HAUNTED
୨⎯ prologue ⎯୧

bianca didn't even want to go.

but it was either go on this summer trip or go to summer school. any sane kid would've chosen the summer trip any day. that's what bianca did, no matter how much she would rather stay home and spend time with her friends, going away for the summer sounded better than summer school.

"come on, bianca. get off the couch and help us load the car!" her mom, lena, shouted.

"let her be, lena. we don't need any help." her dad, blaise, chuckled. lena rolled her eyes going to start an argument that usually resolved around bianca but blaise only leaned down and kissed her cheek calming her down. "leo come help us out!"

bianca's older brother, leo. he's only three years older than her but that doesn't stop them from fighting with one another. it was all love. bianca made sure to sit in the furthest couch from the hallway that went to the outside door just in case leo wanted to annoy her with bumping into her. she's already mad that they have to go away for the summer she doesn't need her buttons to be pushed.

"honey, why are you so mad?" blaise said kneeling down in front of the 8 year old girl that had her arms crossed over her chest, leg on top of the other and her face was all knitted together.

"dad what are we even going to do and with who? and we're going to be there all summer? what about my friends? olivia invited me to the water park and we were going to be able to go on the huge ones! over there, it's beach. plain boring, beach." bianca huffed uncrossing her arms and looking at her dad.

blaise stood up and sat on the arm of the couch. he leaned back and wrapped an arm around bianca pulling her to his side. "i know that you want to have your own fun, baby. and that hanging out with your moms best friends weren't exactly your idea of summer. but guess what," blaise then whispered over to bianca, "neither was mine."

bianca gasped softly and glanced up at him.

he held a smug look nodding his head. "i was planning on working on the pool inside of our backyard this entire time. making sure it was fun, with a huge slide. i was going to invite some of my guy friends for beer, chat, make carne asada, play pool and relax with my amazing family. but then your mom said that her friend invited us to their beach house that is huge. i told her i'll think about it, i did. and i realized that i can drink beer with the other dads over there, chat. i can make my famous carne asada, play pool and relax. just in a different environment."

"what am i going to do?" bianca asked.

"you can learn how to surf." he said shrugging his shoulders. he chuckled loudly at the fact that bianca made. "i can teach you, baby. it'll be fun. and plus, you'll be the only girl at that place that will now how to surf because i bet you all those other girls rather play tea party."

"i like tea party." bianca said confusingly.

"yeah me too." blaise said sighing deeply and remembering back to when his daughter would sit him down in the smallest chair ever with the most smallest cups ever and make up play tea party. he even let her put some fake make up on him.

"but i want to be the only one to know how to surf." bianca said.

"that's my girl." blaise chuckled bringing up a hand and bianca clapped it with his. "now i'm going to go help your mom with the rest of the stuff before she drowns me in the ocean." blaise said leaning down and kissing her on the head before heading off. "no running."

bianca giggled when leo got caught running around with water gun. blaise snatched it from his hand and sprayed him with it was leo ran away. "dad stop!" leo laughed as he got further away from blaise. he chased leo down the hallway until lena came back from outside and stood behind blaise.

"now what is this about?" lena asked crossing her arms over her chest. blaise quickly threw the water gun at leo and turned around. he started sucking up to his wife who blushed furiously. bianca was going to warn her mom that leo was about seconds to spray her with the water gun but it was too late.

it all went chaotic from there. blaise trying to stop his wife from chasing after leo who ran out of the front door and locked himself inside of the car. bianca hopped off from the couch and grabbed her carry on backpack and said, "we better go we're going to be late." with a smug look and walked over to the car getting on as well.

"yeah she's right, ma. let's go." blaise threw his arm around lena and pulled her to the passenger seat making sure that she would calm down. lena got on the car and blaise put on her seat belt before rushing over to the drivers seat.

└─── · 。゚☆ *.☽ .* ☆゚. ───┘

bianca was too stubborn to admit that cousins beach is beautiful. the sight of it is beautiful, the houses, the beach, the ocean. she loves the smell of that it gave off the second that they entered and the sound. she quickly grew obsessed with the sound of the waves crashing onto the sand. who wouldn't be addicted to that sound? bianca thought.

"we're here." blaise said smiling widely watching as lena's face lit up completely when two woman walked out of the main doors holding excited faces.

lena rushed to get out of the truck and run over to the two woman. the three woman engulfing each other in a hug. bianca noticed that lena was the first one to start crying, then the woman with blonde hair, then the black hair woman. the three were all a mess as they continued to make sure that they were all real and in front of one another. it warmed bianca's heart to see her mom happy with her friends. hopefully one day she's able to greet someone with that much emotion.

"okay kids," blaise turned around and unlocked the doors, "on your best behavior. now get out."

bianca did the same thing her mom did. she didn't waste another second to push open the door and hop off the truck. bianca was hit with her new favorite smell and she breathed it in. the breeze gave her a chills which is why she brought her arms together. she then dropped them and started making her way over to her mom. leo and her dad following her.

"susannah, laruel these are my kids." lena said sniffing up her tears and laughing wholeheartedly. the blonde gushed immediately while the black hair girl smiled at them kindly. "leo and bianca."

