Colin pov
I had yet to figure out when Poppy Williams realized that she hated me. It was probably from the first moment we met.
My dad and I had just moved to St. Augustine from North Carolina. We moved in order to get away from the mad rush in the city and breathe some fresh air not filled with all of that city smog. It was a chance for us to start afresh and heal. At least that's what my dad says.
Heal. It was such a stupid word. There was no such thing as healing. You only get better at convincing yourself and others that you are ok.
I would have believed him if this move did not conveniently coincide with what happened to our family recently. To be more specific, my mom had cheated on him with his best friend, who also happened to be our school's basketball coach.
After their divorce, my dad was amazing at pretending. He was all bright smiles when friends and family came over but he would cry himself to sleep when he thought no one was listening. He's been through a lot and I didn't want to hurt him any further so that's why I agreed to move with him. Plus, I couldn't stand the sight of my mom.
My dad seemed sorry though that I was living behind my old life and friends. Not like I had a life. Or even friends.
My dad was driving and he was rambling on about his usual nonsense that I had shamefully stopped listening to a while ago. We just passed a building which had the words 'Welcome to St. Augustine. Founded in 1565,' written on the milky walls which showed that we had just arrived at the city's entrance. The sides of the road were covered with nothing but trees and shrubs.
New life. New me.
"Ethan, are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" My dad asked from the driver's seat laughing as he looked at me through the rear view mirror.
"Uh yeah. You were saying how much I was going to love it here?" I said, hoping to God that that was still the topic of conversation.
St. Augustine. Even the name sounded lame.
"I knew you weren't listening. For the record, I stopped talking about that about fifteen minutes ago. " he said.
I felt guilty because I knew that he was trying his best. "Sorry dad. I just got lost in my mind. What were you saying?" I asked politely.
I had promised myself that I would be kinder to my dad after everything, but it seemed like I was already failing at that.
"I was just talking about how excited you must be to make new friends here and maybe even get yourself a girlfriend. I heard homecoming and prom is actually kind of a big deal here." He winked at me through the rearview mirror.
I wasn't about to mention the fact that I wasn't ecstatic about starting the eleventh grade in a no name town, especially when it was so close to senior year. Or that I just broke up recently with a girlfriend he never knew I had.
After everything that had happened, I am done with relationships.
"Yeah. I can't wait. It's all very exciting. " I struggled to place enthusiasm in my voice but he didn't seem to buy that.
"Besides, I am not planning on making friends here." I said.
His eyebrows furrowed together in concern. "Why on earth wouldn't you want friends? You had tons of friends in your old school."
I snorted. I actually did have ton of friends. Or at least, I thought that's what they were. "That was then. It's a new life and a new me. And besides I've got Roger." I said as I gestured over to our golden retriever sleeping soundly at my side.
"Colin, don't be ridiculous." he laughed. "Your social life can't revolve around a dog."
"And why not?" I asked.
"Because he's a dog!" he exclaimed.
"That's hardly any reason for you to discriminate." I argued. "They are called man's best friend for a reason. Aren't you old boy?" I rubbed the back of his ears. "Besides, we have been having a great time together recently. We have been watching all the movies in the marvel universe in order. We just finished Guardians of the galaxy part two and now we are about to start Spiderman: Homecoming. I don't know about him but I'm hooked."
He said softly. "I know you're going to make lots of friends here. You're a good kid."
I scoffed." That was not what the guidance counselor said when I punched Timmy in the face." I argued immediately.
He lets out a heavy sigh. "What did happen between you too? You used to be best friends?"
I shrug. "Like I told you, we have been drifting apart these few years and I caught him talking shit- sorry dad- saying bad stuff about me. That's the truth." Well, at least the half of it. My breaking point was when I discovered accidentally that he was sleeping with my girlfriend behind my back and my other 'friends' knew but didn't tell me.
Then I overheard him calling my mom a slut. We may not be on talking terms right now, but she was still my mom. Timmy had no right to do that. I guess betrayal was the fate of the Parker men after all.
My dad shook his head. "Whatever you say big guy. But I do hope you would give this town a chance. At least for me?" he gives me that his pleading look and I knew I couldn't say no.
I looked outside the car window, watching the trees that seem to disappear in a blur as we move through the road.
"Ok dad. I'll try." I said.
***
We finally got to our new home after what seemed like an eternity. My dad parked our car in the driveway. It was afternoon and the sun was out in full blast.
"So what do you think? Not bad huh?" he asked, smiling proudly.
"The house seems nice." I said as I came down from the vehicle. I'll have to admit, the house was pretty great.
At least it was a step up from the apartment we used to live in. My dad worked as a freelance software developer and after my parents' divorce, he landed a major deal that gave him a lot of money. Coincidentally, a firm had an opening (with great benefits he said), so we moved here.
"Come on. I know you love it." He laughed.
It was a two story house made of brick walls painted with white, with a well maintained lawn. I could see a small balcony too. "Why is the lawn still green?"
"The previous owners just moved out recently. I got it at such a great price, it was literally free. "Come on Roger." My dad signaled the dog to come down from the vehicle.
"Do you want me to give you a tour?" he asked.
"Nah. I am thinking of going into town for a bit and check it out. Besides, the moving company isn't here yet." I said.
He looked at his phone. "I wonder what is taking them so long. Maybe I should call?"
My stomach growled. "You do that and Roger and I are going to look for something to eat. I am so hungry right now." I said grabbing his leash.
"Already exploring huh?" he beamed. "It is good seeing you proactive. I told you this was going to be great for us."
"Yeah. Sure. Later." I'm not sure if he was trying to convince himself or me about that. All I knew was that I was hungry.
What I didn't know was I'd be meeting Poppy for the first time in an encounter that would change our lives.