Journey into love

Chapter Six

Song of the chapter: Girls like you- Maroon 5 ft Cardi B. (Just because I've been listening to this song a lot and I think it fits this chapter😂😅)     

       I headed for Chloe’s on Friday afternoon. Today, they were finally moving out. Chloe and I tried to have some fun in the house. She was going to miss being here and I was equally going to miss coming over, no matter what time it was. The house had already been bought again and there were new people moving in next week. I couldn't help but feel mad that they didn't leave enough time for me to get used to the Cooper's absence. Selfish thoughts.

      "Hi, Mr and Mrs Cooper", I greeted as I gave them both a quick hug and walked past them through the doorway. I bumped into Chloe and helped her with the boxes stacked on her arms.

      "Thanks", she said, sticking her tongue out at me. It was obvious she was trying to lighten the mood.

      Two men approached from the study with heavy furnitures wedged between them. Few minutes later, two moving vans arrived and all the heavy furniture were placed into it. The van drove away and this same exercise was repeated in the other van. This time, the boxes went onto the van.

     It was already past four o’clock when the Coopers decided to leave. Chloe and I went in to take final glances around before heading out. Getting to the porch, I noticed that Chloe was not with me. I went back in, only to find her sitting in the now empty living room, with her back against the far end of the wall.

      Noticing my presence, Chloe started, "You know, being born here...all my memories remain here". I nodded, urging her to go on.

      "Do you know the difference between a home and a house?" She questioned and continued, not bothering to hear my reply. "A home is where you feel safe and when you find comfort. With your family. A house is where you find shelter. Where you stay to have a roof over your head. Memories do not belong in a house...it belongs in a home" Her eyes looked glossed over and I could tell that this was having more effect on her than she let on. I put an arm over her in comfort.

      "You could make a house a home", I said as she looked up. "You can", I continued with a smile. "This home was once a house where you merely found shelter. The same for your parents, but as time went on, you built memories here and the memories stayed. You can bring your memories where you want it to be. The most important thing is that those memories have an original here" I said, placing a hand over my heart. "This is only the duplicate", I sniled wider, gesturing about the house.
     
      Woah, three cheers for me. I could definitely become a motivational speaker. Haha *snorts*

      "Come on", I said, getting up and also helping her up. "Let's go and...also" I stopped to look at her. "Put a smile on your face that could make my own face hurt from watching you", I teased. She sniffed loudly and let out a loud laugh.

      "You sounded light a motivational speaker right there" I stuck my tongue out at her and she laughed in response.

**                                                  **                                            **

     On Saturday morning, I heard a car pull up in Chloe’s driveway. It wasn't Chloe's driveway anymore but I still reffered to the house as Chloe’s. It'd take a while for me adjust to the new change.

      I stood up from my reading position on my bed to check. As I slid my curtain to get a better view, I saw a man looking to be in his early forties, hands on hips, giving directions to some men who were moving boxes inside.

      Chloe's mom said they were going to move in next week, why are they here only the day after the Coopers moved out? They could at least wait a bit for me to adjust. Yeah, who was I kidding? Slefish thoughts again.

      After five minutes of watching them move things in, I hopped back on my bed. I thought about giving Chloe a call but I decided against it. She didn't need to know about this yet. It could upset her.

      At ten minutes past six, I got up to prepare dinner. Dad would soon be home and I knew he would be stressed when he got back.

     After what happened that night, he had come up to my room, after the woman left. He apologised for keeping it from me. He was afraid that I would get mad. He went into the topic of mom's leaving. He even told me things that he didn't tell me before about that night when mom left. He'd met with her a week later, telling her about the mess that I was and asking her to meet with me, even if it was only once. She said she was sorry, that she couldn't do anything about it and she'd rather forget that she had a child. Of coirse, Dad didn't say all these willingly. I forced it out of him. I was really stubborn when it came to finding out information about my mom. I was also kind of shocked to hear about how much he really cared about that woman- Miranda.

      As I put the chicken into the oven, I heard a loud knock on the door. I removed the mitten I wore over my hands and went on to get the door. I saw a slender woman that looked like she was in her late thirties. She had aurburn hair, with brilliant green eyes. She was pretty. She was looking fiesty and she smiled up at me. She held a plate of cookies in her hands.
     
      "We're your new neighbors" she said, as she stretched her hands to give me the plate. I stared back at her for a while and concluded that she was a nice enough person, based on her smile that looked genuine. "Aren't we the ones to welcome you?" I asked with a puzzled look. They were the new neighbors here. We were the ones supposed to welcome them.

      "It's not a problem" she said, as she stretched her hands again. I collected it, smiling genuinely too.

      "Thanks" we both said, simultaneously. I was the only one supposed to say thanks too. Normally, I would find this annoying, but she was too nice to frown at.

      "Boys, come say hi" she yelled over her shoulder. A little boy appeared behind her and waves reluctantly, with a smile too good to be true.
    
      "Where's your brother?" She asked, hands on hip.

      "I'm here" I heared someone say as he comes into view. I opened my eyes wide in shock. He looked at me, confused and then, realisation hits. He mirrored my expression for a second but he was quick to hide it.

      "You!" I exclaimed. He put up a small frown and then, smirked before saying, "This is gonna be interesting".

Dear Diary,
This is the worst that could happen.

A/N:
I'm back! With a lot of goodies! I'm gonna start updating as early as possible. The wheels in my head are turning and I'm making sure not to miss anything while writing.😅
Few other chapters are ready but I need to type them in. Typing is a lot stressful but I'll try to update the next chapter ASAP.
Thanks for reading this chapter. Lots of love.
           Hanie.😘

BTW, Question of the chapter: Who do you think is Annie's new neighbor?