“We’re moving today, so you best go and see Leah and Alice now, because come tomorrow we won’t be back here.” Her words hit me like a ton of bricks.
“But what about school?” I asked her, my voice breaking. Her answer hurt me more than anything else that had happened up until then.
“Oh, you’re changing schools Monday, didn’t I tell you that?” Her smile was vicious, and she knew that she’d told me no such thing.
As I walked into Leah’s apartment, Shawn came back outside carrying boxes, and he glanced over at me.
“Better make it quick, we need to pack your room yet.” I nodded at him, not caring about anything at all. My mom was ruining my life, taking me away from Leah, Alice, and Wendy, and she didn’t even care that she was putting me into hell.
The next hour at Leah’s went too quickly, and I was dragged away to pack up my room. My mom had obviously started without me because most of my clothes had been put in black bags.
As I took them out and packed them properly, my mom appeared at the door, rolling her eyes when she saw what I was doing.
“Bailey, I’m going with Shawn and the movers. Cooper will be here to pick you up soon, so I suggest you hurry and make sure that anything you want to keep is taken. We won’t be back here after today.”
She narrowed her eyes at me as I folded up my Evil Dead shirt and placed it into a box. My mom had wanted a prissy princess-like girl and instead, she got me with my fondness for black loose clothes.
My bed had been dismantled as had my dresser and I searched around for my laptop, finding it and my cable on the floor. I packed them quickly and glanced around, peeling photos of Alice, Leah, Wendy, and me from my bulletin board. I also boxed up my bathroom and walked out to check on my room as the movers carried some of my boxes outside.
I moved to my closet and glanced around for the box of stuff that I’d kept from Louis. It wasn’t there and I began to panic. My mom had cleaned his room out a week after his death and turned it into a study neither of us used. I’d salvaged his football jersey, his prize ball, and some teddy bears. I’d also salvaged his school yearbook and all our photos of him and hid them in my closet in a box labeled private.
“Mom,” I called as I rushed out to the living room, but she wasn’t there. My eyes were stinging as I ran from room to room seeing loads of boxes, but not the one I was looking for. I checked everywhere in the house and then ran outside.
My heart raced as I saw it sitting beside the garbage can and I ran over to it, scooping it up and holding it to my chest. I couldn’t believe it; my mom tried to throw my memories away again. Sometimes I really hated her. My hands shook as I walked back inside and a few tears escaped my eyes, rolling down my cheeks.
Seeing the box of my brother’s things discarded like that hurt me in ways I couldn’t describe. I placed it gently on the windowsill, opening it slowly and breathing a sigh of relief when I found everything was still in the box. I didn’t check on it often, but I knew exactly what was inside. I closed it softly over and spun around to take in my room one last time.
It had been stripped bare and I perched on the sill, sadly looking around. I didn’t even have a cell to call Wendy to tell her, or to talk to her. I picked up my glasses and put them on. I hid behind them and the feel of them on my nose calmed me. They’d belonged to Louis and I wore them to keep part of him with me.
My mom hated them and rolled her eyes every time she saw them on my face, but I didn’t care.
The car horn beeped and I saw Cooper in the driver’s seat. I gathered my three bags and my box and made my way out to the car. It was the same silver car from the other night and the girl from the previous day was in the front seat. As I approached the car, I saw his eyes narrow at me. When I tried to open the door, he moved the car forward a few feet. Then he did it again. I sat down on the paving stones with my box and a few black bags on my knees, staring into space as he took off down the street ignoring me.
I’d already locked the door, so I didn’t bother going back inside the house, but after half an hour of the cold April wind biting at me I stood up. Just as I reached the door another car horn beeped. I turned around to see a dark blue car with Shawn at the wheel and my mom sitting beside him looking like she was sucking on a lemon.
Turning around, I headed to the car, and as I opened one of the back doors, the blast of heat set my teeth chattering. My mom started on me as soon as I got into the car and I glared at the ground as she spoke.
“Bailey, what happened to you? Cooper came by here forty minutes ago and said you didn’t come out to the car.” I shrugged, shivering, and she turned around in her chair. “Bailey, a verbal answer would be nice.” I didn’t want to start trouble with Shawn and his family, so I muttered, “Guess I fell asleep.”
Shawn started driving away as my mom started on me again, seeing my shirts and sweaters in the bag on the seat beside me. I’d hidden the box behind the bags, hoping to avoid an argument with my mom.
“Oh, Bailey, can’t we just throw those clothes out? They are awful and you have a whole new wardrobe, doesn’t she, Shawn? Shawn went out with Amelia, his sister to buy you new clothes and shoes; even a new cell which was very generous of him.”
I smiled and said thank you, thinking it would be a cold day in hell before I wore anything he’d bought for me because I hated charity and I didn’t like him and damn it, he’d changed my whole life and I hated him for it.
We drove for forty minutes and pulled into a property that had my jaw hitting the floor. It was huge, white, and on a lake, which looked deep and pretty. There was a dock, a pool, and a wraparound porch. The garage had three doors and Shawn pulled into the first, driving straight in. I counted at least ten cars and there were still a few open spaces.
My mom and Shawn got out of the car and I sat there for a moment, mourning my old life. How did things change so quickly and get so out of control? My mom hadn’t even thought to consult me about changing our lives around. Shawn opened the other door and grabbed my bags. I grabbed the box and let myself out of the car.
As Shawn led me into the house, my eyes widened at the wide-open living area. I could see stainless steel appliances in the kitchen with a huge granite island and mahogany cupboards. There was a set of doors right out onto the back of the house and from there I could see a path down towards the water, all covered in white decking.
He led me through the kitchen to a grand staircase and led me up the stairs, pointing to the three rooms on this floor. His and my moms was at the very end of the right side of the hall and I could see a cream sofa in their room. He pointed straight on and told me that was his office, and that his door was always open to me. To the left of the office was a bay window and another closed door further down the hall. “That’s Zane’s room.”
He moved towards the stairs again, and I knew that Cooper was upstairs next to me on the third floor. With each step I took my apprehensiveness grew until my palms began to sweat and shook as my teeth chattered. My glasses slipped down my nose and I took them off since I didn’t really need them on.
I slid my glasses into my shirt pocket and moved down the hall. Shawn stopped outside a door and knocked, before pushing the door open. Cooper was standing frozen in a towel with water running in rivulets down his abs. My eyes were drawn to his incredible physique and as I ran my eyes up his body, I was met by an evil glare. He marched over and slammed the door on us.