Home Sweet Home - Chapter 1 of Seedling

“Justin, are you paying attention?” asked my mum. She had been going on about what I would do when I got to father number four’s house but I knew it all. I’d gone through it four times already. Mum was becoming a sort of pro at this whole marriage thing now. Her recent ex-husband had moved to Alton a year ago and had been busy preparing for my arrival. I sighed.

“Mum, I’ve been put through the plan enough times to be able to recite it off by heart. I could probably tell it to you in my sleep,” I said. The plan being so simple that a two year old could recite it with no problem.

“Go through it.” I raised an eyebrow, to which she merely gave me a look. I sighed.

“When I get there, I’ll unpack, have something to eat and then call you to tell you what’s happened so far. After two months, I should email you to say how it’s going and if I don’t like it then I’ll move back in with you.” She nodded approvingly, nerves apparently somewhat lessened. “When’s Ant coming over?”

“Tomorrow afternoon. He’s bringing a load of stuff from the old house.” I nodded absentmindedly. Father number four was Ethan Henley, an instructor at the gym and a great guy in my opinion. Him and mum had got married when I was fourteen, and I am now sixteen. They had parted on good terms but whole thing irritated me. They had seemed like the perfect couple but apparently things had become stale and so eventually they got a divorce. I was just glad that Ant was coming to keep me company. I probably would be against the idea of going to such a small town if Ant hadn’t said that he’d come too.

We were nearing the end of our journey when I realised that I’d fallen asleep. Mum grinned at me. I grinned back, knowing that she didn’t want to wake me up, which was sweet of her in a way.

“Your frame is in the back, along with your electric and manual wheelchairs,” she said. I quickly glanced back, as if to make sure that she was telling the truth, and smiled. She was. “And let me tell you, it wasn’t very easy! I thought I was going to do my back in by the time I got the manual in.” I chuckled a little at that statement. I then thought about Alton and how suddenly boring the town seemed. There wasn’t much to do in Alton and there were loads of old people there. I sighed and looked to the front to see the sign saying ‘Alton 4 miles’. Nearly home – sort of, I thought.

Ethan greeted us at the front of the house and helped mum take the stuff inside. He then hugged me and said how good it was to see me. He and mum then spoke idly while I whizzed around in my electric wheelchair.

“How are things, Patricia?” I heard him say. Things were good between them now so there shouldn’t be any arguing involved but I always seemed to be wrong. Before long, I could hear raised voices and frowned. Why did this have to happen all the time? I sped along to where the living room was.

“God, you guys are loud! Could you be any louder?” This seemed to shut them up. They knew I hated it when they argued but somehow, that never seemed to bother them. It was like they liked arguing for the hell of it. “So, what’s for lunch, Ethan?” Ethan quickly looked to my mum, who was pretending to inspect the vases, and then left. Once he was gone I cleared my throat and gave my mum a meaningful look. “You promised, remember? Please don’t spoil it.” She sighed and came to sit by me.

“I know, sorry. It’s just that he makes me so angry sometimes,” she sighed. Ethan came back and smiled at me.

“We’re having chicken korma tonight,” he said. “And don’t worry; we’ll be working on your independence every day so that you can feel more relaxed around here and feel more independent. I’ve also enrolled you and Ant at Alton College. You’ll be starting on Monday. I don’t see the point in going in for just three days. Unless, you want to, that is.”

“No, no, Monday’s fine thanks Ethan,” I said. Ethan chuckled. Mum checked the time on her wrist watch. “Need to get back, mum?”

“Sorry love,” she said. “Have a ton of errands to do. Need to start thinking about packing too.” I knew what she was doing and that irritated me to no end. I wished that they would just get along. It would make me that much happier.

Once mum had gone and Ethan had helped me unpack my stuff, we went for a walk around Alton. I’d been to Alton once before, four months after mum and Ethan had divorced. There wasn’t much in Alton so my free time here would be limited. Alton only had a coffee house, several pubs and the College. Going to the pub was something that kids my age were renowned for doing and I thought that Ethan might expect me to do the same but to be honest; I just didn’t see the point of getting drunk almost every night. We sat on a bench and surveyed the town. I then studied Ethan’s appearance, realising how long it had been since I’d last seen him. The mop of sand-coloured hair was the same as it was always: long and very neatly kept. He usually had a hair band in to keep it from blowing into his face but today he had it unbound. Aquamarine eyes stared out at the town and there were tell tale signs of aging. Wrinkles adorned the sides of his eyes and the skin seemed a little bit tighter than it had back then. Overall, I viewed Ethan as still being handsome enough to get a girlfriend if he wanted one. His posture was relaxed and I noticed that he wore his gym clothes, which were a plain blue t-shirt and combat shorts with black trainers. He saw me staring.

