Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Shannon peered curiously out the window of the old Volkswagon as it rolled to a stop in the driveway of what was to be her new home.

It didn't look so bad. Typical blue collar suburban home. At one time, it would have been white but now looked to be a weathered shade of gray. Just a simple one story house with a quaint half green, half brown front yard and a spacious, if not slightly run down front porch equipped with the oh so important front porch swing hanging from rusty chains.

Ok, so it was a step down from the nearly immaculate townhouse they'd lived in back in Seattle, but it didn't have to stay that way. Heck with a little paint and maybe a few new bushes and flowers, yeah it had potential.

She turned to look at her sister. She still had no idea how Mel felt about the move. This was the first time in her 20 years of living that had her feeling like Melanie was a complete stranger. She was so hard to read now, the closeness they usually shared was basically non-existent, and all because they had to move back home.

Home? This wasn't home....Seattle was home, but Mel grew up here not Seattle, and this house was theirs free and clear with no worries about rent.

Mel had seemed ok with it at first but the closer they got to move day, the more melancholy and closed off she'd become. It didn't make sense, This was a chance at a new beginning, time to spread her wings and really go for it. New town, new people, a chance to prove herself. Time to spread her wings a bit, take some of the pressure off Mel for a change. So why was Mel so sad?

Melanie peered out from behind dark shades to take in the home she'd spent her childhood in and grimaced. Not much had changed except it seemed to be in bad repair. She could already tell there would be roofing and painting needs. Jesus if the inside looked as run down as the outside she was in for it. The inheritance had carried a small amount of money and now instead of a cushion for her sister's education and dreams, it looked like it would be used to make the house livable.

Shutting off the car she slipped from its confines and shook her head. Amazing how she'd ended up back here, in the place where it had all started, or maybe it had ended, damned if she could decide anymore. For the briefest of moments the sounds of laughter teased her memories.

"DORK! You cant even play it right."

"Screw you Mellie!"

"NO SCREW YOU Dork!"

She moved to the front of the car and pulled the few pieces of luggage out, then started towards the house, her voice wavering as the house flickered from run down to pristine with each step. "Coming Shan?"

As she hit the porch she could almost swear she saw a brown headed brown eyed gangly limbed boy standing there, a goofy grin on his face and something behind his back. For the barest moment she almost flinched, expecting the ice, the water, or hell even the stray bug or two.

Shannon watched as Mel got lost in her own thoughts, she was a million miles away. Where the hell did she go?

"Yeah." she replied as she climbed from the small car and began helping to unload what little they had stuffed into the compact’s front trunk. "When's the truck gonna be here?"

Shannon shielded her eyes and looked up the street. She had no intentions of sleeping on an old dusty floor, she at least wanted her mattress beneath her tonight.

Mel rolled her eyes and said a swift prayer. "Well I hope they get here tonight, if not we're camping out sis." Camping out wasn't so bad, especially inside, well it used to be fun that is.

Shannon sighed out a less than enthusiastic “wonderful.”

She picked up one of the boxes she knew contained some of her most prized possessions and headed for the porch. As she looked back over her shoulder and called "You sure we started out here?? I don't remember this place at all!" She furrowed her brow, willing a memory to appear but as always, her mind’s eye stayed blank.

Mel reached out and flicked her sister's hair as she walked by, "that would be because you were barely out of diapers back then Squirt." Thank God you were only five or so, thank God you don't remember, HIM especially. She opened the door and stepped inside shivering as the memories overwhelmed her.

"Doggonit Mellie, I wanted that cookie!"

"Neener neener, I got to it first Scarecrow!"

Big brown eyes swam into her memories, brown eyes with a pout that could turn the coldest heart warm. Damned if he hadn't gotten the cookie too.

She shook her head and blew an exasperated breath towards her bangs. "Trust me if we had any other choices we'd be living elsewhere."

Shannon groaned in protest at her sisters endearing term "Don't call me squirt!" she mumbled. It was still squirt... probably always would be, at least where Mel was concerned. Why couldn't she see that she was no longer a child?

I'm damn near 20 years old, a gnat’s hair away from getting my managers license for cosmetology, I already have a job lined up out here after my internship. Does she expect to play mother to me forever?

Shannon followed her sister into the old house and wondered at her sisters negativity. "It doesn't look that bad Mel," she said as her eyes took in her surroundings. "It'll be nice with a little TLC."

She didn't get it, but then she was too young to remember. Sure this house was nice, back then, but it wasn't just the house that had her all off center. There were too many memories, way too many to settle as quickly as she needed them to settle.

