October Post

I've been working on this book, this is a small part of it. Tell me what you think! ;)    
 (I know it's long ^_^)

                                                              Hadley's Summer

“Are you sure you wanna leave before your siblings get back?” asked Shelly Hunt, Hadley’s mom. “They’d be really upset, especially Riley and Ashley. Her kids would really miss you too. Not to mention Rick and Tammy.” she continued. “Mom,” Hadley said. “I really don’t think that Rick’s girlfriend will really care that I’m gone. In fact, she’ll probably be glad that I’m not there to tell if they do anything bad.” she explained. “Which is everything.” Hadley muttered under her breath. “It’s okay, mom. I really need to do this. And plus, I get to see Grandpa.” she said. Hadley could see tears swelling up in her mothers’ eyes. She gave her an extra big hug and said that everything was going to be alright. She checked her outfit out in her moms’ SUVs’ window, which she had stressed about for hours, and nodded. She was dressed in a pink and gray plaid shirt with dark-washed jeans and her black converse. Her brown hair was in loose waves around her shoulders. She looked at her almond-shaped eyes with mascara on her eyelashes. “Oh, the bus is here.” her mother said sadly. Hadley turned to her mother and bit her tongue to fight back the tears. She hugged her mother and quickly boarded the bus. Looking back on the steps of the city bus, Hadley looked back at her mom and said,” Say ‘bye’ to Riley, Drew, Rick, and Ashley and her kids for me. And Adam.” Hadley was talking about her sister Ashely’s husband Adam. They had three adorable kids: Emmy, Jackson, and Adelaide, who went by Addie. Memories of Ashley’s kids came running through Hadley’s mind. Emmy showing her what tricks she could do on her trike. Jackson telling her all about how he had helped his mommy that day with baby Addie. Addie giggling about her toes and making Hadley laugh. She knew that she would miss so many important moments in their lives, but she knew that she had to do this. Hadley boarded the bus and she chose a spot near the end of the bus, where it was empty, and threw her backpack down and sat down with a big sigh. She saw her mom wave with a tissue in her hand as her dark brown hair blew back as the bus departed. Hadley couldn’t watch her mother cry because she knew that she would run back and give her mom a hug and probably not go. 

        Hadley was going to visit her Grandpa on his ranch near Mapleton, UT. The small town was nearly nine miles away from her Grandfathers’ ranch but Hadley had always loved going to visit him. The reason she was going was quite complicated but as simple as this. She was running away from all the drama that was going to occur in her family in the next couple of months. Hadley was adopted into the Hunt- Olsen family when she was two weeks old. She was originally born in Seoul, South Korea but her biological parents had already lost custody of her before she was born. Apparently, Hadley’s mom, Shelly, was working for Utah Fostercare™, when she heard about an adorable little Asian baby who was in need of foster care and was 10 days old. Shelly instantly fell love with what would be her little Hadley. After a not-so-long process of adoption, Hadley came home as a bundle of joy to a very happy family. Meanwhile, Shelly’s husband Brady Olsen had become quite frustrated with his wife because he thought that he had told her quite clearly that the did not want another child. Especially since she was a girl, she was Asian, and she was adopted. Brady was a very nice man, but was very particular and liked people to follow his preference. Later, when Hadley was 6 months old, Brady left Shelly, Ashley, Rick, Riley, Drew, and of course, Hadley. To this day, Hadley still blames herself for what happened that day when Brady left. Why Hadley had gone to her Grandpas’ ranch was this. Brady had finally contacted Shelly after more than 12 years. But, it was no friendly letter. This was a letter that said that he wanted custody of Rick and Drew. He was still legally eligible to have custody and he still legally could. Brady wanted a court appearance and settle it with Shelly and the boys. Hadley, along with her sisters, was terrified of what would and could happen. Anything from Brady taking her brothers forever to them switching back and forth was in range. Hadley had had about enough with her mother crying herself to sleep every night and her brothers staying up tell four o’clock in the morning discussing what they wanted. Not to mention Ashley and Adam never bringing their kids to their house because they wanted to avoid them getting attached to their uncles and then be torn apart. As luck would have it, the court appearance was on Friday the 13th. 

        So, Hadley was already expecting the worst. Hadley had made last minute arrangements on the 31st of May and left her hometown of Logan, UT on the 1st of June. The reasons that she was leaving was that she was afraid of loosing her most cherished moments of her family, that warm hug when she needed it most, that smile when she scored a goal, those endless nights on the roof looking at the stars. But most of all, her older brothers, her best friends. Rick and Drew were everything to Hadley. They loved her so much too. However, recently they hadn’t necessarily been there for her. They had been spending a lot of time at their dad’s house. Getting his opinion about the whole thing. Hadley had left while they were gone. Riley and Ashley and her family were in Salt Lake because Adam had some meetings. Hadley had decided that this was the perfect time to leave. She knew that her siblings would never let her go. Hadley had told her brothers and sisters what she was going to do and Riley, along with Ashley and Adam, cried for her not to go. Drew and Rick were fighting back tears and telling her that she would regret it forever. In their family, they acted like every goodbye was for forever. And this goodbye, was probably going to be for a very long time. As these memories flooded Hadley’s mind, she looked out the window and said in a whisper, “It’s for the better.” Hadley rested her head against the comfy seat and her eyes drifted to sleep. 

         Soon, the bus jerked to a stop and Hadley’s eyes flew open. “Oh my gosh, we’re here.” she muttered. She got up with the rest of the passengers and got off. As soon as she got off the bus, she saw her grandpa with his famous smile and his red and white truck. “Grandpa!” Hadley cried. She ran into his arms and felt his warm embrace. “How’s my little girl?” he asked with a smile. “Like you wouldn’t believe.” Hadley said shaking her head. “Well, let’s get your stuff and you can tell me all about it.” he said. Hadley nodded her head and looked around for her stuff. She spotted her bags in a pile close to the bus. She pointed and they walked over to her things. “Holy cow, did you go ahead and bring your entire wardrobe?” asked Grandpa. Hadley laughed and said, “Well, considering how long you said I could stay, maybe.” she said with a sly smile. They gathered up her bags and dumped everything into Grandpa’s truck. As they got in and buckled up, Grandpa said, “So, how’s my little girl been? Oh, and how’s the family?” “The family has been good. And Ashley’s kids are growing like you wouldn’t believe.” Hadley reported. “Oh, yes. Ashley and her husband. How many kids do they have? Last time they came to visit, that little Jackson was, oh, about as big as my hand!” George exclaimed. George Drake was Hadley’s grandpa’s name. “Well, Jackson is three, and they just had another little girl, Adelaide, 6 months ago.” Hadley said. “Wow! Am I really getting that old?” George asked. Hadley laughed and nodded. They laughed and talked the rest of the way to the Drake Ranch. As George pulled in front of the house, he said, “Well, go get unpacked and meet me at the barn. I have a surprise for you.” “Oh, a surprise.” Hadley said. She already knew that he would have a surprise for her, because he always had a surprise or a gift for her every time she came. Hadley just threw her bags in her room and grabbed her cowboy boots from her suitcase. She pulled them on and ran outside. Hadley slowed herself down and stopped to look at everything. She always loved to come to Grandpa’s house. The quiet peace and stillness wasn’t tradable.