“What’s up, Justin?” he asked, turning his head to face me. I grinned and turned away.

“Nothing. Just forgot how long it’s been,” I said. He nodded in agreement. We sat in silence, content to sit and listen to our thoughts. Then a sound broke the silence and we turned to see a girl around my age walking past, engrossed in conversation on a mobile to someone. I examined her more carefully and two words that came to mind were Kristen Bell. She stopped abruptly, shut the lid and looked at us.

“Oh hi, Ethan,” she said. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is Justin, my ex-wife’s son. He’s moving in with me with his twin. Justin, this is Arya Jansen,” said Ethan warmly. I was surprised that he sounded so casual about it. Like he didn’t care whether I was his real son or not. I smiled a greeting, to which she smiled back.

“Nice to meet you, Justin,” she said, extending her hand out for a shake. I shook it and smiled again. Her ocean-blue eyes roved about my appearance, taking in every little minute detail. The wind picked up and strands of straw-coloured hair flew out, trying to mask her face. Our hands withdrew from each other and she managed to pull her hair behind her left ear. Her phone vibrated and she gracefully swung the phone face in her direction. “Well, I have to go but see you around, Justin.” Before I could utter a sound she was gone. Ethan chuckled.

“Come on, champ, let’s go home. You look cold.”

The next day, Ant text me saying that he would be home soon, which brought a smile to my lips. Ethan had gone to the gym early, leaving a plate of left-over korma and a banana in the fridge. I got out of bed and examined myself in the mirror. I wasn’t entirely satisfied with what I saw. Chocolate brown eyes stared back and I smiled approvingly. I was suddenly reassured. A sound emanated from my phone, which made me jump and brought me out of my self inspection. It was a text from Ant. He was at the train station. My hands flew over the buttons as I told Ethan.

Hi Ethan,

Ant is here at the train station so am going to meet him there.

See you later,

Justin x

I quickly got dressed, throwing on what I had worn yesterday, got in my electric and sped to the train station. Luckily Ethan had a copy of the house key made for me so me and Ant wouldn’t have to wait long to get inside the house.

Ant’s huge frame sat on a bench with three bags full of stuff that he had brought from the old house. He showed me his pearly whites when he saw me. We embraced and then laughed.

“I really-“

“Me too,” said Ant, cutting me off. He did that most of the time. It made me smile. I did it too of course. It was a twin thing. Ant passed me one of the bags, putting it on my lap whilst he carried the other two. A nearby girl gasped at Ant’s physique, which made him smirk. I scowled when things like this happened.

“Like what you see?” he said which made my scowl deepen. It took me a minute to realise what he was doing and I smiled. The girl nodded; stunned that someone as handsome as Ant had spoken to her.”Well, sorry to disappoint but not interested.” She frowned and stalked off. We then laughed and then went home. I helped Ant unpack and we then ate the left-over korma. I then had the banana so that Ethan wouldn’t moan at me for not eating it. Ethan sent me a message on the mobile, which I read aloud.

Tell Ant welcome home. I’ll be home at five-thirty. Have fun.

Ethan x

Ant and I went to the park where he helped me walk independently. I didn’t have very good balance and so wanted to build that up so that I could then start working on my walking. I fell over more than once but Ant was always there, ready to catch me. I felt happy. Once I’d had enough of the exercise, we stretched out on the grass, my wheelchair being nearby in case I wanted to go back home early.

“What have you been put down to do at Alton College?” I asked, enjoying the warm rays of the sun.

“PE and Engineering AS Level. You?” Ant had his arms outstretched, and I could feel the tips of his hands touch the side of my head.

“As far I know, AS Drama. Ethan hasn’t really told me what’s happening regarding that issue,” I sighed. The sun was beating down on us and I was suddenly glad we hadn’t chosen to stay inside. I felt sorry for Ethan; he was working inside the gym. Unless he was doing swimming practice outside, in which case I’d be glad that he’d be getting a tan – or sunburn depending on how easily he burned. Then a sound alerted us to where my wheelchair was. A boy five years younger than us was trying to make off with my chair.

