Hello. My name is Adeline Whitlyn. I am 17 and from a small town in the United States called Kaliden Rivers. I don't have very many people in my life, My mother passed on when I was eight months old so I didn't really know her. My father was a drug addict since I was five, that was the hardest. My aunt and uncle took me in when I was about seven- they didn't know my father didn't take care of me well so they took me in as their own child because they couldn't have one. I've always thought of my aunt and uncle as my saviour and my parents. I know my mother didn't intend on leaving me here on purpose, but it sure feels that way. As I sit on my bed that has bright white sheets along with purple roses on the duvet, I sit and think of what life would be like if my mother was here. Would my father love me? Would he take care of me? Those questions will never be answered. I stare up at the ceiling looking at my beautiful crystal chandelier, then down to my lilac walls just thinking. 

Later that day my long-time best friend who I've known since I was three came to my house. His name is Caldon but I call him Cal. We have been threw everything together, told each other everything. But sometimes I just need to keep one personal secret. My crush on him. Cal is the captain of the football team at Kaliden Rivers High, every single girl is head over heels for him, especially Rory she is the Swim Team captain also the most popular girl in school. Cal has light-toned skin with big blue eyes, they remind me of an ocean when I look into them and it makes me blush. Unlike Cal, I have a little bit more of a darker tone but still pretty light. Cal always says he loves my beautiful brown eyes. Cal says they are so dark they look like chocolate, and he loves them. My hair is a dirty blonde with wavy curls, Which somehow makes my sand-toned skin colour lighter. I also have a birthmark on my left side of my neck that I hate, but Cal loves it. He says it brings out my natural beauty, and he always finds a way to make me smile. While Cal was over we had some conversations about school starting up again and things like life and sports, he was telling me all about his football training for university. Cal and I are going into our Senior Year. Cal is excited- but I'm not. I pretend to be happy just for him but I'm just not ready to leave home just yet.

“What about you Ad?'. Cal said. Ad is the nickname that he gave me when I was 10, he's used it ever since. ”I'm not sure yet". I stumble trying not to tell him I'm not ready. He frowns replying with “What's on your mind, I know that face”. Cal always knows how I'm feeling all the time and I love that about him. Cal is so selfless and caring and I love him for that and many other reasons. “I'm just not ready to leave, and if I do I-”. Cal cuts me short saying “You'll have to see him”. “That's why you've been acting differently all of a sudden. You don't want to visit your father.” Cal stops, feeling upset for pushing too much. “Cal I'm sorry for-”. “No no stop, why are you apologizing?'. I feel the tears falling from my face down to the bed that Cal and I are sitting on, he notices and wipes them away. “Because-”. I sigh “I don't want to face him he is going to pretend to be my father and part of my life when he's not". “I understand Ad”. I feel like a weight has just risen off my shoulders. The feel of relief made me feel safe. Cal took me in his arms into a warm embrace. I felt safe with Cal, he always knows how to make me feel safe he comforts me like no other can- and I love him for it.

A little later on Cal speaks first saying “You need to see him”. I rush out of his embrace and look him in the eyes frustrated I say “What no! I am not seeing him, Cal!”. Cal looks sorry and upset from my reaction. Cal responds firm and strong “You need to visit him, I know he has hurt you and pushed you away but do this yourself and not him." I shed a tear and responding with “Okay, but your coming.” I feel scared for agreeing to see my father but Cal is right I need to see him before I go or else I might never see him again. Cal nods in response to my condition he gulps back what he was about to say next and I wonder what he would've said to me, will he tell me? I don't know. I don't worry about that anymore, I'm just worried about tomorrow because I'll need to face Rory and that's never good.

Later that night Cal leaves saying “I'll pick you up at 7:30 don't be late!” Cal coughs up a tiny chuckle, in response I give him a smile and nod while closing the door.

“Adeline!” Aunt Diane calls out. “Dinner is ready!” “Okay, Tia!” I respond closing my notebook and placing it on my bed. Tia means aunt in Spanish, my aunt and uncle are Spanish along with my mother. As I walk out of my Lilac room and head for the stairs I notice something strange, I see a glimpse of blue light and suddenly I decide to follow it. I yell to my aunt and say “Give me a second I'm going to the bathroom!”. “Okay, Sobrina!” my aunt yells out. Sobrina means niece in Spanish. As I follow the blue light down the hallway suddenly it just disappears, in confusion, I walk back down the stairs to have dinner with my aunt and uncle.

