3Serena sat there, depressed. Tears blanketed her face which was red with sadness. She had been grieving ever since the incident. Its one month birthday was just around the corner.
"Oh my God! Dad!" The sixteen year-old cried when she saw her father' dead body lying on the floor. A trail of blood led from her father's bed to the window. The man who did this obviously jumped. There were bloody handprints on the window ledge, and the snowy lawn below had a not-so-obvious indent and a few droplets of blood had later been found by Serena on the front lawn.
"Who did this to you, Daddy?" Serena asked, almost whispering. Her voice was cracking and she could barely breathe.
"What will happen to Emma and Jonathon?" She asked the corpse, whose face was slowly losing its color.
Serena ended up moving in with her mother, who, after the incident brought Serena, her fourteen year-old brother Jonathon, and five year-old Emma to her small, two bedroom condo that overlooked Lake Ontario. Serena had despised her mother ever since she left her father for another man four years earlier. Serena had only met the man twice, and did not care for him in the least. Serena's mom, Deborah, was a real estate agent, and sold many houses and condos in the Toronto area. Carl, Serena's step-father was also a realtor, and I'm sure it doesn't take a genius to figure out how they met.
One day after the tragic death of her father, Serena and her siblings were picked up by their mother and brought to her lakeside home. When they arrived, Serena was shocked by the neat and cleanliness that greeted her-nothing like the messy excuse of a home she had just left. Even though it was small, everything seemed to fit perfectly. The two bedrooms were tiny -Deborah and Carl's being the interesting loft above- and Serena and her little sister Emma ended up sharing it! How horrible! (For Serena at least.) Jonathon was stuck with the small loveseat in the living area, with only a thin quilt to cover him. In winter months it got cold, because a draft came in the big windows overlooking the lake. Jonathon ended up wearing his winter coat to bed on colder nights.
"Wake up kids! Santa came!" Deborah exclaimed on the morning of December twenty-fifth, hoping to see three excited faces.
"What did he bring us?" Jonathon groaned.
"Did he bring Daddy back?! Santa can bring anything, right?" Emma's little voice asked with excitement and glee. It was probably the first time anyone had seen the poor girl so excited in the past month.
"No, I am sorry sweetie," Deborah replied sadly, when she saw her young daughter's expression take a one-eighty degree turn. Serena was so depressed she couldn't even speak. She had tried her hardest not to let out even a tear since she saw her father's cold, lifeless body, but today she could not help herself. Tears began flowing out of her sixteen year-old eyes, and her face turned red with anger. She was angry at the horrible person who had enough evil in them to murder another human being. That human being just happened to be Serena's dad. Serena ran to her room and slammed the door. She climbed up the wooden ladder to her bunk. She sat on the bed with her legs dangling down. Serena began to cry and cry until her face looked like a waterfall. She lay down on her pillow, with her face buried beneath her feather pillow. She cried herself to sleep on Christmas morning.
"Serena?" She was awoken by her sweet little sister.
"Oh, hey Emma. I'm really not up for anything at the moment, so if you'd leave me alone I'd be much happier. Sorry to disappoint you."
"Oh, but Reeny! Santa got you a really, really, really cool present!" Emma said, sounding very excited. Serena lifted her head from the pillow, and wiped the tears from her face with her right hand. She sat up, and Emma climbed onto her lap. Emma glanced upwards and smiled into her big sister's bright green eyes. Serena couldn't help but smile when she saw how happy the little girl was.
"So, what's the cool gift?" Serena asked, pretending to sound excited.
"Well, you'll have to come down. Follow me!" Emma said, her face glowing brighter with excitement by the second.
"SURPRISE!" Deborah, Carl, Jonathon, and Emma hollered. Deborah handed the keys for a brand new Mini Cooper to her daughter.
"Oh my God! Thank you!" The teen's face immediately beamed with excitement.
"It's in the parking lot. Want to go check it out?" Carl asked.
"Sure," Serena said, and the whole family followed as Carl led Serena to the car. They arrived at a bright red Mini Cooper, and when they did, Serena immediately jumped in the front seat to check out her new ride. Deborah got in the passenger seat.
"Like it?" She asked, smiling. Serena nodded, her eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.
"It's just what I wanted!"
"Well, you passed those driving tests, didn't you? Don't just sit there; let's take it for a spin!" Serena's mother exclaimed. By the sincere smile on her mother's face, Serena couldn't help but remember how much her mother cared for her. Serena put the car in reverse and backed out of the lot.
"Let's go!" Serena yelled! This is for you, Dad! I wish you were here right now, watching me drive. I love you and always will. Serena thought. This is gonna be one wild ride!