A God's Love

Chapter 1

"Adellyna! Let's go." Dad yells at me from downstairs.

"Coming!" I take one last look at the room I've spent my entire life in, and head down to meet my Dad.

He affectionately rubs my head, "It'll be okay kiddo. I know you're bummed about leaving, but we could use a fresh start." Then he mumbles under his breath, "I know I sure can."

Instantly guilt washes through me. My mom, Kathy, had passed away six months ago. Her heart had just failed her. The doctors were baffled. She was young and had no previous medical history. Nothing that could've predicted her heart failure. When she died my Dad took it really hard. He stayed locked up in his room refusing to let anyone in, including me. It took three days just to get him to eat, and a month to leave the house. I couldn't blame him either. He'd just lost his soul mate. No, we're not wolves or vampires, just your everyday average humans.

I believe that every person has one soul mate. One true person who is meant for you. One soul that'll match yours perfectly. Since there are literally billions of humans on earth, it is highly unlikely you will actually find your other half. My Dad was one of the lucky ones who had found his. Their relationship was what books were written about. You could see their love shining through their eyes each time they were near each other. They were the definition of relationship goals, and I can only hope that my future relationship is half as good as theirs.

With that in mind, I vow that I'm going to do my best not to complain about moving. I know he needs out of this house and town. Where everything holds some memory of mom.

Within the last month he's finally come back to his usual self. Well not fully, but at least he's smiling more often now. If he can smile after losing his wife, then I can get through this move without a complaint.

Delos, Florida. My new home. Approximately half days drive form where I grew up.  By the time we finally pull into the driveway, I'm exhausted and ready to collapse on the floor. I do, however, take the time to appreciate our new home. It is a modest two-story blue house. There is a wraparound deck on the ground floor, and the back yard opens up into woods.

Whoever the previous owner was, kept up with the lawn maintenance. The front yard had flowers lining the entire walkway to the door. I have never been much of a flower girl, so I could not give specific names, but I can appreciate the thought and effort that was put into the garden. It had an array of purples, pinks, and reds. With two rose bushes at the end of the sidewalk, close to the front door. There was a little pond in the middle of the yard with a bird bath in the center. Walking over to it I could see tons of little goldfish swimming around it. There were a few lily pads lying in the surface making me wonder if there were any frogs around.

That thought alone had me unconsciously taking a step back. I'm petrified of frogs. It’s an odd fear to have but mine is very well deserved and could be summed up in two words. Childhood trauma. They're vile, disgusting creatures, that are slimy to the touch, and it's almost a guarantee they'll pee on you. They're just creepy creatures in general. That is not even taking into account the freakishly long tongues. There's nothing remotely cute about them. Hand me a spider or a snake and I'm good, but hand me a frog and I'll lose it faster than you can blink. Upon that discovery, I hightailed it into the house and got the surprise of a lifetime. While the outside was your basic run of the mill house, the inside was amazing.

You walk directly into the living room that is furnished with leather recliners and a wraparound couch. The TV was huge, and I mean HUGE! It took up one whole wall and below it was a stand that held an Xbox, PlayStation 3, and a Wii. The opposing wall was made entirely of shelves that held hundreds of movies. From the looks of it, there had to be over a thousand there.

A grand piano was nestled in the corner. It immediately brought tears to my eyes. My Mom was a piano genius. She loved and lived for playing. She could compose the most beautiful music I'd ever heard. She taught me how to play, but I was nowhere near as brilliant as her. I could sight read pretty well, but I was definitely lacking the composing gene.

Unable to continue standing in that room, I walk straight and wind up in the kitchen. Even though I don't know how to cook, I can still appreciate a beautiful kitchen. The counter tops were black granite, and the major appliances were all stainless steel. The minor appliances (toaster, coffee machine, etc.) were a bright orange, my favorite color.

I make my way up the stairs and pass an empty room which will probably wind up being Dad's room. The bathroom is next to it, and there're two more doors adjacent to each other at the end of the hall. The one on the left is pretty small, so I'm guessing it's going to be an office. The room in the right is a decent size and faces the back yard. The carpet is an off white and three walls are painted black. The accent wall is painted a bright orange. There's a door leading outside to a small balcony.

One of the two remaining doors leads into a spacious walk in closet. I don't even own enough clothes to fill half of it! That's not even counting the shoe rack that takes up the whole back wall. I own four pairs of shoes. My flops, a pair of flats, my DC's, and my personal favorite, my cowboy boots.

The final door leads into my own personal heaven. The bathroom has a jacuzzi, a separate stand up shower, and obviously a toilet. I'm practically foaming at the mouth just thinking about my bath tonight.

"Lyna have you checked out the basement?" Dad hollered.

"The basement? What's in the basement?" I ask.

Dad sighs, "Just go look. It's my surprise and gift to you for being so cooperative with this move."

"Oh, okay." I head down the stairs, and instantly decided that this was my favorite room in the house.

I squeal then turn to hug my Dad. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

I turn around to face my dance studio and smile. Every inch of wall is covered with mirrors, and there's a pole running the length of two walls. I notice the room has a built-in surround sound and a dock for my iPod. If I were not so exhausted, I would dance right now. I'm what most people refer to as a triple threat. I can sing, dance, and do gymnastics.

My mom signed me up for lessons for all three when I was little and insisted, I keep them up. She was hoping I'd be able to get a good scholarship from at least one of the three. It was a tough childhood, but I knew she only wanted the best for me.

My favorite by far was singing and dancing. My Mom always said that I had the voice an angel. There were several occasions she had dried tear tracks when I finished. I kept up with all of them until my Mom died. Once Mom died, I stopped singing and playing the piano. I used dancing to express myself and gymnastics to exhaust myself. I could easily lose myself in dancing and it really helps me relieve stress when I'm drowning in emotion.

I take one last longing glance at the studio, then head up for dinner. We ended up going the easy route and ordered pizza.

"Dad, you know you can have the master bedroom if you want to. You are paying the bills after all." I tell him. I feel bad that he gave me the master suite.

"I want you to have it. You deserve it. Plus, I really don't need all that space. I'm fine with the room down the hall." He assures me.

"Okay, if you're sure." I raise my eyebrow wanting to double check.

"I'm sure. So, are you excited to start at your new school tomorrow?" He asks.

"I guess. I'm nervous though. What if I am really different from them? I mean we are from Kansas. It's so different than Florida." I admit.

"You'll be fine. I've never met a single person you couldn't charm." He pats my arm then stands up. "Well I think it's time we get to bed. We've got an early start tomorrow."

Laying down I couldn't help but worry. What if things were different here? What if I didn’t fit in and I was forever labeled as the hick from a small town? Trying not to allow myself to wallow in the what ifs, I decide to just go with the flow. I will not change my entire personality, but I will make an attempt to semi fit in.