Unchained Melody, Chapter 1: Departure

Chapter One: Departure


I was in hell. Well more of what my description of hell was. I cringed as I watched helplessly as complete strangers bring my personal belongings out of my house, the house I loved more than anything, and into the enormous ugly semi that would haul my family’s things from Charlotte, North Carolina, my birth town, to Kalispell, Montana.

I glared furiously at the unsuspecting and, much to my dismay, innocent movers willing them to go away and leave my family be. I sighed heavily, trying to get rid of my frustration. They were just doing their job, which inconsequently was uprooting my entire existence. I did not want to leave. I groaned out loud as I thought of the city – no, it wasn’t large enough for that kind of classification – the town I would be moving to in a matter of hours.

Kalispell.  I dreaded the word.

Before my dad even received his deplorable job offering, I had never even heard of the small town I would soon call home.

What kind of name was Kalispell anyways? I chewed on my lower lip as I thought long and hard about this Kalispell, my own personal hell. Absolutely nothing was there, I had already Googled it. The same could actually be said about the entire state as well nothing but cattle, mountains and extremely cold weather.

I shivered unwillingly even though it was almost 90 degrees here. I hated the cold weather almost as much as I hated the thought of moving to that damn town. You couldn’t do anything in the cold. I lived for the sunny days that constantly graced Charlotte. I loved the sun even if my skin did not. My frowned deepened. I was so pale most people automatically assumed I hid from the sun, like a vampire.

Ridiculous. I was just very fair skinned.

I leaned against my father’s Navigator; arms crossed, and continued glaring at the movers as they made their way up the ramp with more covered furniture. My eyes narrowed at a fairly large balding man who stumbled a little, trying to get a better grip on the slippery, cloth covered wood. I gasped loudly and watched in horror as these idiots almost dropped my beloved Steinway Grand Piano as they loaded it into the semi. With my fists clenched tightly at my side, I was fuming by time the morons finally walked back down the ramp and back into the house after moving my piano into the truck.  I didn’t even want to think of how I would have reacted if they had dropped it. That piano was my most treasured possession and I wouldn’t trade anything for it. A stern voice rang out and ripped my attention away from the tortuous thoughts I was having.

“Allegra, stop glaring at the movers and go finish packing.” My father ordered exasperatedly. He was so tired of me sulking around. I was even tired of it but for some reason I could not bring myself to stop. I was too distraught, too depressed at the thought of leaving. I crossed my arms and huffed loudly hoping he would hear me as he packed more overstuffed boxes into the trunk of his vehicle.

“I’m already packed, Dad and please do remember that I am not the procrastinator in this family,” I retorted with a little bit too much sarcasm. I had such an attitude today.

My father actually chuckled at me knowing full well who I had meant. “Alright, alright, but please quit with the faces. It wouldn’t kill you to smile you know.” He suggested as he walked past me softly patting my shoulder in reassurance. My eyes narrowed at him as he walked back into the house, barking orders at the movers.

“I have nothing to smile about….,” I muttered under my breath. I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing. This was going to be a long day. Sighing deeply, I followed my father into the house and decided to make sure the big oafs were being careful with the rest of my stuff. I walked quickly to my room as a large black guy with a friendly face hauled one of my boxes out of my room, neatly labeled Books. It looked really heavy. I tried to smile as he passed me but it didn’t reach my eyes. I wasn’t good at faking smiles. The man smiled back at me regardless and left me alone in my empty room. It was so eerie and alien.

My once light green walls were now completely white and bare.  All my furniture was gone and all that remained was a few boxes and my duffel bag. My heart fell as I looked around my room – my sanctuary. I bit my lip as a flood of emotion washed through me and I fought the urge to cry. I never really cried much and since the news of my family’s sudden departure, crying was all I wanted to do these days. Suddenly despite the warmth, I was feeling cold again and wrapped my arms around myself trying to be brave – willing my strength to help me get past this road block in my life. I was strong, always have been, and I knew deep down I would get through this, no matter how much it hurt. 

