Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : Romance

Ok so this is part one of my book Edmonton, I hope you all love it and it has a place here. Part 2 coming soon.






Edmonton





By: Donald K. Hale


Prologue


Everyone has had at least one moment that changed their lives forever. Whether it be a huge job interview, saying the fateful words “I do”, or just simply graduating high school. For me, that was when I up rooted and moved away from my hometown of Detroit Michigan to a small town in northeastern Oakland county, called Edmonton. And in this town, barely larger than 3 square miles, I made some lasting friends, some terrible enemies and met the love of my life. And in this journal, I will write down all of my most treasured memories and memoirs of that place, and how I met my now fiance.


Chapter 1


As I packed my last box, my siblings, mainly my older brother Jacob nagged at me and tried to convince me not to leave, but to little fruition. “You know, there is a lot of job opportunities here” Jacob said, the older of my 2 brothers “you could be a car mechanic, construction worker, hell even a cop. What are you going to do there any way?” he questioned. “I am going to be a teacher” I said, not looking at him. “Oh great, you’re leaving us and becoming a softy. the least you could do is be a teacher here. Lord knows we need it.” he had a point, sad to say. Ever since the city went bankrupt back in mid-2013, the government hasn't been to supportive of the city and cut back school spending, so being a teacher here would be helpful, but it wouldn't pay for itself. Along with that I didn't want to stay here for reasons I would say later. Then my other brother who was helping me. “Leave her alone” Jeremy said “she made her decision, let her live it”. “You know, you are always on her side, why not mine?” Jacob asked. “Knock it off, if you are not going to help, please make yourselves useful and get out”. “Sheesh, sorry princess.” Jacob says walking out of my nearly empty room. “Sorry Sav. just trying to help” Jeremy says trying to make me feel better. “It's ok I mean, i'm under a lot of pressure and stress, and barges in here to make it worse.” and I was under a lot of pressure. For the last 2 months I have been looking, researching, touring, and furniture shopping for my new house, not to mention the about 7 months previous where I was saving up. I know I shouldn’t take that frustration out on my younger brother, but he was there so i needed to vent. He always did listened to me when i needed to vent. Jeremy was 26 and had a small tan from the summer that just ended, he wore a pair of worn glasses with a tiny crack in the left lens, but it was covered by his dark brown bangs. Along with that, he wore a dark grey t-shirt and a pair of jeans. his outfit was simple, just like him. He was a simple man, worked as a lab tech for a programming company. Even at a young age he was a math genius and dad wanted him to go to college, which he attempts to do once he has enough money. Jacob...he was nothing like that. He was 28 and he had a small farmer's tan from working all summer. That was the norm for him, work, work, work, he loved to work. He had dirty blond hair which stuck straight up adding to his height. He was strict and rarely showed a soft spot, he got that from dad. I also had a little sister named Riley, she was 14 and had semi long blond hair that went a little bit past her shoulders. She had small freckles along her cheeks and across her nose. She was a bubbly person, so young, not aware to her surroundings. Our parents...well… weren’t the best. Our mother was a small and fragile woman. She had pin straight raven black hair, that went down to the bottom of her back. She was the most kind person I knew, she had a huge heart, great morals and a hard worker. She worked as nurse at Henry Ford Hospital, which is where she meet my father when he came in on a stretcher. Now my father was everything my mother wasn’t. He was a very shelled person, strict, stubborn, short tempered. Granted for a short time my mother broke that, enough that she developed feelings for the brute. They got married and had us 4. My mother’s name was Sasha J. Carmichael and sadly, she died 8 years ago. After that, my father’s shelled and short tempered personality returned and all 4 of us got the but of it. My 2 brothers tried their best to protect me and Riley from the storm of swinging punches and swearing, but sometimes, it didn't work. Through my own personal experiences, my father was a brutal man and beat us if we didn’t behave, and most of the time we did, out of fear. Which brings me to myself. It is strange, having to describe yourself to someone who has never seen you. Well let's start as I have earlier. My name is Savanah, I am 22 years old and about 5’ 9. I inherited my mother's long black hair and I inherited my father's striking dark green eyes. My face was as generic as you can think, some say I have some resemblance to Katy Perry, but I don't know. I wore a black plaid shirt with a slightly holey jeans. Now