CHAPTER 2

They pulled up to the house around 1:00 pm.  The house was in between being simple and elegant. It was a simple one storey building, painted white in and out. There were flowers lined up against the walls of the compound and Kelly could faintly see the outline of a family sized swimming pool at the back of the house. There was another car parked in the garage and she assumed her uncle - Benjamin Rogers - was home. He was nice. At least that's what she thought.

"I know it doesn't compare to your house but -" Rosa began but Kelly cut her off.

"It's fine, you have a really nice place. Thanks for letting me stay here."

"It's okay darling." She said as they walked into the sitting room where they could hear the TV playing.

"Leaving you guys at home won't bother me much because I know the doors will be totally locked." Rosa said sarcastically to the pair on the couch, they looked to be the same age as Kelly. The two looked at Rosa in shock, probably not expecting her home.

"Hey mom." The girl said looking as though she had been caught stealing a cookie. She had light brown hair with deep brown eyes and a nice set of teeth just like her mother. From her position on the couch, Kelly couldn't tell her height.

The boy put on an I-don't-care look and just gave his mom a nod. She rolled her eyes at him.

"You two meet your cousin Kelly. Kelly, your cousins Paris and Asher."

The first and last time until now that Kelly had met them was on her 6th birthday and now the situation was just awkward, she didn't know whether to shake their hands or give them a hug. But, the awkwardness was short-lived as Paris came to give her a hug.

"I'm so sorry!" She began, referring to the accident. "You're so pretty, oh my!"

Asher just gave her a nod of his head and she smiled slightly. She was in no way comfortable especially with how Paris was ranting on and on about how pretty she was and that she was going to be an eye-catcher at school.

Kelly didn't want to go to school, she was tired of it, heck she was tired of life. She gave Paris a small smile and followed her up the stairs as she led her to her new room.

The room was nice and simple, painted in a light blue colour. A medium sized bed was pushed up against the wall, there was a dressing table directly opposite it and two doors which Kelly assumed were the bathroom and closet.

The deep blue curtains were drawn and Paris helped her pull them back which made streams of light fill the room, blinding the two girls. After their eyes adjusted to the brightness, Kelly set her bags down.

"You like it?" Paris asked.

"Uh?" Kelly said, confused.

"Your room, do you like it?"

"Yes, very much. Thank you."

Even though the room was nothing compared to her room back in Washington, she still liked it. Maybe because she just wanted to accept whatever was given to her or because she thought she didn't deserve anything elegant or expensive. The latter suited her.

"I'll leave you to unpack then we can catch up on things." Paris said heading out and Kelly gave her a simple nod and a smile.

Kelly didn't want to start a new life, she didn't want to have to start making new friends, that was if she was going to make one in the first place. She had attended a private school back in Washington and she was always the awkward Henderson, her sisters who had graduated already were the ones who had friends. No one ever tried to make friends with her and she was not the type to walk up to people and start a conversation. Her fear of rejection was always there. Now at Nebraska, going to a new school, a public school, she didn't know if she'll make friends or not. Her thoughts were jumbled and she sighed as she walked into the walk-in bathroom to calm herself by peeing, it worked for her, sometimes.

After taking a quick bath and changing into a grey top and black leggings, receiving a call from Ann and putting away all of her things, she left the room and walked down the stairs to the kitchen where Rosa was mixing something in a pot.

"Oh, here you are!" Paris said hopping down the stairs and hooped her hand around Kelly's, pulling her out of the house.

"Where are we going?" Kelly asked.

"Just taking a walk" Paris replied.

"Okay."

"What is private school like?" Paris asked knowingly avoiding to bring up Kelly's family.

"Normal. The gossips, the noise. Just normal."

"Hmmm." She mused. "School starts tomorrow."

'I know that' Kelly wanted to say but kept shut instead. Then carefully, Paris started on the sensitive topic.

"I'm sorry for everything, I can't imagine how you feel right now but I'm sorry." She said.

"It's fine. Thanks."

Kelly wanted to seal her heart, she didn't want to hurt it anymore by feeling. The more she thought about her family, the more it broke and she was tired of feeling that way. So she had began to train herself to stop feeling and now that Paris brought up the topic, she replied her in an icy tone.

"The doctor called, he said Kevin has been brought in. When will you go see him?"

"Tomorrow." Was her simple reply.

They changed the topic and talked about life in Nebraska and how the kids at school were. In the end, Kelly knew that she wouldn't fit in.

After 10 minutes, they got back home and were immediately welcomed by a nice aroma. Rosa had made pasta for dinner and the family was complete. Her uncle, Benjamin, had come down from the library and they were all sat at the dinner table. Kelly joined them, they said a prayer and dug into their food. They made small talk while eating and Benjamin dropped his own round of 'sorrys' to Kelly as he apologised for not making it to the funeral.

After dinner, everybody went to do their own thing and Kelly was alone in her room just like how she felt. Alone in the world. Closing her eyes, she let sleep take over and dumped the thoughts of what would happen the next day - school - in a corner.

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A/N: Heyyooo beautiessss 👋👋😘😘

How are you today? Feeling good?

Be happy!! 😘😘

~EnnyWrites 💕💕