Exhaling a shaky breath, I decided to check my bag once more, making sure I had all my essentials needed for a cross country road trip: my iPod and my old tattered copy of Emma by Jane Austen. I grabbed the book and planted myself on the comfy carpet, next to my bag, and nonchalantly started flipping through the book, skimming through the pages; not really reading.

God, I was bored.  I found a page that I book marked and started to read, getting lost in the story, after a while I was so immersed in my book I didn’t hear my sister calling my name.

“Allegra!” Finally, after hearing her unnecessary shout, my head snapped up to my sister’s annoyed face. Her hazel eyes zeroed in on my book in my hands and she frowned deeply. Crossing her tan arms over her chest, she made a disgusted sound.

“Uggh – Emma? Really, Allegra how many times are you going to read that book?” This was probably the tenth time she asked me that very same question in the past month. I slammed the book shut and rolled my eyes at her. Ashleigh had always criticized my choice of literature opposed to her kind: trashy, tabloid magazines. She had a serious problem with the classics.

“Did you need something, Ashleigh?” I asked her nicely completely ignoring her jab at my favorite book.  I was a little annoyed with her, with everyone at the moment.

At my question, her hazel eyes danced with excitement which made mine narrow in suspicion. She was obviously happy about something and for the life of me I couldn’t determine what that was.

“The movers are finally done. Daddy says its time to go. So come on.” Ashleigh exclaimed cheerfully as she turned and bounded away her blonde ponytail swaying back and forth. I resisted the urge to throw up as my heart slammed against my chest. So this was it, we were finally leaving. Was I ready? Would I ever be ready?

Grumbling loudly hoping my family would hear my distress; I pushed myself off the floor a little too quickly, and almost crumpled back down to the ground. I was to damn clumsy for my own good. Knowing my luck, I’d probably be hiking in the woods and fall off a mountain in Montana.  I grabbed my book and shoved it back into my bag in frustration. I picked up my duffel bag and hung the strap over my shoulder, if I was going to go through hell at least I’d be prepared.

I sighed heavily hoping my dark mood would soon pass. It wasn’t me. As I walked through our now completely empty house, I was suddenly hit with a flood memories: birthdays, Christmas, movie nights, learning how to play the piano for the first time, it all happened in this house. Choking back a sob, I tried to regain my composure and walked through our front door for the last time. I squinted at the bright light that hurt my eyes as I stepped onto our lawn. I blinked a couple of times, trying to get my dark eyes to adjust to the drastic change in lighting. I scanned the scene in front of me. The movers were moving the last piece of furniture, my dad’s incredibly expensive cherry wood dining room table, into the semi. I prayed that they wouldn’t drop it like they almost dropped my piano.

I glanced over at my father as he finished attaching the trailer to his Lincoln Navigator. My beloved misty blue BMW M3 was sitting quietly on the trailer, looking very shiny. I frowned immediately at the sight. My dad refused to let me drive myself even though I promised up and down I would be careful and right behind him, some stupid nonsense about my ability to drive cross country by myself. That was the whole point. It wasn’t going to be healthy for my nerves if I had to sit and listen to Ashleigh talk about the new boys, cowboys is what I called them, which we would be meeting in our new school. I could care less about the whole lot of them. All I cared about was my peace of mind and my father didn’t seem to care. I was very confident in my driving abilities and I argued my point for hours but my father refused to budge. Safety first, as he put it.

Stupid surgeons. They were so completely obsessed with safety.

My father was to over protective for his own good. He would probably be gray haired in less than 5 years if he kept it up. His over protectiveness was the reason he bought me such an expensive over the top vehicle. Safety.

I sighed again shaking my head at my precious piece of machinery. I absolutely loved it. It had a great sound system, cruise control and it was very quiet. It also had a grand total of 9 air bags that would deploy instantly if I ever got in a car accident and a computer system that sometimes scared the hell out of me when it announce loudly if my oil was low.

I growled softly. Stupid, German engineering.

The car was my 17th birthday gift and I nearly fainted at the sight of it. I would have been happy with a used Corolla. My BMW was just too showy for my kind of personality. I hated the attention it brought me. Once I Googled the price tag and I instantly hated it. It was disturbing how much my car cost my father. I truly didn’t need something quite so over the top but I put on a good show for my dad. He loved to lavish gifts on his daughters – the expensive kind.

