Wishing For Tomorrow

Chapter Five: The New Beginning

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Mom was right, we started packing the next day. I was still a bit sore but I didn’t want her to know that. The process for the packing was long and boring but we were done before the day was half over. Ever since my father moved out, the boys deciding at home last night that they wanted to go live with our father, we didn’t that much stuff to pack up.

I was still packing up my stuff when my mother came up to my room. I knew she was standing in my doorway but I waited until I closed and taped up the box I was working on before I turned to her. Then I stood straight up, turned towards her but didn’t look her in the eyes. I heard her sigh and I closed my eyes for a moment.

“When will you speak to me?” she finally asked, taking a long and deep breath. I turned my back to her and opened my eyes.

“I don’t know,” I said truthfully, reaching up and twirling a strand of my hair. She sighed again and I heard her walk away. I looked over my shoulder and I felt myself get dizzy. I turned back to my stuff and kept on packing. I reached for the tape and pulled on it for a second before biting it with my teeth to make it break. Then I placed it on the top of the box and hit it to make it go down.

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I carried my last box down to the car. I kicked at the rear tire and mom looked up at me. She walked around me, pulled open the U-Haul we rented and pointed to put it in there. I nodded and shuffled back to the truck. I put the box down slowly, making sure that nothing broke right away. Then I looked over at my mother but she didn’t look over at me. She stood there, looking at our “Old House”, keys in one hand, her purse in the other. She had tears in her eyes but she didn’t shed any. I guess she knew better.

“Ready?” I asked, clapping my hands against my thighs. She glanced over at me, the tears in her eyes gone, and she frowned a second before giving me a small smile.

“Yeah, let’s go.” she said, walking to our car now.

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Our new house looked really, really nice from what I could see. It was a two story house with two wide bay windows, a wrap around porch and so much more. I sort of fell in love with the house from first sight and I knew mom knew.

My favorite song blared on the radio. Mom reached over to turn it down, then stopped, her fingers resting on the knob. Then she sat back and hummed along with the song. I smiled and wondered what she was thinking about. My thoughts turned to the child that was growing inside of me, inside of my young womb. My hand went to my side, and I clutched my shirt. I was sweating slightly and I could feel the sweat through my thin shirt.

“You ok?” my mom asked, breaking through my thoughts. I looked over at her and nodded.

“I was just wondering if staying pregnant was a good idea or not.” I admitted, looking out the window now. She nodded, as if she understood. I smiled a bit, it felt good with it just being the two of us.

She pulled into the driveway and a tree branch scrapped the top the car. I cringed at the sound and she smiled again. I glanced back out the window and then threw open my door. I stepped out and stretched my arms and back. I heard her climb out and pop her back and neck as well.

“Welcome home,” she said, for once, sounding truly happy. I nodded and quickly agreed with her.

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We hadn’t been inside more than an hour or so before we had someone over. A young woman and her son. Her son’s name was James and the nice lady’s name was Hanna. Her and my mom got along nicely right away. But I didn’t too much with James right off the bat.

James seemed like a mamma’s boy right off the bat. He had short black hair, blue eyes and a nice smile. He was simple and plain. But he did seem nice to me. But only a bit. Right away he started asking too many questions, questions that bugged me.

“Why’d you move?” he asked after the second or third time. I glanced over my shoulder and just stared at him. He smiled at me but I didn’t bite.

“Ask a lot of questions?” I asked rudely, putting down my last box in my new room. He frowned at me and didn’t say anything for a minute. Then he opened his mouth.

“I was just wondering. It’s not like I’m going to hurt or anything.” he snapped at me. Then he stood up and marched out of my room, slamming the door behind him. I sighed and sat on floor next to where my makeshift bed was. I placed my hand on the floor, the other on the bed and I felt a piece of paper under my fingers.

“James Houston, address: 513 Mayberry Rd. Phone #: 555-9976.” I read aloud. This sent shivers up my spine and I moved up on top of my bed.

“Sorry that I ask too many questions,” James said from my door. I looked up, startled. He stood in my doorway, tears in his eyes.

“It’s ok,” I said, giving him a smile to help reassure him. He nodded and came into my room a bit more. “You can sit down,” I said, patting the bed. He nodded and for a moment, I almost saw a sly gleam in his eyes. It sent shivers back up and down my spine but I tried to ignore it. He came closer to me but sat on the floor.

“I’m fine here,” he said, giving me a smile.

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