As I walk into the kitchen I smell the breathtaking smell of pasta. My aunt and uncle have always made me my favourite dish before school starts up again. I take a seat beside Tia and across from Tio, as I grab the bowl of pasta Tia says “Are you excited for school to start Sobrina?” “Not yet”. I say making sure to hide my emotion. “Did you have fun with Cal?” Tio adds while changing the subject. “Yes". I say “Good, good”. He says.

As we finish our dinner I walk over to the sink with all of our dishes steadily in my hands and start to scrub each one with care, thinking about Cal and I's conversation I shed a couple of tears. I think back to when my dad was staring at me and yelling at me giving me scars and hurting me, but that's all over now or at least I hope so. 

After I finish washing dishes I head up to my bedroom and open my bay window and let the breeze soothe me I rest my neck on the pillow while I let my thoughts direct me. I don't notice falling asleep but I do.

Earlier in the morning, I hear a honk wake me up I look outside my window and see Cal's smooth all-black convertible, then I realize I fell asleep! I rush towards my closet putting on my red t-shirt and black leather jacket, slipping some black pants on and grab my bag. On my way out I grab my vanilla bean doughnut and run out the door. 

As I hop into Cal's car he taps his watch and with a snicker, he says “Your late”. “By like two minutes!” I nudge his shoulder a little and he nudges back. “Yes, two minutes we could've been on the road”. Cal says, I cough up a tiny chuckle and reply “Well then drive Mario Andretti”. 

On our way to school Cal and I have a couple of conversations. It takes us about ten to fifteen minutes to get to school. Cal keeps asking me to join the coed swim team. Cal and Rory have always been the captains of the team. 

“No, Cal”. I say in an annoyed tone. “Why not because of Rory? She's not even better than you, you've been swimming since you were nine. She hasn't”. I think about what Cal says. He has a point, I have more experience than Rory. I reply “I'll consider it”. I see a huge grin forming on Cal's face after I speak. He's happy I have considered it, and Cal will be happier if I actually join the team. 

When Cal and I arrive at school I see everyone outside cheering Cal on I see a fake smile appear on his face, and I'm the only one who notices it's fake. Cal knows I don't like the attention so after he parks his car he rushes me inside. 

After Cal and I get inside the halls are crowded with people looking for their lockers and looking for homeroom, we head for the office to pick up our time's table and get our locker numbers.

Cal asks me “What locker number did you get?” “306”. I reply “Haha funny I got 299”. “Which class do you have first?” I ask wondering if he got the same class as me. Cal and I have similar jobs we want to do when we're older so we have some of the same classes. “Biology, Mr. Donish". Cal says  “Really! Haha same”.  “That class is boring”. “Why?” I ask. Cal grabs me close and pushes me against the locker, my chest touches his and I feel his breath. My heart races then he lets go and steps back. Finally, Cal replies “You know you need better reflexes”. He coughs up a tiny chuckle. “And you need a breath mint”. I snap back. And now I'm the one who chuckles. He nudges my shoulder a tiny bit as we walk to Biology. The grin on our faces spreads all across our faces, but instantly our moment stops by someone stepping in our way.

Rory stops in front of Ad and me, I can tell she is frustrated by her body tensioning. Only I notice how uncomfortable she's feeling.  I nudge her shoulder to know she's not alone, she nudges back. I know Adeline's past with Rory and I'll never like Rory because of it.

Rory speaks first “Hey Cal”. She blushes, I can see that Ad gets even more mad by the way Rory looks at me. I put on a fake smile for Rory and her cheeks turn to blush red. Ad knows what I'm doing and it makes her feel calmer. “Oh hey Adeline, how was your boring summer?” I tense at Rory's comment. Adeline gets mad, but she's used to it. Adeline speaks just before I can stop her. “Probably better than your summer fling, am I right?” I chuckle then cover my smile instantly. Ad is proud of herself and I'm proud of her. I can see the smile on Adeline's face that's forming when Rory frowns and walks away. I put a hand out below my waist and Adeline swings her hand to give me a high-five. She smiles and that's the most precious thing to me.

As Ad and I walk into biology the bell rings everyone starts to rush in and we take a seat. I'm on the right and Ad's on the left. Unfortunately, Rory tries to steal Ad's spot but Adeline doesn't move. Smiles don't come naturally to Adeline, so it's a gift when she does. The tables each have a cupholder of pencils, pens, and erasers and I already see a couple of kids taking some pencils and sneaking them in their bag. I'm excited for biology because my brother always talks about his good times in this class.

