Chapter 2
Quinn
The cab dropped me in front of my parents’ home, the home I had grown up in and I waited a few moments before I took the steps up to the porch. I’d been away for some time, probably too much time and when I was leaving Long Beach, I didn’t think that I would actually miss it. But I had, more than I could have ever imagined and I smiled now, that I was home again.
There was much to miss about this place, now that I thought about it. For starters, I could have my old room back again! My perfect little room, wallpapered in posters and unicorn colors that my dad had so patiently kept buying for me. I wouldn’t have to share my space with anyone else, at least not for the next few weeks; which was a special treat that I was looking forward to.
It was the same cute little house that mom had worked tirelessly to keep well maintained. The small square front yard was mowed, and the flowers were in bloom. I rejoiced at the thought of how happy mom probably was with them.
I looked over and saw that her car wasn’t in the driveway, and neither was dad’s bike. It struck me that they were probably not home.
I hadn’t thought of that when I flew up to Long Beach on a whim. I still hadn’t thought of calling them when I got into the cab. As a kid, home was where my parents were…or at least where mom was. Someone was always at home.
I hadn’t thought of the fact that now with me gone, there was a high chance that they weren’t at home all the time. Mom had her friends, and I knew she liked to help out at the Rusty Pelican from time to time. That was the bar that my dad ran with his buddies.
I had grown up around those guys. Dad’s best friends, just like him, were bearded scruffy, tattooed men who rode noisy bikes and scared our neighbors with their rough exteriors. Dad had bought us a nice house, in a nice neighborhood and I knew it was because he wanted me to have a normal childhood.
He didn’t like to talk about his own childhood, but from the bits of information that I had gathered over the years, I knew that it had been rough. So, it was only natural that he wanted the best for me. But in our neighborhood of white picket fences and golden retrievers, dad’s noisy bike, his rowdy friends, and my mom’s tight clothes were never really welcome.
I had grown up being starkly aware that we were different from everyone else around us. I didn’t really care though. No matter what my parents’ social lives looked like, they were the best parents that a girl could have asked for.
My mom had instilled in me the importance of a good education, and I had worked hard for it. It’s what got me into UC San Diego on a full ride scholarship. It was my dad who had taught me to stand up for myself, and till this day, I was the kind of girl who never backed out of a fight.
I surprised everyone. My friends in Long Beach knew me as unpredictable, and when I moved to San Diego, none of my classmates or friends from college had expected me to be who I was. I was a petite mermaid haired blond with pretty blue eyes. I had my mom’s best features; a slim waist, endlessly long legs. I just didn’t look like a girl who could major in Computer Science! Not like I was supposed to look a certain way, but I went to classes where everyone naturally dressed like geeks.
I aced my college exams, and I aced them in heels and short skirts. Not only that, but every time, at a college party; that some guy got too drunk and tried to feel me up, I wasn’t afraid to punch them right in the gut.
It was all my parents’ doing—it was how they had taught me to be.
I stood staring up at the house now, with my bags deposited on either side of me and a smile on my face. I hadn’t seen them since the previous Christmas, and they weren’t expecting me home. They were under the assumption that I was in San Diego, finishing up my graduate school finals and preparing to make the move to Silicon Valley where I was destined to be.
Instead, I was here, at their doorstep; tired of my busy life and in desperate need for a drink and a break. I had finished my finals early, and I even landed my dream job already, but my start-date wasn’t for another few weeks. I didn’t want to waste time in San Diego, I wasn’t sure when I would get an opportunity like this again.
I wanted to come back home, spend time with my parents and help out at the bar. It seemed like dad’s business was still going well. For a run-down dive-bar looking establishment, dad had somehow always managed to keep the cash flow coming in. I had always just assumed that he was an excellent businessman.
I turned around, leaving my bags tucked in behind the wicker chairs on the porch. I decided to surprise them at the Rusty Pelican instead. Even if mom or dad weren’t going to be there, some of their other friends would, and I was excited to see them all. I couldn’t wait to see their faces. They’d all be so surprised! I hadn’t seen the guys in ages, and I was sure that they would be amazed at how grown up I was now. If they even recognized me! I giggled at the thought of that as I climbed down the steps and walked up to the picket fence gate.
I walked my way to the Rusty Pelican with butterflies in my stomach. I was already beginning to feel like I was home.