Jessica rolled her eyes and pulled two mugs from the cabinet. “It’ll at least be peaceful without you two fighting all the time. That’s for sure.” She poured hot chocolate mix into the cups and leaned against the counter.
“Come on, Jess, we don’t fight that much!” Lauren whined. “And when we do, it’s her fault!”
Jessica snickered, but didn’t say anything. The two girls listened to the crashing waves and howling wind right outside their door. Lauren smiled, looking around the kitchen of the house that had been her summer home since she was seven. The pale blue paint on the walls was somewhat fresh, from the previous summer, and the white counters were sparkling. All dishes were placed neatly in the cabinets where they belonged, and the white tile shined in the light. The rest of the house was clean and cozy, too. Though the outside paint was peeling and wearing off with the rain and wind, weather had certainly not affected the inside.
“Jess, it’ll be so different without Jill.” Jill was eighteen now, and every summer they had been here, she had spent the first two weeks of her break living next door. However, her parents sold the house because Jill had been the only one to enjoy it.
“I wonder who bought the place,” Jessica replied as the kettle began to whistle. She turned off the heat and filled both cups with water.
Lauren grabbed her cocoa and walked into the living room. She sank her feet into the soft blue carpeting and sat down on the matching sofa. Everything was just the way she remembered it, the walls and ceiling white, the large windows clean, revealing the trees behind the house, and the old, near-broken TV sitting, as always, in the corner.
Jessica spoke up, pulling Lauren from her thoughts and causing her to jump. “When is Mom coming back, anyway?” she said from the doorway.
“She’s coming back at the end of this month.” Their mother, Diane, was on a business trip in Europe. “Until then, the house is all ours.”
“I can’t believe she trusts us!” Jessica exclaimed, collapsing onto the sofa next to her sister.
Lauren stood up and stretched. “I’m off to bed, sis. Good night! I’ll see you in the late morning or early afternoon.”
Jessica giggled. Her sister hated getting up early. “Okay, good night! I won’t try to wake you up or anything!”
Smiling, Lauren raised her eyebrows. “Not unless you want to get your ass kicked.” She picked up her suitcase and dragged it up the stairs.
Within minutes of climbing into bed, she was fast asleep.