“Hey!” yelled Ant, already getting up. “Get out of there now!” However, the boy merely laughed, made a rude gesture and drove off. Ant made an angry noise and threw me onto his back. He then charged towards the boy, with me clinging on for dear life. A flash of mingled yellow and white streaked past us and I gazed to see a familiar person speeding in front of us. What happened next sent shockwaves around my body. Arya leapt off the ground and knocked the boy out of the wheelchair. She then flung herself on the dazed youth, pinning him to the ground, and snarled. Ant got to where she was and set me down in my chair before going over.

“What business did you have stealing an electric wheelchair?” growled Arya, her face marred by rage.

“Arya, it’s alright. No one got hurt,” my mouth managed to say but she ignored me, her focus fixated on the terrified kid.

“I-I’m sorry. The guy wasn’t in it and I wanted to see what it was like,” stammered the boy. Arya growled, clearly not satisfied with the answer. Ant crouched next to her and looked at the boy, unhappy by the events that had so recently transpired.

“So you decided to steal a helpless boy’s means of transport all because of your selfishness!” said Ant, making the boy flinch.

“I’m not helpless!” I snapped, irritated by my brother’s remark. Ant winced and then gave me an apologetic look. Arya looked up, as if just noticing that I was there. She looked at me with an unreadable expression and returned her gaze on the boy.

“I-I’m s-s-sorry. I-I w-w-won’t do it again.”

“Apologise to Justin, not us!” I allowed myself the briefest of smirks before composing my face and then realising that people were staring at us.

“Arya, get off the boy. People are staring,” I said. She ignored me, battling with some inner turmoil. “Arya!” She snorted and then slid off the boy. The frightened kid got up, gave a stuttered apology to me and then dashed off. Arya looked at me and then beamed her pearly whites at me. I then took the chance to see what she was wearing. A loose white t-shirt lay crumpled on her body while black leggings and white trainers clung to her legs and feet. Like before, her straw-coloured hair was unbound. I found myself smiling at her.

“Thanks for the help,” I sighed. She produced another dazzling smile. A cough erupted from beside me, which made me jump. Ant was standing there, with his left hand on the handle bar of my wheelchair. “Oh, sorry. Ant, this is Arya. Arya, this is my twin brother, Ant. He’s living with me and Ethan.” The two eyed each other up before they smiled.

“Nice to meet you, Ant,” she said.

“You too. Thanks for what you just did.” Arya shrugged.

“Was no biggie. I wanted to help out a friend,” she said. “See you guys later.” The Kristen Bell look-alike dashed off before I could say anything else.

“Is she always like that?” asked Ant, clearly surprised. I shrugged and sighed.

“Come on, let’s go. It’s starting to get a little bit nippy,” I said, to which Ant nodded.

For the next two days, I hung out with Ant. We worked on my balance and played on the X-Box. Ethan tried to come home early but it wasn’t always easy. Sometimes someone made a late booking. On the third night Ethan had managed to get off work easily, which made me and Ant happy.

“Glad that you could get off work early, Ethan,” said Ant, after shovelling a forkful of spaghetti into his mouth. Ethan smiled and chuckled.

“Hey, I was thinking of taking you rock climbing over the weekend. It’s Friday today and we can always buy your stuff before College. Your classes don’t start until the afternoon anyway. What do you think?” he said. Me and Ant looked at each other and grinned. We knew what the other one was thinking. It was a weekend with Ethan, it’d be fun and best of all, we’d be out of crummy Alton.

“We’re in!” we cried, which made Ethan belt out in full-blown laughter. That night, Ant and I decided to go out, since it was the first time that we had actually been together for quite a while. We invited Ethan along, since we wanted to have a fun time with him, to which he accepted. We got ready, helping each other on with clothes and cologne choices. When we were ready, we went to the Market Square. A group of men smiled and called to Ethan when they saw him. Ethan laughed and then put the lift away. He then introduced us to his friends. They were all from the gym and all fit and muscular. Ethan soon let us go off by ourselves. We didn’t go far. Just to The WheatSheaf while Ethan and his friends were at another pub called The Market. Ant caught the attention of most of the girls there and I knew that he’d have a flock of girls after him soon enough. Typical! He got the cute girls while I got nothing! Sometimes, it felt so unfair that I had to get the crummy bits while Ant was....well in a sense, perfect! I sighed and looked away. We went to a bench nearest to the door with a ramp and got a double vodka and coke. Ant paid for us, he had insisted and I didn’t want to seem rude. I was just glad that Ethan seemed to be enjoying himself. I looked to where he was and noticed a man with olive skin, gazing up at me. My face broke into a smile but that didn’t seem to lighten his mood. A thud returned my attention to where Ant was. He had brought the glass with a straw, to which I smiled at him in gratitude. I slurped some of the drink down and then me and Ant surveyed the talent around us.