My dad jumped down from the trailer, after making sure it was secure, with a broad smile on his face. My dad was very handsome for a 37 year old divorcee. Ashleigh walked around the corner of the Navigator, her smile equaling his own. They looked so much a like, right down the matching shade of blonde hair and bright hazel eyes. I was the dark one. The outcast. I looked just like my mother. We both shared the same long dark, stick straight hair and big chocolate eyes that almost seemed black at times. I was also very pale unlike my naturally tan sister. Ashleigh, to this day, constantly teases me about how white I really am, sometimes accusing me of being part albino.

Part albino? Ridiculous. I had heard it all; albino, vampire, inflicted with some rare skin disease. People came up with the weirdest things sometimes.

I stole a glance at my sister as her and my father talked about something I pretended not to hear. I could care less what time we got into Kalispell. Ashleigh was the exact opposite of me in almost every way. While I had the long dark straight hair, hers was blonde short and curly. Her face was rounder, her body curvier. I was the very slender one, always had been and deep down apart of me was jealous of Ashleigh’s much curvier body. She was also, to my ever constant horror, taller than me even though she was barely 15.  Ashleigh towered over me at 5’8 while I was stuck at a mere 5’3 at 17. Being short was another trait I had inherited from my mother.

As always a great surge of fury swept through me when I thought of my mother and as usual it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Any subject of my mother was a sore one.

Snapping out of my momentary anger, I looked up quickly at my father’s face. His brow was knitted together in frustration – like he was trying to read my thoughts, figure out the root behind my enraged expression. He was much too observant.

I quickly masked it and fooled him with one of my dazzling smiles. His eyes narrowed at me for an instant before his lips formed his trademark half-smile; something that I actually inherited from him. He seemed to have forgotten my earlier mood as he gently squeezed Ashleigh and mine shoulders in a half hug and looked at our house.

“Well girls, this is it.” He sighed heavily as if his heart was heavy. I looked up at his face trying to decipher the emotion that hid behind his calm cool exterior. Deep down I knew leaving was just as hard for him as it was for me. My dad was just better at hiding his emotions then I was which annoyed me to no end. He always teased me about being his open book that I was so easy to read. I absolutely hated it.

Dad released us suddenly and walked back to the trunk of his vehicle, opening it. Ashleigh shot me a suspicious glance and I merely shrugged

How was I supposed to know what the guy was up too?

Dad rummaged around a bit for a minute. Then ‘Ah Hah’ loudly when he finally found what he was looking for. Instantly, I frowned when he pulled out two neatly wrapped boxes.

Presents. I groaned inwardly. I hated presents and he knew that. I hated surprises even more and this was definitely a surprise.

I glanced over at my bubbly sister who was dancing with enthusiasm. She adored receiving gifts and could accept them so easily – no matter how much it cost. It wasn’t right. With a huge grin on his face, he handed Ashleigh, who was wide eyed and drooling, a small pink box and gave me the larger green one. Ashleigh immediately tore into hers squealing like a six year old.

I rolled my eyes at her in complete utter disgust. Sometimes I wondered how old my sister actually was. I watched her closely somewhat amused by her antics. Finally, the wrapping paper was gone and Ashleigh was shrieking with delight, jumping up and down.

I winced, praying my ears would survive the onslaught of Ashleigh’s enthusiasm. She was such a child sometimes.

“Thank you! Thank you!! Daddy, I love it. It’s perfect!” She cooed as she threw her thin arms around dad’s neck. She was definitely daddy’s little girl as she threw his head back and laughed joyously.

“You’re welcome Ashleigh. I saw you eye balling it at the store a couple times and thought it would make a good going away present.” Ashleigh’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she stared down at the glossy looking box.

I was somewhat curious now but only a little.

“What is it, Ashleigh?” She turned to me, tearing her eyes off the box and shot me a dumb look, like I was supposed to know what the heck she was holding.