"oh my gosh you guys are precious! oh gosh." the blonde kneeled down putting a hand over her mouth. bianca and leo gave each other a look and blaise pushed them forward. "i'm susannah."

"she's bianca's godmother." lena said shocking both of her kids. all of their life they thought that their weird aunt was their godmother. lena chuckled nodding her head and then pointing over to the other woman. "laurel is leo's godmother. i've known these two woman since elementary school."

"i'm going to spoil you." susannah said smiling widely at bianca who laughed. "oh! you have to meet the other kids! you guys are practically all the same age! come on, come on!" susannah turned around meeting a soft glare from laurel and lena. susannah sighed deeply and turned around looking everywhere but the man. "hi, blaise."

blaise smiled teasingly, "good afternoon susannah. how are you?"

"i'm good." she muttered looking down at her feet and kicking a pebble.

"still mad?" blaise asked earring a two stern looks from laruel and lena.

susannah finally looked up and gave him a tight smile. "no, blaise. not mad, furious. so furious that so might accidentally-" lena pulled susannah around and waved blaise away. laurel laughed and waved at the kids to follow them. "he's still acts like a teenage boy."

"and you two still argue like cats and dogs. some things just don't change, huh?" laurel asked before turning around, "the other dads are in the gazebo if you want to go over there."

blaise looked at his wife who nodded his head. blaise said his byes to his kids before jogging over to the gazebo where he was greeted and welcomed. laurel opened the door to the big house and let the kids go first before the three adult woman go first.

"kids!" laurel shouted from downstairs.

bianca and leo stayed close to each other feeling awkward as they stood in the unknown place where everyone literally knew each other and the two wayne siblings knew no one expect her mom and her dad.

"bianca, leo," susannah said now back to her normal self. "meet my boys, jeremiah" she pointed to a dirty blonde who had tight curls all over his head. "and conrad." she pointed over to the boy with brown hair. jermiah was taller than conrad yet, conrad had a more older face. "jeremiah is bianca's age and conrad is leo's age. boys say hi."

"hi." jeremiah said waving his hand enthusiastically.

"hi." conrad said more shyly than jermiah.

leo said hi back exactly like jermiah while bianca was practically hiding behind leo and waved back instead of saying hi. then two other kids came running down the stairs. a girl and a boy. the girl had long jet black hair, freckles over her face, already held a wide smile that could bright up anyways day, and she pushed the boy to the wall to be able to beat him. the boy had short ket black hair, his lip was turned downward but that only seemed to be his resting face.

"kids meet bianca and leo, lena's kids." laurel said.

"hi! i'm belly!" the girl said pushing in between conrad and jermiah and instead of the boys telling her something they just let her push them. leo held a smug look even at the age of 10. bianca smacked his arm in disgust. "this is my brother steven. he's mad because i made his lego tower fall. steven say hi."

"hi." he muttered out as nice as he can despite being mad of what his younger sister did to him a few minutes ago.

"belly and bianca can room together!" susannah said excitedly jumping up and down and clapping her hands together. belly got excited and smiled widely nodding her head. bianca looked up at her mom who gave her a nod telling her it's okay.

"come on, let me show you our room! it's far away from the boys so that's good." belly said walking over to bianca and sticking her hand out. bianca hesitantly put her hand out towards belly. the two girls then separated from their families and walked up the stairs. "you're very pretty."

"thank you, you are too. i like your hair." bianca said causing belly to blush and shrug her shoulders. "i'm serious. it's so silky, it must be easy to maintain it."

"it's alright. but your hair is so much better. it adds like wow to you. it's beautiful." belly said entering the room that the two girls were going to share. "you can pick the bed. this is going to be so much fun!"

and she was right. belly conklin was right it was the best summer that bianca has ever had. her dad taught her how to surf and by the end of the summer she was able to surf without her dad being in the ocean with her. she spent almost the entire time with belly. belly and bianca would sometimes hang out with the boys but they would mostly be playing cars or would tell them to go away.

jermiah seemed to be the one that would go between the girls and the boy which they didn't mind. her mom was happy the entire time and would tell the kids story during dinner time about times where her, laurel and susannah would get in trouble.

there was one time where bianca was out in the pool alone and belly's brother, steven, came down to tell her that dinner was ready. bianca was crying. he heard her crying and was just making an excuse to approach her. he sat down besides her by the pool and asked her why she was crying and bianca told him. she doesn't know why but she felt some sort of trust with him.

steven and bianca stayed by the pool almost the entire time that the three woman were cooking the dinner. they enjoyed each others presence even when there was a moment when the two were quiet and just listening to the waves in the distance crashing with the sand. once bianca stopped crying they headed back inside where the three woman acted like they weren't watching from afar and already placing bets.

the wayne family ended up going to cousins beach for every single summer. slowly but surely, summer started to be bianca's moment to pause. to take a quick break from reality and go to cousins beach where she can be at peace with herself, her mind and her life at home. slowly, cousins beach started to become her home.

until suddenly it felt like hell for bianca.