My eyes were sore and puffy from driving for far too long. I gripped the steering wheel struggling to keep my vehicle between the white lines. Searching for the bag of sunflower seeds, I snatched a handful tossing the bag to the side. Sammy was asleep in the passenger seat. She had been for the last six hours. The trees faded in and out, trapped in the darkness of the night sky. Even though the weariness of the night before laid heavy on my mind, the beginning of a new day lay ahead.

I leaned over and shook Sammy until she woke up. She grumbled, finally lifting her head from the seat.

"We're almost there," I said.

A wide smile covered her sleep-deprived face.

"How far off?" She pressed her head against the window, watching the blues pass by. Cars began cluttering the Washington roads as people began their treks to work.

"About twenty more minutes." I turned my blinker on to pass a car going too slow for my liking.

"I'm honestly so excited to get there," Sammy moaned, stretching her arms and letting out a yawn. "Have you heard anything from your mother?" She pulled my phone from the dash of the car.

"It's gone off a couple of times but honestly, I've been too focused on getting us to our new home safely." I chuckled lightly. My thoughts pulled me back to the road every time the phone had made a sound in the last few hours. I still couldn't believe we were actually doing this.

"We are insane for doing something like this," Sammy said through a smirk. She reached up to turn the stereo up a little bit, the radio station announcing the next song softly in the background.

I turned to look at her for a brief moment. It was as if she was in my thoughts.

"But, this place is seriously so pretty, even if it is dark."

"Do you think we are making the wrong choice?" I questioned, my heart starting to worry as we drew closer to our rental house. Sammy and I had dropped out of college after only a year. Neither of us was happy with what we had been doing. We had decided to move out, assuming a little adventure would help us make up our minds. Some fresh air, some beaches along the coast, and maybe some new friends to help us break from the mold of our old town.

"Of course not," it took her a moment to answer. "Olyvya, we are just traveling before settling back into school, searching for our greater purpose."

I glanced at Sammy, taking in every detail of the red curls falling around her face. Her lips were pursed. As much as I wasn't ready to admit it, she was right. I was worrying over nothing. Lots of other people left home right out of high school and stayed away much longer than we would.

We weren't going too far. It was a day's drive through a few states to where we would be living for a year. We were too busy last night packing and celebrating our last day with my mother that we left much later than we had wanted to. My mother had insisted that we stay another night, delaying our trip until the morning. But we were just too excited to get there.

As the trees whizz past the windows, casting shadows of the unknown against the dusk morning sky, how could one not sit here and think about what we were going to uncover? Neither of us had ever been here before. We took a chance when looking online and Sammy stumbled across this rental listing. I appreciated Sammy for all that she did since she always knew how to make me feel better about a situation. Without her, I wouldn't have agreed to this trip. I would be stuck living with my mother, working some job I didn't care about until I died.

She was truly my best friend.

I tried to focus my attention on the things passing by the window. Making myself familiar with the scenery. I was going to need all the help I could get with navigation.

"Thanks." I pulled down the road leading to our new home. Neither of us had seen it in person yet. Sammy seemed eager to get out of the car and honestly, I felt the same way. I had driven us in our old beat-up chevy the entire way. We hadn't packed much, all of our belongings tucked neatly in the back. My bones were stiff, almost paralyzed in the seated position. My body was craving a good, long stretch.

"Lucky for us, this place came furnished." Sammy looked over the practically empty vehicle.

I chuckled, realizing just how right she was. In the backseat were four suitcases, two for each of us, and a few random boxes with other miscellaneous items. I'd talked Sammy into only taking what we really truly needed in case we had to escape this place quickly.

When I pulled into the driveway, we were greeted with a large house painted a light blue color with contrasting black shingles. The driveway swooped in a large half circle and I pulled around to the entrance on the other side. Eagerly parking, Sammy and I both shot out of the car, barely leaving enough time to shut the engine off and lock the doors.

I made sure to grab the envelope of cash my mother had given us when we left. She was worried, I could see it in her eyes as she wiped the tears away. I tucked it gently into my jacket pocket, making a mental note to transfer it to my wallet later. Checking the time on my phone I let out a sigh. It was nearing six in the morning.

I fiddled with the house key, anxious to see what was behind the front door. Sammy and I had looked at images of this place online, but there was always a fear that when we showed up, it wouldn't be the same. I slowly opened the door, my eyes clenched shut as I edged my way inside. Only once we were inside was I able to take a breath and open my eyes.

We entered a long hallway with a family room off to the side. A large staircase heading down lining the other wall. Continuing down the hallway, we entered an open kitchen with a dining room. Sammy's mouth was wide open as she bounced around, running her hands along everything from the mahogany dining table to the peach walls where the decorative clock was hung, down to the island in the middle.

"This place is amazing!" Sammy continued searching, pulling out all the drawers, looking through anything and everything. There were pots and pans and every cooking device imaginable. "How did we get so lucky finding a house that has literally everything? Holy shit, I bet they even have toothbrushes for us." Sammy continued raving about all the new things we would be able to use.

A hint of pine emanated from the kitchen. The smell wrapped its way around me, pulling me deeper into the atmosphere of Washington.

"I sure hope you wouldn't use the toothbrush if you found one in the bathroom."

She rolled her eyes, folding her hands over her chest.

"Of course, I wouldn't, but you get what I mean."

I grabbed a towel that was hanging on the oven and gently threw it at her. She caught it quickly, placing it on the counter before hopping down the hallway to explore more rooms. There were minimal decorations and furniture in all the other areas of the house. A bed with a nightstand to match in both bedrooms. The bathroom had hand towels and one picture hanging up on the wall. The basement had another couch with a television hanging neatly on the wall.

"We really did hit the jackpot," I muttered, plopping down on the couch in the basement living room. "Once we make some friends, we can have some real cool get-togethers down here."

"Speaking of making friends, why don't we go out and do that right now?" Sammy leaned against the wall before sliding down to take a seat.

I moaned. I had just driven for a few too many hours and now she wanted to go out and look for adventure?

"You really want to go try to make friends at six in the morning?" I shook my head. This was a terrible idea and I would not let her talk me into this.

"Well, what else are we going to do?" She paused for a moment, looking around the room. "Everything is already set up here, so let's not waste any time and get out there."

"Or, better yet, we could bring some of our stuff in from the car." I wiggled my finger towards the direction of the driveway.

"Okay, that will take a total of twenty minutes max. Let's get that knocked out of the way and at least head to a coffee shop. Something! Anything!" Sammy grew more and more excited as the words poured out of her mouth. I didn't think she needed any more coffee.

"I'm so tired." I let my body slide down the couch until I was laying face-first in the cushions.

Once again... who goes on an adventure this early in the morning anyway?

"Don't be a party pooper or I'll post some really embarrassing things on your Facebook." Sammy jumped from her spot, sneaking over and stealing my phone out of my pocket.

I jumped frantically from the couch and a sudden wave of dizziness came over me. Once I gathered my bearings, I lunged for her, failing to swipe my phone back.

"Okay, fine. Give me that back." I growled, snatching my phone from her hand. "Let's go on an adventure."

"Yay!" Sammy shouted, bouncing towards the stairs.

"But!" I waited for her to turn and look at me. Her green eyes froze on my face.

"I'm getting coffee."