My brother's name is Sonny, he was the captain of the football team too. I've always loved him but he's the star sibling. That's why I'm the football team captain, my parents forced it on me so I could be just like him. I don't wanna be just like Sonny he's Mr. goody to shoes all the time. I'll admit that I'm a little jealous because I never get any attention in my family but with Adeline, I feel safe and comfortable, she gives me the attention I need and she knows it. My brother has had eyes on Adeline since we were thirteen, Sonny is only two years older than me but acts like he's four years older. 

Mr.Donish disrupts my thoughts by calling my name “Cal can you answer the question?” I reply “Can you repeat the question?” Mr.Donish rolls his eyes giving me a disappointed stare. “What is a cell wall?” Mr.Doinsh says I can tell I hate him already. “Easy, a cell wall protects the cell and gives it shape, only in plant cells, and is non-living? Is that all Mr.Donish?” I say quite proud of myself. Then Ad gives me a little nudge in the hip to tell me to be nicer. I nudge back basically meaning I don't care. I look at her as she rolls her eyes. A huge grin appears on my face. 

Just before Mr.Donish was continuing with the refresher of cells the bell rings. Adeline and I rush to our lockers to put away our biology.

I place my biology book on the top shelf to replace it with my art set. I've always been a fan of art. Art finds its meaning either in strokes or colours, technique and all.

I watch as Adeline puts her books back in place, she carefully grabs her science book. I watch the smooth curves of her waist as she stands on her tippy toes to grabs her pens. I just want to show her how I feel but I don't know if she feels the same way. As she grabs all her stuff she slips on her untied shoelace and I catch her. I feel her breath as if it's my own, her heart beating faster and faster because now I realize everyone's watching. 

Rory walks towards us as I help Adeline up. “Thanks”. Ad whispers in my ear. “No problem”. I whisper back without hesitation. Rory comes up close and gives Ad a good push. I flinch at the thought of her being pushed but she stands firm and tall. Rory takes a step closer and closer to me and I don't move. I feel her breath on my chest and take a step back. Faster than ever Rory grabs my shirt and pulls me close kissing me as like her life depended on it. I pull away slower than I wished and I see a teardrop from Ad's eye. I hurt her but I'm gonna make it right. I step away from Rory and she looks extremely mad by the faces around us looking at her like she's a jerk. Instead of walking away with Ad, I take a step closer till her chest is on mine. I kiss her faster than a reflex and she doesn't hesitate to kiss me back. I grab her hips and feel her tongue tasting the peppermint flavour from her recent piece of gum. I slam her against the locker so she can feel what I feel. Ad wraps her legs across my waist and kisses me more desperately and rough. We keep kissing pretending like no one is there, unfortunately, she pulls away walking toward her next class. I see the grin widen on her face as she looks back to face me I smile and wipe the lipgloss off my lips, now she and everyone else knows that she's mine.

As I walk to Science my heart beats faster and faster as I walk away from Cal. Was that a dream? Does he really feel this way about me?

I don't know. Cal has always been on my mind. I think back to the kiss and his tongue moving all different directions in my mouth, I feel the slam against my locker and all the eyes watching us kiss with passion. Rory was the one who got mad and slapped a locker and walked away,  with her friends Simone and Terra walking alongside her.

As I get to my class and walk through the door all eyes are on me. I'm not used to the pressure and the attention so I just walk straight to the back of the classroom away from prying eyes. The teacher keeps going on with reviews and lessons while I just think. Faster than I know it the bell rings. I walk out of the classroom eager to get out of there I don't go straight to the locker because Cal will be there. Instead, I head for the library and check back my summer reading novels. As the librarian scans the books back into the system I feel a tall figure standing behind my back. I don't need to turn around to know who it is. Cal. 

I smile and turn around. Cal whispers in my left ear “Follow me”.

I blink twice and follow him immediately. He takes me toward an old skate park and into the forest. He takes my hand and holds it to his heart. “You feel how fast my heart is beating? Well that's only around you. I've loved you ever since you walked into the kindergarten classroom with your leather pants and scooby-doo shirt”. I chuckle and I feel a couple of tears shed down my face. A huge grin appears across his face as he continues. “I've never known how to show you how deep your roots are set in my heart”. Before he continues I grab his shirt and pull it close to me I kiss him with even more passion than I did before. I put my arms and drag them down his back. He unties my hair and pulls me as close as he can, I trip on his foot and fall to the ground he smiles and bends down over kissing me and kissing me until I push him over. He stands up arms raised with a grin saying “Come and get me”. I stand too fast I almost losing my balance. I push Cal against the tree and kiss him too hard I bite his lip. He doesn't mind though he just kisses me and kisses me. 

