Silence erupted in the room, my dad's eyes still on me as I continued to stare at the TV. It wasn't long until his voice echoed around the room. "Do you want to go, Rochelle?" Whenever he used my full name, I knew he was being serious. Did he see something in my expression that I was accidentally showing? He must've thought that I wanted to go desperately but in all honesty, I couldn't care less if I were to go or not. "Of course not, dad. We had this fishing trip planned ever since you got that offer to work here. I rather spend time with you than go to that party." It was the honest truth. He raised an eyebrow at me, not buying what I was saying. Ugh, I hated how he didn't believe me sometimes. This man was a handful. With a heavy sigh, I turned my head to look at him dead in the eyes as I said slowly, "I don't want to go dad. I prefer fishing." "Says the vegetarian," he muttered playfully as he resumed his previous position on the couch. I glared at him mockingly before I stood up and grabbed my bag. "I'm going to pack. At what time are we leaving?" He raised his arm as he looked at the silver watch on his left wrist. "About an hour. We want to be able to make it before sundown." "Are we coming back by Sunday afternoon?" He simply nodded his head, letting me know it was the end of the conversation. Some people would think that it was quite rude, but I had already grown accustomed to it. My dad has never been the same after my mom's death, and it was perfectly understandable. They were soul mates, and losing her had to be one of the greatest unfortunate events my dad ever had to encounter. His first was losing his father after he had come back from serving at war, but that wasn't as great as this one. My mom and dad had been going out since his senior year and her junior year in high school. They never once broke it off and even during his time where he had to leave the country, she was completely faithful to him as he was to her. Their love story was truly special and I always wished that I could find a love like that one day after my dad had told me their story when I was 13. I made my way up the stairs and closed the door behind me once I entered the room. It was going to be easy to pack since I knew exactly what to bring. Since we were heading South, I was pretty sure that the weather was going to be a lot warmer than it was here. It wasn't like it was freezing where I am now, but you can tell that winter was on its way by the chill in the air. I pulled out my suitcase from under my bed and proceeded to packing all the necessities I needed for the trip, which wasn't much. After packing in my underwear (hey, I wasn't going to wear clothes without anything under), I entered my closet and pulled out two long sleeved shirts and two tank-tops to accompany them. They didn't cling to my body, which was perfect for the semi-hot weather I was most likely going to endure once I got there. Grabbing two pairs of shorts, I placed them all, neatly, inside of my suit case. Stepping inside my closet once more, I contemplated if I should bring my swim suit. Hmm, why not? I was done in no time so I decided to grab a few books as well as my school work. I wasn't taking a vacation and it was only the beginning of the school year. I did have homework you know, especially since I was taking AP classes. I was already used to the piles of homework during the weekend, so it was nothing I couldn't handle. ~~~~~~~ Hours have already passed and we were already close to our usual cabin. The trees were a lot denser here than the ones around our new home, but I didn't mind. I found it quite extravagant as I stared at them while my dad went down the dirt road. The truck was filled with a comfortable silence as we neared our destination. Finally, after a few more dreadful minutes of my bottom suffering the now hard leather seats below me, my dad pulled up to the cabin and I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. This was practically like my second home and the only thing in my life that still had not changed. My dad parked the truck and I immediately got out, grabbing my backpack and suitcase before dashing to the house. I didn't even bother to look back as I entered the front door. I went ahead and ran upstairs to the small bedroom I had here and laid out my clothes in the small dresser that came along with the cabin. Once I was done, I headed downstairs and out to the front porch. My dad was already getting settled in his room as I passed his door. He didn't bother to say anything after he saw me walking to the lake that laid out in front of the cabin. Isn't that awesome?! Taking off my sneakers, I walked towards the still unfrozen lake (it did get frozen throughout the winter you know). Beneath me, the short green grass turned into small pebbles as I made my way towards the small dock that hovered over the water. It was my favorite place to be while we were here. The calmness and silence of the lake always made me feel at peace.