I know what you may be thinking, why am I telling you this? Well as you can clearly tell, my childhood was...spotty to say the least, so even at a young age, I wanted to get out. So I looked for work outside the city, outside the state, hell outside the country! I just wanted out, then I found it. In a small town 55 miles northeast of Detroit. it was just above 3 square miles and had a population of just above 6,000. honestly I had never heard of the town before, it was a town called Edmonton. From what I gathered the town was named after James K. Edmonton who founded the city, along with his 2 brothers Clark and Fenster. It had a famous hotel, and a huge high school, that's all I could find on the town. I applied to work at the high school as a history teacher and they accepted me, and approved me for next year. That was back in march, and now it was late august. I had already found and bought a house there, and all I needed to do was pack up and go. “You know” Jeremy said snapping me back to reality. “We are going to miss you, we all will” he looked around with emphasis. “Not every one” I said raising my eyebrow as I turned to tape my last box. It had some odds and ends stuff like a lamp, some books and...a picture of my mom. I picked it up and looked at it, it was like looking in a mirror. She was so happy in the picture...god how I miss her, and apparently I made it clear cause Jeremy said “we all miss her” I turned to look at him “she would never have admit it” he continued “but you were her favorite” he says giving me the eyes that said ‘you know i'm right’ and, sadly he was. “But hey, what do I know, i'm just a lab tech” he said shrugging turning towards my door. “I'll leave you to it” he walks out closing the door behind him, leaving me in the room. I have stayed in this room since Riley was born and it was Jeremy’s before me. I had decorated the walls with light green paint and the ceiling stayed white. The room was small, not a ton to look at, it had a small 2’ by 3’ closet. The room itself was not immaculate, it was 150 square feet and had a small twin sized bed that stayed in the far right corner of the room. At the end of the bed was a mirror, vanity, and dresser all mixed into one. To the left of the bed was a large area to walk around in, in which I stood. All of this was obviously gone and at the new house. I stood alone, by myself in the nearly empty room. So many memories littered this room, my favorite was the last game of hide and seek we played in here. It was me, my 2 brothers and my friend from school named Samantha. This was 12 years ago mind you, so I was 10 years old, and so was she. Jacob was 16 and Jeremy 14. We played for a bit then Samantha suggested we play “dark hide and seek”, which means you turn off the lights and play, we all agreed saying it would be interesting. Jacob was counting while Jeremy went somewhere, I followed Samantha. We both hid in a closet sitting on our knees facing each other, it was dark, it was quiet, the door was closed. Then Samantha whispered something to me, something I won't soon forget. “Have you ever kissed anyone?” I was absolutely confused, why would she ask me this now of all times, but I didn’t want to argue so I answered with a subtle shake of my head. It was dark but I could make out her face, she was looking straight at me, with her light blue eyes. They were like crystals, staring into my soul. Then she said in a quiet yet suggestive voice “do you want to?”. I shock my head yes and then she smiled devilishly and said “good”, before I could react her lips were on mine. It was my first kiss and honestly, I wasn’t that good. I was sloppy, un-motorized, to put it lightly, i was inexperienced. Her on the other hand was...beautiful...she was graceful, she was soft, she was everything. It lasted for about 30 seconds then it ended as fast as it started when both Jacob and Jeremy wiped open the door. And found us 2 kissing. Both of them looked at us in bewilderment, who wouldn’t? Then they told her to go home, and told my dad what they had seen. After that my dad promptly ended anyone from coming over. It was weird, I saw Samantha at school but it was...different to say the least. We rarely talked after that and didn't really hang out. It was about 3 months before we said more than 5 words to each other and had a full conversation about what happened. The majority of the conversation was her apologizing. At the end of that conversation basically she said she had a crush on me since 3rd grade, 2 years and I never knew. Apparently she had had this planned for a while and that was just the perfect time. “If you hate me, I understand” she said, to which I promptly responded with “you're one of my best friends, how could I hate you?”. “Yea, do you want to say anything?” she responded. I did have a question, but I didn’t ask, it was ‘why do you like me of all people, there are tons of prettier girls.’ But I didn't ask because I wanted to wrap up the conversation quickly. Now that I am older, I want to go back and ask that...what would her response be? I will miss those memories, but I cannot think about that now, I had to move. I closed the box and taped it up and then picked it up. I turned towards the door. The house was a normal 2 floor Dutch Colonial Revival house. I was on the top floor along with my 2 brother’s on either side, Jacobs on the right and Jeremy’s on the left, and across the hall from Jacob’s room was the guest room with Dad’s next to that and Reilly's next to that. At the end of the hall by Jacob’s room was the bathroom and at the other end was the stairs. The down stairs was simple, on the left of the stairs was a wall, the stairs led to the front door. If you turn to the right you reach the living room. There was a large couch in the center in front of the tv, which is where everyone was, except dad of course. If you turn left from the stairs you reach the dining room. With a large oak table and 6 chairs surrounding it, and in the back of the room was an arch door leading to the kitchen that covered the rest of the rectangle that was the first floor. I went out the front door to my dark blue Jeep Cherokee and put the box in the passenger seat. I closed the door and turned back to go into the house. I went back in and went to the living room. Jacob and Jeremy sat on the couch whereas Reilly sat on the floor. I cleared my throat making my presence know. “Well…... this is it” I said kinda monotone. “Bye Savanah!!” Reilly ran up to me and I kneel down and open my arms. She crashes into me so hard I almost fall down. I knew she was going to be the one who missed me the most. I looked at her and said “hey guess what”. She looks up at me smiling her large smile and said in a fast, pipy way “what”. “You get my room now” she gasps “and” I said continuing “Jeremy gets your room for his office.” I look up at him for confirmation. He looks at me and says “yep, now get off of her, I want to say goodbye too”. Reilly frowned and got of and I stood up and went over to the couch. He gets up and hugs me, and whispers in my ear. “We are going to miss you” I whisper back into his ear “I know.” I look over to Jacob who was looking up at us from the couch and reach my hand out for him to join the hug. He smiles and takes it joining the group hug. We go down to our knees so Reilly can join the sibling group hug. Me in the middle broke down and started crying a bit. I pat both Jacob and Jeremy on the back to let go. I reel back and look at them whipping my eyes. “Ok, I got to go” I say going towards the door. I go out and everyone comes out to wave goodbye. I get in and wave to them before closing the door. I started up the car and looked at the 3 in front of the eggshell house. I put it in reverse and the picture gets smaller. I get of the driveway and turn left towards I-75. Now I was of on the 55 minute journey from Detroit to Edmonton. It was relatively quiet. I was alone so I didn't make much noise. I turned on the radio to my favorite radio station to fill the silence. My taste in music was unlike others, Country, I turned it to 95.5 WYCD. They played a new song at the time which was “Fast” by Luke Bryan. He was honestly one of my favorite singers. It was about time moving too fast and how he wished he could slow it down. Me personally thought time didn't move fast enough, the trip to Edmonton was about an hour but felt like 3. I couldn't have imagined that this trip and this was one of the best decisions I have ever made. This hour long trip lead me to my new career, my new life, my best friend and fiance. Now I know you want to know who it is, but I promise you, you will know by the end of this chapter, just be patient. I got to exit 98 and got of. There was a gas station at the end of the rap and a car dealership on the right. Also towering into the sky behind the gas station was a giant radio tower. I turned left onto East Edmonton road and headed towards the town. On the way to the town I passed a huge farm, houses and trees. It was a quiet town, not many people know much about it, except the people who live there. After the houses, I met my new job. It was a huge brick high school with a giant arch in the front along with 2 wings going of on either side. It was a 2 floor school with a large window behind the large brick arch that dominated the front. They were colored yellow so I couldn’t see in. Behind the school’s massive front section, was the parking lot along with I guessed to be the gym, cafeteria along with loads of other stuff. In front of the school was a red horse statue on it's hind legs. The horse was the school's mascot, the Edmonton Devil Horse's. Along with that was a sign saying Edmonton High School in big letters and under it said “classes start back up on Monday September 6th”. I looked at that and thought, 'that's the Monday after next week.’ I was ready, I had what I needed to and was ready to teach those kids things about history. I kept on driving down and ran into more houses, trees and some churchs I went along and passed the old middle school called Edmonton Middle School, it was behind the trees so I couldn't see it all that well. Just a tiny bit further down I saw the elementary school called, you guessed it, Edmonton Elementary. Right next to the school is 2 houses that look extremely similar, just one is pink and the other stone. On both of them on the front right corner was a prominent tower that went up the side. I point these out because I wanted to get one of those houses. I loved the towers, it made it feel like a castle and I was the princess. I always loved fairy tales, my favorite​ was Rapunzel. The storytelling was brilliant, the story was impactful, and the illustrations were excellent. I just wish something like that would happen to me. Yes I am 22 but I've never had a long, lasting relationship. I mean I had a boyfriend in 3rd grade but people say that doesn't count and it was for 5 days before he broke up with me. I realized that I can't really have a relationship due to me being unstable at times, nasty habit i got from my father. Going down more, I pass a lake. In front of the lake was a small white house with a pointed roof and a rickety, old rounded wooden door. In front of the house was a girl, a thin slender women in about her early 20’s. She had short, shiny ginger hair that went down to her shoulders. She had a black and white striped short sleeve shirt on and a pair of slightly worn jeans, along with some blue gloves. She was working on a garden I think, she then looked at me. Her crystal blue eyes stared at my car with a confused look, maybe because I was new. I ignored it turned my head forward and drove on. Then, after 230 feet, I reach my new house. It was a green 2 story victorian house with a large front porch and white columns holding up the roof above it. It had a pretty tall tower jutting out from the center. Next to it was a small 2 floor white box shaped house. I got out and the first thing i saw was a man getting out of a silver Chevy cruze in front of the box. He was wearing a white hollister shirt and a pair of black sweat pants was in his mid 20’s. He was carrying something, i couldn’t make it out. He was about to walk into his house but stopped and looked at me. He smiled and but down the white thing he was carrying. He had a slightly thick 5 o’clock shadow and smiled a warm and welcoming smile. He started walking over to me. He spoke in a slightly rugged, yet smooth voice “Hey, you live here?” he pointed at the house behind me. “Yea, i'm new here” i said in a matter of factly tone. “Oh! Well, i live next door” he pointed back to the box. He turned back to me “oh i'm sorry, where are my manners? I'm Finn” he said holding his hand out. I smile a calm and reserved smile and said in a professional tone “I’m Savanah”. “Well nice to meet you” he paused waiting for a response, and when I didn't give him one he clapped his hands together “welp, I'm going to leave you, if you needed anything... just ask. Everybody knows everybody” he walks back to his house and dispensers into the box. After he left, I heard someone clear their throat. “Ehem” It took me by surprise and I kinda jumped. I turn to see who it was and it was a girl, the girl I saw earlier. After I calmed down she lifted an eyebrow and said “jumpy much?”. I looked at this girl, and I got a better picture of her then when I was in my car. She had a small bridge of freckles going across her nose, and she had deep ocean blue eyes. It was at this point I realized that she was staring at me, analyzing me the same way I did her. “Yeah, kinda...just new town jitters” I said answering her question. She threw her head back slightly with a subtle 'hm’ and turned to the box. “See you meet Finn” she stated “he is nice...calm collected, acts strange at times” she continued. She looked at me “he is right, everybody knows everybody on this street, and everybody has something to say about everybody” I nodded in understandment. “Some people say he is an outlaw hiding, some say he grows drugs, and some say he works for the government” she paused so I could absorb what had been said, before continuing “the only one I believe is that he is gay, but I don't know. So you got a chance” after she said this I went into shock “wait what?” I said and she looked at me “I just moved in, I don't know anyone yet, how could I like him?” She lifted both of her eyebrows up and said “alright then, every Saturday we all come to someone's house to have a party, this week it is mine, come on down and you will meet everyone on the street, ok?” I stood and pondered the idea. It was a few days away, so why not. “Sure, I will come...thank you...uh” I just realized I didn't get her name “oh, Audrey, and you are?”. “Savanah” I said promptly. “Well, you're welcome Savanah” she turned and started down my drive and heading to her house. I could have sworn I saw her smile at me before turning and heading away from my house. Well, my promise is still valid. “You will know who my fiance is by the end” and well, it is the end of the chapter and I hope I didn't disappoint. Now on to chapter 2 and the party.

That is it. No I want you to speculate, critic, repeat. See you when it is done.