Noah's Brother, Jesse ~Chapter One~

Chapter One


         The June sun beat down on the small car that sat in the driveway. A pair of dark eyes peered out the window at the tall house before her. The site of it was familiar but dreaded. Why did I come back , she wondered and then the front door was thrown open.
         Frances John came running out of the door. Her hands were outstretched, motioning for Samantha to get out of her car, to join her mother in the gigantic fake hug. Might as well do this and get it over with, she thought as she pushed open the car door. Her mother didn’t even wait for Samantha to shut the door before pulling her into her plump arms. Samantha felt the life being crushed out of her, yet another familiar feeling.
“How are you, darling?” asked her mother in a sing song voice.
         “I am fine. Can’t wait for my vacation from school.” She wanted to add that she wished her vacation was somewhere else besides there. I would rather have stayed at school but Daddy needs me, she thought.
         “I am so glad you are home. I have missed you all year. You could have at least come home for the holidays.”
         “I know, mama,” she said smiling as her father came out of the front door, “but I had to take that trip. It was great too. Plenty of fun plus I got the extra credit for one of my classes.”
         “Hmph, I guess you are right.” Her mother dropped her arms as if Samantha had suddenly been lit on fire. Yet, another familiarity between the two women: anything that Samantha could do to take care of herself or make herself happy made Frances upset.
         “Oh, Daddy, I missed you,” Samantha declared as she ran over to her father, wrapping her arms around his waist. Her mother was soon forgotten as her fathers warm comforting hand slid over her head.
         “I miss you too, honey. Lets go for a walk and catch up,” he suggested.
         “Martin, she has had a long trip. What she needs to do is come into the house, freshen up and join me in the kitchen for some dinner.”
Samantha felt the heat rising within her. Instead of replying to her mother, she walked to the trunk of her car to take out her suitcases. Her father followed her to help carry her luggage to her upstairs bedroom.
         “Sounds great, daddy. Lets take these upstairs and then we will head out. Any new animals?”
         “Just Noah,” he said with a laugh. Frances sighed and followed them inside but instead of going upstairs with them, she retreated to her favorite part of the house: the kitchen.
         “You started naming them?” asked Samantha with a laugh.
         “Nope, this one came named. Your mom isn’t going to approve of you being around him though. She is having a hard time dealing with him being here as it is.”
      Samantha walked down the hall that led to her bedroom. She loved the house that she had lived in her whole life up until she had gone off to the university three years before. She looked at the all the smiling faces that hung on the walls. She quickly walked past her parents bedroom and then the main bathroom. She was soon outside her own room. 
        Samantha had her room etched in her memory but wouldn’t be surprised if her mother had changed things ’that needed to be different’. She hoped that it was just as it was when she left. The knob turned and revealed her room.
Growing up she had loved pink but once she hit her teenage years she redecorated everything with it being purple and white. Her bed was white with a plum purple comforter. She had a nightstand with an alarm clock and a picture of two girls with their arms around each other. Across the room was a small white desk with a purple lamp and a white dresser. She had gigantic windows that overlooked the pasture.
         All of her personal things seemed to be missing such as her favorite books, awards, and other school year things. Samantha knew that these were gone since her mother packed them up in case Samantha decided to never return. They now sat in their basement.
“Do you want some time to put your stuff away before we go for our walk?” asked Martin. She shook her head and sat the two suitcases that she had been carrying in front of the closet. Martin did the same and they walked out of the room.
         “So what is going on around here? What have I missed out on?” she asked as she walked out into the sunshine.
         “You didn’t have to come back. I know you are doing what is right for you and I am proud of you, Sammy.” He put his arm around her give her a half hug.
“I wanted to, Daddy. I think I have unfinished business to tend to before I go on with my laugh. I figure that job offers will be coming in this year before graduation and I really would rather have all of my baggage taken care of so that I can have complete focus for my last in college.” She looked up at her dad.
         “That is understandable. Even though I said what I did, and I meant it too, I am glad that you are here for the summer.”
         “Mom is starting to bother me already. I don’t know how long I can take her.”
         “I know. Let me talk with her tonight to see if I can get her to take it easy. Sound good?” They were walking towards the stable which suited Samantha fine since she wanted to see the animals.
“Oh yes, it sounds great.”
         “Good, lets go inside. I want you to meet someone.” He guided her into the stable which she thought was strange. Who would be here, she wondered.
         “Who?” she asked as she pulled her long red curls into a bouncy ponytail.
         “Noah.”
         They walked inside but didn’t see anyone. All of the horses were outside so there wasn’t even the usual animal sounds, just their shoes hitting the earth.
“Where is he?” she asked after they walked the whole length of the building. It wasn’t a very large building since Martin didn’t have a very large farm but it was big enough to house six horses.