Melanie moved into the kitchen and nearly started cursing at the state of the cabinets. Plunking the one box she'd had for the kitchen on the counter, her eyes strayed to the window, then onto the yellow home just next door. Wonder if Mama Joan and Mr. Adam still stay there? Shaking her head she moved back to the living room. "We're gonna need cleaning stuff, and lots of it, or so it seems."

She reached over to flick the light switch and frowned as nothing happened. "Dammit they said they'd have the power on when we got here!" What the hell else could go wrong with them moving in here? She glanced over at her sister, who was bouncing from room to room humming and singing to some god awful sound on her small radio. "Shit what ARE you singing to?"

Shannon was oblivious to her sister for the time being. She had found her Walkman perched on the top of the box she'd been carrying and wasted no time gluing the headset to her ears and cranking the volume. Music was her one addiction. Mel never seemed to understand it and she couldn't explain but it was her escape. The flow of sounds meshed so perfectly, a soft voice crooning reason or hope in a time of need. She let the lively beat and tongue in cheek words of the current song playing wash over her and lift her spirits as she toured their new home.

Ok, so it was a bit run down but she saw possibilities everywhere she looked. The fireplace in the living room was absolutely beautiful, or at least it would be after a good scrubbing and the mantle was waxed. She envisioned cold snowy nights huddled on the couch with a mug of cocoa watching a romantic comedy with Mel, laughing and crying, bonding like they used to.

She turned to the dining room. Though it was small, it had a wall of exquisite oak shelves. Their grandmother’s china would look perfect displayed there.

Her sister’s sharp tone finally broke through her thoughts and the sheer volume of her music and she quickly shoved the headphones off her ears "What sis?”

Mel leaned against the doorway and shook her head at the gleam in her sister's eyes. Always the dreamer that one, seeing possibilities where there were none. "I said what the hell are you singing too?"

"Oh....." Her face lit up in a cheeky grin.

"Your love is like
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD MEDICINE!"

She crooned purposely off key while acting out wacky motions to the lyrics.

"Bad Medicine is what I need
Whoaaaaaaaa SHAKE IT UP"

She accentuated her words by shaking her small bosoms at her sister in an effort to make them bounce. When they stubbornly refused to move she shrugged and turned around to shake her ass instead.

"Just like BAAAAAAD Medicine
Your love’s the doctor that can cure my disease!!"

She stopped her quirky serenade and just stared at her sister, barely holding back the laughter threatening to bubble over her lips. She knew Mel got irritated when she clowned around like that. She recalled Mel's constant reminder “No one likes a dork Shan!” Well she liked acting like a dork, life was too short to be boring!

Melanie shook her head, a groan bubbling from her throat. "That's not music, that's ..." She closed her eyes a moment as it rose inside of her, the cacaphony of just learned chords, along with cussing that had over time slowly turned into sweet sounds that nearly made her cry. Big brown eyes shining as fingers hit the right notes, and her teasing relentlessly over...."Noise." She grabbed her keys from the counter and started towards the door. "Gotta go get supplies, you wanna come along or stay here and um, sing?"

"How bout I come along AND sing?" She teased before turning her voice as stern as she could muster. "Do you always have to be so... soo serious and uptight all the time Mel?" She asked. "Sometimes it's fun to just let loose ya know... you really should try it sometime!"

She sighed and grabbed up her purse from the box she'd set down when they first came in. Without pause she rambled knowing full well her sister was used to her non-stop motor mouth and though she may not catch everything that poured from her lips, she'd at least pretend to.

"Ya know this place needs a little spicing up.... I'm thinking red rugs...... leopard print curtains... OH!! How about a leather table cloth......" She rambled on knowing her sister was rolling her eyes heavenward yet again.

She slipped back into the driver’s seat and went through her pre-cranking routine, patting the dash, jiggling the keys just so in the ignition, twisting the steering wheel just a bit, hell if you didn't do Maude just right she'd never crank. As the car snorted and gurgled to life she glanced at her sister. "How about I let you go all out in your bedroom and we keep the living room normal?"

Shannon heaved an exaggerated sigh, always the one to play at melodramatics "Ok.. deal.. my room... awesome... the rest of the house... boring!! Got it" She winked as she snapped her seatbelt over her lap.

Shifting into gear, she backed from the driveway and turned left. Time to try to get things at least semi-ready for life. Tomorrow she had to job hunt, and today would be the only day she had totally free for hard core house cleaning.