Together, they grabbed a luggage cart to convey all of her bags as she let the man push them to the back of his car.
While he went to drop off the cart, she heaved the bags into the trunk of the vehicle and then shut it.
The car was soon set in motion and winded out of the airport road before linking to the main road leading to various places including Oakville.
She sat in the back seat not out of disregard for the older driver but because she wanted to avoid any form of conversation.
She needed silence to smother her before the thoughts buzzing around in her head drowned her first.
Trees wheezed past as she let her head loll over to the side, touching the window.
There was a sinking feeling deep in her gut that her life was about to take a dramatic turn following her return to this small town where her life began, where she left, and where she was going to live for the next few months... Or more.
Octavia took another curious look at the views of tall business buildings as the car navigated along a bride that she knew wasn't there in the past.
Her map pointed out that they had just left the federal road and were now heading to pine areas.
Finally.
She opened her phone to text someone but realized she didn't have many friends except the one person she barely tolerated, Talia Mallory, the diva during her days at the university.
Talia might have been clingy during those days but she did know how to not let anyone intimidate or walk over her.
A few of the traits which Octavia admired about her. Every other trait which took up the greater eighty-five percent of Talia's brain were disgusting things that shouldn't even be let to see the sunlight.
She tucked her phone out of her sight before she did something she would otherwise regret.
The driver spared a glimpse at her through the rearview mirror as she laid her head against the headrest of her seat.
She looked exhausted and it was not because of the posture she took. The lines showed on her face, exposing every tiredness she had tried to mask with makeup.
That was not the main thing that caught his attention. He noticed a familiar glow in her aura like one who was... She didn't smell like them but still, was it possible?
Before her eyes caught his, he looked away facing the road but with an intention to investigate further.
After driving through many winding turns, Octavia saw her old home peek out from behind the tall pine trees which masked the cabin from the rude stares of intruders.
Just a few kilometers closer and she would alight the car.
More than a few times, she had caught the driver throwing a funny glance at her from the front and it made her feel queasy.
If she bore a familiar semblance to someone he knew, he would have spoken up but it was more than that. The gaze was like one who knew her.
At long last, the car pulled to a stop, giving her a chance to step out of the suffocating atmosphere in the car and put a safe distance between them both in case he wanted to try something funny.
The man stepped out of the car as well as his lips widened in surprise at the sight of the house. It might have an old structure but was a beauty to behold.
Even Octavia had to toss a brief look behind her to be sure what he was gaping at.
"You live here alone?" His jaw was still kissing the floor in astonishment.
Octavia's attention was drawn back to the man. The admiration she saw on his face kicked against her protective instincts to reply in the negative.
Instead, she opened her mouth in a brag. "Looks pretty good, right? It was my parents' but they're gone." She rambled off some more, "Although it's mine and my sister's now, I'll be having it all to myself."
"I'm sure you'll throw a lot of banging parties here. There's space enough for it." He said before venturing off to open his car's trunk for her bags.
She remained still, listening to him speak as though reminiscing.
"When I was younger, I used to party like you all the time. We were wild and unstoppable but as we grew older, we understood that it couldn't remain the same way all the time. Things had to change."
By now, he was standing in front of Octavia but she didn't notice immediately.
She quickly put some distance between them when she came to. Seeing her bags at her feet, she started to rummage through her purse for a couple of notes to hand to him. "Um, thanks for driving me here."
He waved her off, walking back to his car. "I did something I would have done for my daughter. You were great company in the vehicle anyway. Welcome to Oakville."
The car's engine hummed to life before the man sent a friendly wave and then drove out of her sight.
Shaking her head at his friendliness, she started to carry her bags so she could place them on the porch of the house.
Oakville had always been a small, sparsely populated town with people who knew each other as though they were relatives, so the driver's show of hospitality didn't faze her.
After successfully moving her things to the front door, she discovered the door was locked which wasn't supposed to be. Wasn't Janice the one who had asked her to come here herself?
After some minutes of waiting, an idea clicked in her head, funny as it was but she decided to try it even though it had been a decade since she did it.
She walked to the side of the house and above her was an old pigeon hole that used to be inhabited by actual pigeons.
Looking around, there was nothing sturdy enough that she could use to lift herself to check if the spare key was in there.
She found an old stool sat nearby and she grabbed that, hoping to avoid broken limbs as she adjusted her weight on it.
Luckily for her, she found the key amidst the flaky and dusty excretes of the former dwellers.
Her father used to keep the key in there with the pigeons so whenever they got back from school without meeting them, she would have to climb onto the shoulders of Janice who in turn would climb onto a stool so that Octavia would grab the key.
All that was before Janice started chasing after the limelight, leaving her behind.
She inserted the key into the keyhole, twisting it to the left twice. It gave two clicks which was all the signal she needed to open the door.
Inside was dark but there was no musty smell as she had imagined. Something felt odd. Quickly, she fumbled for the light switch to have it turned on so she could take a look at the living room. "Where is the stupid sw--"
"Welcome home, Octavia!" Voices in the dark startled the living daylights out of her.
What the--
The light turned on almost blinding her in the process. She shrieked placing a hand over her eyes as she tripped over her bags and went spiralling to the cold floor.
She raised her head sending a not-so-pleased look in the direction of her sister, Janice.
"What was that--" The rest of her words were swallowed up when Janice engulfed her in a bone-crushing hug, taking Octavia by surprise.
"Welcome home, Octavia." It was Quincy, standing next to his fiancee, looking impeccable in his button-down shirt which was folded up to his elbows.
He looked like he just got pulled out of work for this but he didn't look like he wanted to be anywhere but here.
Octavia shrugged out of Janice's hold. Not like she didn't like hugs but one from her sister made her cringe.
How long had it been since Janice showed her such affection? Very long.
With glee, of course, she walked into the open arms of Quincy, resisting the overwhelming urge not to try to swing his large frame around like she used to when she was younger.
Octavia finally felt welcomed as she allowed the feeling of nostalgia which she had been avoiding, to sweep over her in waves.