“What about her? She’s quite nice. Nice bum!” he said. I shook my head and wrinkled my nose in disgust at a pretty brunette in a black tank top.

“What about her? Quite pretty, petite.”

“Na-uh. Too tall. I’m not that tall, Ant!”

“Her? Oh, how about her? She looks like she’d be fun to be with.” Ant just had no standards. I could see now why girls just threw themselves at him.

“Standards, bro. Oooo, she looks nice!” I said, nodding to a beautiful red-head in a navy blue strappy top with a denim mini-skirt. Ant grinned and nodded his approval.

“Now we’re talking.” The burly boy rose from his seat and stalked off to where the girl was. I saw him talk to her and for once, a girl seemed unaffected by my brother’s good looks and bulkiness. She looked in my direction and flashed me a smile and I flashed a smile back. I was stunned. Ant had managed to find me a girl and not mess it up for once. I looked to where Ethan was and saw him looking at me. Okay, this was just plain weird. First, one of his friends staring at me, then a redhead girl had stared at me and now Ethan was doing it. Was there something on my face? Quickly I touched my face but there was nothing there. So why was everyone staring at me then?

“Hey, you must be Justin,” a voice said. The sound was like a finely-tuned harp that could send anyone to sleep. I turned to see the redhead with Ant. I nodded dumbly and took my chance to examine her appearance. Jade green eyes stared at me warmly, which were framed by a mane of fiery-red hair. Apple-red lips were plastered into a smile that revealed cute dimples. Her face showed nothing but the utmost kindness and warmth. Her navy blue strappy-top and denim mini-skirt exposed her curvy figure. Yep, I had chosen right. She sat down next to Ant and seemed to ignore him and locked her gaze on mine. I struggled to find my voice and worked frantically to retrieve it. Ant helped me along.

“We’ve just moved here a few days ago. Justin’s been here longer than me though, isn’t that right, Justin?”

“Yea, that’s right,” came the reply finally. The girl laughed, which caused me to think of wind chimes. “What’s your name?”

“Zinnia. Friends call me Zins or Z,” said the harp-like voice. “You can call me whatever.” I produced a smile, which brought on the wind chime-like laugh and dimples. “Relax Justin. I’m not going to bite you!” I slumped my shoulder, and fell into a more relaxed posture.

“I think I’ll leave you two alone,” said Ant, getting up. He carried his drink with him and immediately set his sights for a beautiful blonde, leaving us alone. I could feel Ethan’s eyes on me but chose to ignore their scrutinised inspection of the scene.

“So Z...come here often?” I heard myself say, to which my face turned red. Zinnia laughed. “Sorry, that was cheesy.”

“No, cheesy’s good. Carry on, it’s fun watching you trying to flirt with me.” Not good. That meant I’m having fun watching you squirm. I smirked.

“So, I guess the phrase, ‘what’s a girl like you doing in a place like this’ wouldn’t do it then?” Again, the wind chime laugh. She then bent over and kissed me on the cheek, taking in my cologne. It was Lynx: Chocolate Temptation. I gaped in amazement. There was no way that a girl like her could like a guy like me!

“That might work. Personally, I prefer the subtle flirting i.e. the hand on leg thing etc.” Thoughts whirled in my mind. This shouldn’t be happening. Over the course of the next two hours we talked and got to know each other. Zinnia was from Petersfield but came down to Alton to attend the college and see friends whenever she came down. Ethan called me, to which I found myself disappointed. I wanted to stay with the beautiful redhead that had captivated me. I also found myself dizzy and couldn’t concentrate on driving. Ethan had to get two of his friends to help me into the car.

“Why are there like, seven of you?” I asked, words slurred. One of the men said something but my brain was so addled that I couldn’t understand what he had said. Everything went black and images flashed in my head, unaware of their true meaning. I was sitting in a wood, surrounded by trees, which in turn was surrounded by mist. A dark shape appeared out of the woods. It took me a moment to realise that it was a wolf. Oddly enough, I didn’t feel afraid, like how a normal person should. The wolf came up and licked my face before looking at me. It was a she, I felt certain of that. We stared each other down before, in the end, she retreated back into the mist.

Justin, I’ll be watching you....