Adventures in Funeral Crashing (22 page)

Chloe pushed the thought away. Perhaps Kate
was a little unsettled by the thought of Chloe living with her
boyfriend. When she had a chance, Chloe thought, she would reassure
Kate that she had no intention of stealing Jake away from her.
Chloe almost laughed at that thought. If you put her and Kate side
by side, Chloe imagined, there would be no comparison. Kate would
blow her out of the water in a beauty contest. Regardless, Chloe
thought, she would never try and steal someone else’s boyfriend, no
matter how cute he had grown up to be.

As they walked up to Jake’s house, Jake
carrying the bulk of her luggage, Chloe couldn’t help but wonder at
the beauty of her new home. It was nestled into a hill above the
ocean. Other houses were littered all the way down the hill,
perched above blue water. The house itself was modest in size, but
the exterior was cozy, almost like a chalet nested into the
hill.

“Chloe!” Jeanette Spencer cried happily,
seconds after Chloe walked into the house. “It’s so good to see
you!”

She enveloped Chloe in a hug and then stepped
back to get a better look at her, “You look just like your mom at
your age! I’m so happy you’re here! It’ll be like having her here
with me!”

Chloe grinned, “Well, you might get the real
thing in about a month. She’s already itching to come visit me.
Thank you so much, Mrs. Spencer, for everything. ”

“First of all, no Mrs. Spencer’s here. Call
me Jeanette. And, secondly, it’s such a pleasure to have you here!
I would do anything for Stacy. This will be fun,” Jeanette looked
over to Jake and Kate. “Do we have time for dinner or are you all
off to that party?”

“Party?” Chloe looked over at Jake and
managed to see a quick look pass between him and Kate. Obviously,
Kate wasn’t thrilled with Chloe attending the party with them.
She’d have to have that talk with Kate and soon.

“We weren’t sure if you wanted to go, but
there’s a party tonight at this girl’s house on the beach, sort of
a back to school thing. It’s up to you, though, no pressure. I
understand if you’re tired from the flight and all,” Jake managed,
without looking at Kate again.

“Um…” Chloe felt indecisive. On the one hand,
she was tired from the trip across the country, but on the other,
she was absolutely energetic with excitement about her new life and
a party sounded like a great way to start it all out. It would be a
great way to meet the people she’d be going to school with
tomorrow.

“Why are you even thinking? You’re young! Go
out and have a good time!” Jeanette replied before Chloe could say
anything and then she looked at Jake seriously, “Just not too good
of a time.”

“Mom,” Jake replied, laughing
uncomfortably.

“What? I worry. Especially, after your father
died,” Jeanette’s smiling face crumpled for a moment, at the
memory, but then regained it’s composure.

“I know,” Jake said, softly.

Chloe felt uncomfortable and glanced over at
Kate, who was staring at the ground.

“A party sounds perfect!” Chloe said,
breaking the uneasy silence. “Let me just change clothes and I’ll
be ready.”

Although she had forced herself to sound more
cheery and energetic than she felt, Chloe really did think the
party sounded fun. She picked up her backpack and swung it onto her
shoulder, her mind on what she might wear to make a good impression
on her new classmates, when there was a crash. She had just knocked
over a vase on the kitchen table with her backpack.

“I’m so sorry!” Chloe said, automatically
dropping everything and stooping down to help clean up the broken
vase and flowers.

“Oh, don’t worry about it!” Jeanette said,
running into the kitchen for clean up supplies.

The white carnations that had looked so
pretty on the kitchen table were now in a pool of water on the
floor. Chloe couldn’t believe she had just been so clumsy. Two
minutes in their house and she had already broken something. Jake
stooped down to help her, as Kate stood awkwardly nearby.

“Be careful!” Jeanette said, walking back
toward them with towels and a bag for the broken glass and
flowers.

As she said it, Chloe felt a piece of the
vase she was collecting slice into her finger. A drop of blood
escaped and stained one of the white carnations on the floor. Chloe
felt a strange sense of foreboding. She should have taken the
warning.

Milda Harris is a
Chicago girl who is pursuing her screenwriting dreams in Hollywood.
She likes silly sports like Dodgeball and Kickball and loves John
Hughes teen movies. Between working in production on television
shows like
That's So Raven
and
Hannah Montana
and
playing with her super cute dog Licorice, she writes young adult
and chick lit novels.

This book started as a 3 Day Novel Contest submission
and is the first book in the Funeral Crashing trilogy. The second
book will be out later this year. In July 2011, watch for the young
adult horror murder mystery novel,
The
New Girl Who Found A Dead Body
. And, in August 2011,
watch for the young adult supernatural/paranormal novel,
Connected.

Connect with Me Online:

Smashwords:
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/mildaharris

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/MildaHarris

Facebook Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Milda-Harris-Fans/197576350278408

Blog:
http://www.lifeslikeamovie.com

Blog:
http://www.writergirlinla.com

Website:
http://www.mildaharris.com