Chapter 1 (Chelsea)
1277 Words
Annoying alarm clock on my phones goes off now for the 5th time. It's the last day of high school, but more importantly its my 18th bithday. I decide to not snooze my phone anymore and get myself ready to see some of my friends for the last time and to primp myself up a bit because it is my birthday.
I'm in the bathroom getting ready when I hear a soft knock at the door. "COME IN," I yell! My older sister Jennifer enters the bathroom with a huge smile on her face and squeezes me into a large hug while singing happy birthday to me. I can't help but laugh, because she is always so corny, this moment would be perfect if our parents were here to celebrate it with us. My sister must see the sadness across my face when we both look into the mirror. "Hey, they are here with you, celebrating just like we normally would...I promise. Besides, I have French toast for you downstairs with a huge cup of coffee with 2 creamers in it - just like mom would have done for you," she coddles me.
That brought a smile to my face, my parents always made events even the smallest things beyond big. They were incredibly romantic and always tried their best to provide us the best life. it's been 2 years since they last said they loved me, the last time my dad hugged me or my mom baked cookies with me. You truly don't know depression until you lose a parent, I lost both - and there was nothing I could do about it.
My sister leaves the room and tells me to come down when I'm done getting ready. I was already done, but I decided to sit in the rocking chair on the other side of my room for a couple minutes and be with my parents for a minute. Both my parents rocked me in this chair and it always makes me feel better rocking in it for a time. As I am rocking, I remember reading the headline: Local Parents die in tragic car incident, 2 teenaged girls left behind. It will always bother me I think, because they passed 2 nights before Christmas just over 2 years ago on their way to pick me up from a Varsity Boys basketball game. They crashed their car or drove over the bridge, no one really knows exactly what happened but they ended up in Cedar Creek 3 miles away from my house. I on the other hand was picked up by a police officer an hour later after the incident. A man had seen their car go over the bridge and called 911. He tried to save them, but couldn't get to them in time.
I am brought out of my memories when the door bell rings. I go downstairs assuming it was someone for my sister, but low and behold its a package for me with no return address on it. My sister Jen hands me the box and says it must be a secret admirer, she smiled at me. My sister Jen is a beautiful soul, who took on the responsibility of me after our parents died. She was just 18 and only a semester in at the local community college when she took on the burden that was me. She and I looked nothing alike, in fact she really didn't look like any of us, but it didn't matter genes are weird so who knows - maybe she looked like our relatives? We never met any, not blood related anyways. My parents best friends Racheal and Gregg would check on us all the time and make sure we were ok, they were the closest thing we had to family now.
I assumed this box was from them as they had to move out of the state after my parents died, Gregg got a new position at work that had them pick up and move. I look down at the box in front of me:
To: Chelsea Aragon
121 Scenic Drive
Tampa, FL
(To be delivered on June 6, 2018 - 18th Birthday)
Awe, that seemed sweet whoever sent this, made sure it was delivered on my birthday. I did find it odd that it was delivered before the mail would normally come, but maybe it was hand carried... "What are you waiting for!!! Open it," Jennifer chirps in!
I open the box to descover legal documents, moms journal and some pictures. The pictures were strange. One picture had a time stamp of 1990 with a couple women pictured, another 1991 with what appeared to be my mom and dad. I still kind of thought these were from Gregg and Rach because this is something that they may have had access too, and like I said, were my parents best friends.
The legal documents had my birth certificate which indicated my parents were in fact my parents, but that wasn't the one that threw me for an absolute loop. My sisters birth certificate was in here - her real name was Lylia Jade Carpenter and here it indicated she was adopted, the papers that followed were just that - her adoption papers. My sisters face was of pure and utter grief. A note slipped from the documents:
My Dear Girls,
I sure hope this letter finds you happy, healthy and thankful. If we taught you anything in this life its to be thankful for the people you have, time spent and prosperty of the future that you have. It saddens me to write this to you, because I know it will confuse you. Please understand, that we had to keep things at bay. We had too, at the end of the day please know we love you both more than anything in this world and were so incredibly thankful that we got to spend the majorty of our life with the both of you.
Jennifer, thank you for stepping up and being the guiding light for you and your sister. You may not be my blood, but you are our heart - we would have told you in time, yes. It's just things are more complicated than you can even imagine and we need to protect your sister, at all costs. You are brave, bold and beyond beautiful and we adore you. Continue to move mountains and become the teacher you always dreamed of being. Keep very close with your sister - cherish her, she is a gift.
Chelsea, let me start with, Happy Birthday. I am so incredibly sorry we cannot be with you on this joyus day. When I claimed your sister was our heart, you are our soul. The two of you together made your father and I beyond proud. Chelsea, listen very carefully. There are not many people you can trust - but, you sister, our aunt Rach, and Uncle Gregg and our friend Sven. Now, I know you don't know him - but, he will become a major part of your life and a guiding force - trust him. I wish I could be there for you, know I'm in your heart and will help guide you along your path. You are special Chelly Bug. The world needs you...open your heart to the possibility of what life is about to offer you. I don't know what to expect and I can't explain it because I truly don't know what you will become, but Sven does. Trust him.
Love you both, keep singing, keep being the beautiful girls we know you can be.
Mom and Dad
.....what the
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