After a while, I push away and grab the stuff I left near a tree. As I'm about to walk away Cal stops me short and puts his hand on my shoulder. “Where are you going?” he asks with a frown forming on his face. “Back to school, I have class in five”. I reply “Oh, Okay let me walk you back”. Cal grabs his varsity jacket he took off (so it wouldn't get dirty). As Cal catches up he puts an arm around my waist and he turns his head to face me and says “God you have such beautiful eyes”. I smile in reply and he gives me a kiss. This one feels softer and gentler than the others. I think I'm getting used to Cal's touch, and I hope he's getting used to mine.

Later that day after I finished my classes I decided to go up into the attic and go through some of my mother's stuff. It's very dusty up here. There are boxes and boxes full of my mother's stuff, grandmother's stuff, and great-grandmothers stuff. I went through my mother's stuff first. I've never done those before because I was always scared too, but now I'm not. After everything that went down today, this is mostly the least crazy thing. I keep hearing my phone ding, and I know it's Cal. Part of me wants to pick up the phone and meet him, but right now I'm focused on going through everything up here. 

I found a picture that was taken of my mother, and gosh she was beautiful. I wish I could've met her but I only see her in photos and dreams. Suddenly I notice something familiar in the background, I see the blue light in the background of the photo. Was the light following her too? What does it want? I hold the photo to a different angle to get a better look at it, but in the reflection, I see the light behind me. As soon as I turn around it disappears again. 

I think to myself for a little while and I think. Am I seeing things? Is it real? Is it a prank? No, it can't be a prank because of the lights in the photo.

I keep digging through my mother's stuff to see if there's anything about the blue light in there and there's nothing. Other than an entry in her journal saying:

                Dear Diary,

                Today has been a weird day. After finding I'm pregnant with a baby girl brings me joy, but finding out the big family secret? This day seems to get worse. Grandma gave me a letter explaining everything before she passed, and I don't know if I can handle it. The light keeps following me everywhere I go. It wants me to follow it but every time I try it disappears. I don't know what this is supposed to mean. Do I keep trying to find it? I don't know.

That's all that is written by my mother. Everything else seems to be all scratched up other than the words in her entry. There is no date on the paper but I know this was almost a year before her end. I shed a couple of tears and they land of the paper, I fold the paper nicely and place it in the pocket of my leather jacket.

After reading the words written on that tiny piece of paper I can't help but cry. I hear a car pull up into the driveway but I don't care right now, I can't stop crying because knowing this was a little before she died made me upset. Soon I hear murmuring from the bottom floor, then footsteps coming up the stairs. I walk over to the corner of the attic and let my feelings go. I hear someone climbing up the ladder and then I see Cal.

As soon as Cal sees me crying he rushes over to me and gives me a hug. He's never seen me cry like this before, so he's extremely worried. Cal wraps his arms around my body and lightly kisses me on the head. Cal comforts me, and I'm lucky for his appearance of I'd never been able to stop.

Suddenly I start to calm down, still, in Cal's arms I say “Thank you”. With my voice cracking. He kisses my head in response and puts his finger to my chin to give me a kiss. This time I kiss his back lightly, and then after a couple of seconds, he pulls away. “Why are you crying?” He says with his voice sounding worried. I reach into my pocket and I grab the piece of paper. I hand the paper to Cal and he stops to read it, I see a couple of tears come from his eyes as he reads the message. Cal looks me straight in the eyes and says “Ad, I'm so sorry”. “It's fine”. I reply my voice more shaky than usual.

“Cal”. I say. “Yes?” He responds. “I think I'm going crazy”. Then Cal rushes to sit up turning me around so my whole body can face him, he touches my shoulders gently and looks me straight in the eyes. “What do you mean Ad?” Cal says more worried than he'll ever be. “This is why”. I sit up and grab the photo of my mother from the dusty old box. I bring it over to Cal and I point at the blue light. “I think this is the light in the diary”. “What do you mean? That's probably just a prank Ad”. “But it's not”. Cal looks at me with concerned eyes. I wipe the tears from my eyes, and then I begin my conclusion.

“The blue light from the photo is most likely the light that's following my mother, and the light that's following me too.” Cal has a weird expression on his face that looks like confusion. “What do you mean that it's following you too?” “There is this light I keep seeing, like my mother. And like my mother when I see it, it wants me to follow it but it just disappears.” “Strange”. Cal and I are silent for a couple of minutes until he asks me a question. “When did you see it last”. “Up here before I read the letter, I saw the reflection of it from the photo."

“Hmm. Have you looked in any of the other boxes? Like your great-grandmother? It mentions her in the letter." “I'll look”.

Cal and I walk over to my great-grandmother's box and search. We find things as old books jewelry boxes hats and all sorts of things. But I find something strange…