Chapter 8.8 - Disaster Strikes

*now told in Lexi's p.o.v.

  A few days after meeting with our lawyer we celebrated mum and dad's birthdays. They were pretty upset about becoming elders but we tried to keep the mood light. Aside from keeping the mood light I decided to try to make their favorite meal, spaghetti. It was a little nerve wrecking since mum did all of the cooking but I was almost a young adult now and I needed to learn how to prepare my own meals at some point. I ended up burning the first 3 servings before finally getting it right. Mum and dad said they enjoyed dinner but I think they were just saying that so I would feel good about cooking. After I did the dishes it was time for cake and mum and dad's sparkly transition took place.

  They were pleasantly surprised when they noticed that they didn't look terrible at an old age. Of course dad was upset that he wasn't muscular like he use to be and mum missed her beautiful brunette hair. After cake dad called his boss and finally retired, which was good because his job was so stressful. My job wasn't nearly as stressful as dad's was but I recently began working double shifts just to make sure the bills were paid and we could put the rest in with our savings.

  Just a few days after mum and dad's birthdays it was time for Chase, Jolene, and I to become young adults. It came with a lot more responsibilities but now I could pursue my singing career at the same time. Like it had when mum and dad aged up, the sparkly transition slowly took each of us over. Chase was still my handsome brother, Jolene was a lot prettier now than she was as a teen and I was very happy with how I looked, I was hoping that I would not change too much.

  One day while I was working at the spa Chase and Jolene decided to take Raelyn to the park so mum and dad could take a nap, ensuring that everything was turned off before leaving.

  About an hour after they left mum was awoken by the smell of something burning, it was a nasty smell that had a hint of something rotten. She immediately woke dad up and as soon as they came out of their room they were choked by the smoke that had filled the entire house. Sensing that something was wrong Cleo found my parents and guided them out of the burning house where they almost passed out from inhaling to much carbon monoxide. When dad could breath properly again he called Chase and Jolene and then called me, we all rushed home within 5 minutes.

"Are you guys alright?" I said as I ran to my parents and hugged them, making sure they were okay.

  We all just stood there watching the flames engulf the house, none of us could believe what was happening.  By the time the fire department arrived you could barely see our house through the flames and smoke. All of us began screaming and yelling at them because it had taken so long for them to get there.

  By the time they were able to extinguish all of the flames it was dark out and mum was the first one to burst into tears at the sight of the still smoking house. She had poured her heart and soul into our house and now it was all gone.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" One of the firefighters asked as he came up to us "Does anybody need me to call an ambulance to take you to the hospital?"

"No we don't!" Dad yelled "But what the hell took you guys so long to get here? We have no home now!!"

"I'm very sorry about this sir," Another firefighter said joining us "I'm also sorry that I have more bad news for you guys."

"What could be worse than this?" I demanded to know as I pointed to the house, taking charge of the situation as the heir.

"After doing a thorough inspection of the damage, the house, and the property we have unfortunately found that this property is now a hazardous piece of land."

"Meaning?" I said as I shook my head.

"Meaning that you and your family cannot rebuild your house here, you will not be able to live on this property again. We were able to save a few items from the house, they have been placed in a box next to your mailbox. I really am very sorry."

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  With the images of two nights ago still fresh in our heads we tried to come together to form a decision while we stayed at a really crappy, cheap motel. Earlier that morning I had gone through the box of things the firefighters were able to save and after seeing a couple of Chase's belongings in there I saw something that nearly stopped my heart. My trophies from school were in there which was fine but to my surprise everything that I got from Colton or took with Colton were in the box. How could that be that these things were the only things saved from my bedroom except for my trophies. My Marilyn Monroe picture didn't even make it through the fire and most of these things were right next to that picture, what could these mean? Extremely confused I put everything back in the box and went to sit with my family again. While Chase and Jolene took care of Raelyn, I went to a cafe near by with mum and dad so we could take some more.

"I know we are all in a state of shock over what happened the other night," Mum said "But we really need to figure out what we are going to do and very soon. We all need to get out of that crappy motel, especially little Raelyn, that is no place for her to be staying. It's not good for her, or any of us, and she needs a real home to grow up in while Chase and Jolene keep saving money for their own house."

"I agree with you Haley, and Lexi," Dad said looking at me "This decision is completely up to you. We can all voice our opinions on what we should do but in the end it matters what you think we should do."

"Well, as you know I met with our lawyer yesterday, mostly to get the property out of our names since we can't go back. But he also helped me go through our savings and what we got back from our home owners insurance," I said pausing for a moment "I would love to start focusing on my music career and get my foot in the door to becoming a vocal legend and there is only one place that is the best place to do that."

  Before I could go on Dad interrupted me and told me to hold that thought until we could get back to the motel, that way Chase and Jolene could hear my decision as well. After saying what I ahd said to mum and dad just a few minutes ago I got down to business.

"So...what do you guys think about moving out to Starlight Shores?"

  Apparently everyone loved the idea because they instantly agreed and we began making plans, placing phone calls, and packing what little we had in preparation of our huge move.