CHAPTER 1
After being homeschooled, which is because she can not bear to go to school anymore, Adela liked to go to a lake she used to go to with her dad. It was a good place for her to think, but lately, the lake felt empty, like something was missing. That missing thing was Adela's father, his warm smile, and the shine in his eyes, but now the only sound she could hear was the flow of water. Her father was probably the most wonderful human being in the world. Now, whenever she came here, she felt weird, like someone was watching her. She had no idea why, but there was some strange presence in the lake now. It didn't feel as pure as it did before.
It felt just creepy and uncanny. Like some bizarre things might be there, never mind. Adela did have a massive thing for making things up, and it was probably nothing. There was a beach near the lake, where they used to swim together, and she remembered building sandcastles. She remembered playing volleyball on the sand and consistently winning, but now she knows that they let her win.
When her father passed away, she never knew how. One day, the day that he left her life forever, her mother Elizabeth told her that he had died in a car accident, and she honestly did not believe her.
At least, she did not want to. She sometimes also came here to think about her twin brother to maybe make sense of his disappearance, too; however, she didn't remember her brother. She remembered him dying of leukemia, but even that was a foggy memory. She did not know what it felt like to have a brother. There was nothing to think or feel about. Since they were only ten and then her brother just left her life. Just like her father did, no one wants to stay in her life. Everyone wants to leave and never come back. She only had her mother. She just remembered her brother to be a troublemaker whenever he was around, or that is what her mother told her.
A lot of the time, it felt like her mother did not even care about her. Adela thinks that her mother blames her for what happened to their family. How it broke into pieces that can not be fixed. No matter how hard she tries. No matter how much she was, her mother loved her again, as she did before. She would not even talk to her about her day or come to the lake with her. She misses those days. She did not even care anymore. Adela likes to be alone now, and it is acceptable for her to be. Eventually, she will move away from the house she lives in and find a place for herself. Get away from all the bad memories, and get away from an unloving mother.
Adela's personality changed when her father died, and her cheerful, bubbly self turned into a dull, stubborn 18-year-old who tried hard to keep all her emotions in and not let anyone see them. She used to be the leader of the soccer team and played the guitar but still does play from time to time. Not as much as before. She used to have many friends, but she now has no interest in anything aside from thinking about everything wrong with her. Honestly, she blames everything on herself, as does her mother. In some ways, that is what Adela thinks.
The sound of dripping water interrupted her thoughts as the sky turned from a rosy pink to a bland grey. Water started falling from the sky and onto Adela's cheek and then onto her nose when she looked up to the dark sky.
Adela decided not to stay any longer, and it would be an excellent time to go home before she got drenched. She got up and gathered her books and put them in her bag. She thought it was weird that it was raining, since it never did, not even near lakes and beaches. She wanted to spread her arms around and dance in the rain. Well, that would be the old Adela. The old Adela was free-spirited and was someone who hadn't a care in the world, but now she had every care in the world. The new Adela would be someone who would watch the rain from inside her room, wishing it would stop.
Quickly, she gathered her books and shoved them into her bag, but her books got a little wet she frowned, and before they could get completely soaked and she would from the rain. She ran home to make sure she kept dry, but the rain went from only light rain to raining harder and pouring down with no stopping. How she wished she brought an umbrella, but it was odd how there was no sign of a thunderous rainstorm. Just as she reached the street sign that read 'Angel Demon Drive.' Adela always found her street name weird since when she did have friends, they could never find her street, let alone her house. Also, she barely talks to anyone anymore, making friends is something that she still likes to do, but it's hard for her since now that she's homeschooled, she can not. She did graduate, though, with really good grades. Even though some days she enjoyed the rain, she began to run to her house, but today was one of those days.
For a split second, the rain stopped and started again. Out of breath and on the doorstep of her house, Adela whispered, "Home" as she let herself in, but is this really "Home"?
When she was inside, her stomach growled, but she didn't eat. She would wait until her mom was home and ate with her. Adela's house was empty. What would a typical teenager do in an empty house? Throw a raging party where dozens of people were there. What would Adela do? Think about how to put her life back together, then give up and repeat. It felt like there was no point in trying for her; she had loved her father so much that sometimes it was hard to understand why he had left.
Her house was honestly the most basic house you could ever see. The sofas are black, so black that you could get lost looking at them. There is a television but very tiny and probably was made a long time ago. They did not have TV like other people had they were all flat screens. It's not even like she even ever wanted to watch it. It was black and white movies. She would rather play her guitar and write songs. Doing this distracts her from thinking about things when she does not want to think about them. Then, there is a picture of the family on top of the fireplace. She looks at the picture and sees herself smiling. It's with the whole family, her brother, her father, her mother and her on the beach. She is surprised that her mother even has a picture like that, a picture that shows happiness, a picture that makes her smile every time she sees it. The walls are white in every room, only then there is Adela's room, which is painted sky blue with ocean animals on it because she loves the beach and ocean. She painted her room with her father. But now she thinks it looks childish. She has had white furniture since she was a child. Even today, she just likes how it looks. You would say for someone as sad as her to have everything black, but now she likes everything white. That would seem odd to a lot of people. Now, though, she loves these rainy days, but she only loves them from the inside.
"If only you came back." Adela whispered to herself, then she said, "This empty, sad-looking house would then shine again. It would shine brighter than it had before."
Adela always tried to remember the day her father and her brother had left her and her mother's life to figure out why. Since she thought her mother was not telling her the truth about what had happened. It was getting hard to remember every time she tried.
(FLASHBACK:
"You need to leave, I do not want you near me, children anymore . You have already done enough. All you do is wreak havoc on this family, I don't even know why I ever loved you," cried Elizabeth.
"I was fixing your mistakes. You're the one who sent Jordan away, and now he is gone somewhere doing who knows what," Asmodeus said.
"Well, he had to leave, he is your son, not mine," Elizabeth responded with stubbornness, "Ever since we got married you have been with who knows how many women, and you have been gone for days and I only know what you're doing."
"You have destroyed so many things doing that, including our marriage and Adela's life. She is only ten and has no clue about anything," Elizabeth said.
"You're the one who did not want to tell her. She deserves to know who she is." Asmodeus replies.
"No, she doesn't yet and not from you. So leave. I am telling you this last time before I drag you out." Elizabeth said with stubbornness.
"Fine, I am leaving, and I am never coming back." Asmodeus sees Adela, and he still leaves slamming the door.
When they were talking, they did not see Adela watching them, but then they did see her when Asmodeus left. Elizabeth went to her and said, "Adela, what did you hea.."