Before you go.

Introduction: Epilogue.

(AUTHORS NOTE: This “chapter” is more of an epilouge to get to know the two main characters, it’s not an official chapter, and shouldn’t be considered as one. I apologise for any spelling mistakes, as I am not a professional author.)

Thank you for reading “Before you go” please enjoy the story. ♥️

HAZEL’S POV:

I could feel the warm sunrays illuminating my face through the cracks of the curtain, it’s golden glow painting light throughout the walls of my bedroom. Everything was so quiet, so peaceful. Even the birds weren’t up yet. I rolled over onto my back and grabbed my phone, today’s the day, my first day of senior year!

“HAZEL, MOM SAID YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF BED!” My silence is suddenly interrupted when my little brother, Andrew, comes barrelling into the room.

“Andrew! Get out!” Andrew gives me a frown and leaves the room hurriedly, any ounce of peace I once had is now erased with him bounding through the hallway. I wait until his footsteps fade away and get out of bed. I walk over to the mirror in the corner of my room and stare into it. I couldn’t believe that this was the very last “first day” I’d ever have at high school. I throw on my uniform and head downstairs, Andrew is still happily yapping about while my mom stands at the stove cooking pancakes.

“Morning mom.” She looks up at me with a smile and points towards a plate set on the counter.

“Good morning honey, I’ve already set out a plate of pancakes for you.” I give her a nod of thanks and sit down at the counter. The sweet smell of pancakes and maple syrup instantly fill my nose. It’s silent for a moment, with only the sound of my cutlery scraping the plate as I eat in silence. That is until Andrew comes running into the kitchen.

“Mooom, I want pancakes too!” He pouts at mom and she just laughs and ruffles his hair.

“They’re cooking right now champ, go take a seat next to your sister.” Andrew’s face lights up and he practically jumps into the chair next to me. I finish my pancakes and wash up my plate while Andrew is served his pancakes.

“Hey mom, where’s dad? He said he’d drive me to my first day of school.” Mom sighs and turns off the stove, she drops the pan into the sink and turns to rest a hand on my shoulder.

“I’m sorry honey, he had to run into work a bit earlier today.” My heart dropped at the sound of her words; my dad had been at every single first day of school I’ve ever had. Mom notices the look on my face and pulls me into a hug, she strokes my hair the way she did when I was a kid.

“He promised a surprise for you after school though, and besides… I can drop you off?” I give a slight smile and pull away from my mom, she looks at me sadly before turning to the clock.

“Oh crap, we’re going to be late! Get into the car kids!” Andrew and I quickly grab our bags and rush to the car, mom following quickly between us.

The drive to school isn’t as long as I thought it’d be, but I suppose it was probably also my nerves and excitement dying for me to get to school. Mom pulls into the carpark and turns to me; she smiles and caresses my cheek.

“My baby, you’re all grown up.” I feel my cheeks redden and quickly push her hand away, then look around frantically to make sure nobody saw what had happened.

“Mom! My friends could’ve seen that!” Mom just laughs and ruffles my hair. I smile and wrap her into a hug, she gasps but leans into it.

“Bye mom, I’ll see you this afternoon?” She nods and hands me my bag.

“Have a wonderful day sweetie.” I smile and jump out of the car. I wait a minute for her car to be out of view before turning and heading into the school.

Today was going to be a good day, I could feel it.

– LUCA’S POV:

I woke up to a silent house. Even the birds were quiet. It was so weird, I guess I had gotten used to waking up to my mom blasting music every morning. I groaned and sat up, my curtains were firmly drawn shut, but I could still see just a sprinkle of the sun pouring in underneath them. I got out of bed and trudged down the hallway, old family photos were hanging lifelessly along the walls just as they were every other morning.

I walked into the kitchen to find it dead silent, lying on the counter was a note from mom asking me to call her when I woke up. I picked up my phone from my pocket and dialled her number, it rung for a few moments before she answered.

“Hey honey! I’m sorry I couldn’t drop you off to school, I had to run off to work early.” I could hear chattering around the background and assumed she must be in a meeting.

“It’s fine mom. I’ll just walk to school this morning.” I could hear a sigh of relief on the other end of the phone before she answered.

“Thank you honey. I promise I’ll make it up for you when I’m done work. I love you!” I quickly hung up the phone and looked out the window. I guess I’m on my own for today.

I quickly got dressed, ate, and made my way out the house. I had to be quick if I wanted to make it to school on time.

The breeze was a bit chilly, so I pulled my jacket further up my shoulders and snuggled into it. This surely wasn’t the most ideal first day of senior year. I stopped in front of the road and waited for the traffic to pass by, suddenly I heard somebody calling my name.

“Lucas, Lucas!” I looked up and saw my football mate Erik, running towards me.

“Hey man, how are you?” He slung an arm around my shoulder, which I quickly shrugged off. He gave me a confused look before taking a few steps back.

“Hey Erik, sorry I don’t have time to chat, I have to get to school on time.” I started making my way across the road while Erik followed close behind.

“Hey, me too! Why don’t we walk together?” I sighed and sped up my walking pace in an attempt to lose Erik, but to no avail, he kept up with me.

“I guess so…” Erik’s face lit up and he slung an arm around my shoulder again, today was going to be a horrible day, I could feel it.