“It’s the new Blackberry Bold in PINK! Ever since I saw it, I just had to have it. It’s got everything on it. It’s so amazing Daddy, thank you. You’re the best.” Ashleigh gave Dad another half hug and then immediately started to open the box. I rolled my eyes at her again. She could be so materialistic at times, it was slightly disgusting. I had the same phone for almost a year now. She had a new one every 4 months.

Dad turned to me suddenly, his smile appreciative as he waited for me to open my gift, which I had set in front of me on the grass. It was way too heavy for me to be holding for such a long time. Heavy usually meant expensive.

I glanced down at the inoffensive green box suspiciously, almost wanting to kick at it. Gosh, I hated presents. I knew he probably spent a small fortune on it if Ashleigh’s gift was any kind of clue. Her little cell phone probably set him back an easy 500 dollars. I shuddered at the thought. I didn’t like it when people spent money on me especially obscene amounts like my father always did. I didn’t see the point. I was absurdly independent and I liked it that way.

“Go ahead and open it, Allegra. The suspense is killing me.” Ashleigh chirped and I resisted the urge to glare at her. I knelt down in front of the box and started to tear at the green wrapping paper.

At least I liked his choice of color of wrapping paper. I loved green. Green was pretty. I started to feel myself smile as I completely tore the rest of the paper off and then I flipped it over to see what it was. It was definitely something electronic by the nerd script on the box. My heart stopped dead in my chest and I sucked in a sharp breath. It was definitely expensive, too expensive. My hand lightly caressed the glossy box as my eyes took it in. I heard Ashleigh gasp in surprise next to me.

It was a brand new Sony Lap top, complete with carrying case. This was utterly ridiculous. I already had a computer for crying out loud!

“Well what do you think, Allegra? The man who sold it to me said it was top of the line, the best. I hope you like it.” My dad explained in a cheerful voice as he knelt down and put a hand on my shoulder. He was proud of what he had bought me.

I continued to stare at it blankly hoping I wasn’t giving away any sign of my discomfort. I didn’t want it. It was too much, way too much. What would I do with my old computer? I knew my father would be hurt and disappointed if I didn’t like his gift so I forced a wide smile on my face and nodded my head tersely.

“I love it Dad. Thanks….wow. It’s perfect. Thank you.” I almost convinced myself. I could hear dad’s exhale of relief, obviously he was worried about what my reaction would be and I instantly knew lying was the right thing to do. He smirked at me widely, grabbed the box and walked back to his Navigator. I stood shakily and watched as he put it back into his trunk. He slammed the door and opened his driver’s side door.

“I’m glad you girls like your gifts and I think we should head out now.” He jumped into his seat without even looking back at the house and started the vehicle, it roared to life. I watched as Ashleigh crawled into the passenger seat still playing with her new cell phone.

My fists clenched at my sides as I tried to control the fury I felt at the moment. I had to remember that Dad was good at hiding his emotions but I felt betrayed that this house – our home - didn’t mean as much to him. Sighing deeply, I ran a trembling hand through my dark locks and let out the ragged breath that I was holding in. I knew better. My father was a very compassionate man.

I turned and took one last glance back at the house I cherished so much and prayed that the next owners would take good care of it. I needed to let it go. I was about to start a new life, in a new town, with new people. I couldn’t mop around complaining about how much I hated my new life.

A cool breeze made its way over our lawn, making the big Birch trees sway back and forth. The breeze felt cool against my skin and it made me smile. As if I was being told that everything was going to be alright. I nodded at the house in some sort of silent agreement then turned and climbed into the back seat of my dad’s SUV.

As soon as I got into the seat, Dad started to back out of our driveway; the semi was waiting for us so that they could follow us to Kalispell. Ashleigh started to yap about all the boys she would soon be meeting and hoping everyone would like her. I tried to ignore her as I grabbed my iPod out of my bag quickly. I plugged the earphones into my ears drowning out her irritating voice and searched for a song that I knew would calm my nerves. Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake started to play and it instantly soothed me. I loved classic musical.

Exhaling deeply, I leaned against the seat and stared out the window, watching as the only world I knew flashed by. It was going to be a long day.