in her hand with a smile stretched across her face. They looked like two tickets but the way her hands were slightly shaking prevented me from reading what they were for.
Snatching them from her hands I read the words Justin Bieber: Purpose World Tour across the middle, "Justin Bieber tickets for Friday?"
Tessa nodded and shrugged, "Guess so, rich bastards. They're good seats, we're going."
I scrunched my brows together and made a suggestion, "We could sell them, you're right they are good seats. Probably get a good amount for them from some kids' parents."
