Box after box after box, they were beginning to pile up a little too high for Cassandra's liking. "Mmm...Carter take those five with you," she demanded in a soft tone. Carter sighs heavily from behind a tower of stacked boxes, trudging her mother's way. The weather had no mercy for the bustling family on their final pacing day; sure California is sunny and hot, but today it morphed itself into a state of scorching heat. Had it not been for the two twenties in her back pocket, Carter would not even be lifting a finger.
* * *
She may have been moving against her will, but that wasn't going to stop her from continuing to save up money for a car. Her heart was set on the Silver Mazda a neighbor of her's had on the market, only a couple hundred dollars was what she needed to make it her own. No one besides Stacey knew about her secret savings, especially not her mother. Chase may have suspicions, but he usually never pays attention to anything (besides his games and sports) long enough to pursue it, let alone a hunch about where Carter's money goes.
It's no secret Carter is no fan of this move. She is after all happy in her California home in the big city, everything going absurdly perfect for Carter. Things were nicely in her realm of control, perfect grades, good friends, fantastic mental health, and most importantly: no Hank. Carter was no stranger to moving, she had moved about six times in the past, a recurring point her mother was always making, a way of attempting to ease some tension between them. But their family never had to move because of some man she only saw once or twice, every couple of months, a man who had her mother wrapped around his fat, ring wearing finger.
To say Carter didn't like Hank would be an understatement. Carter didn't like many things, a long list she had compiled herself in the fourth grade, but Hank was different, she hated him. He had come into her life at the beginning of last year, having been her mother's midnight kiss on New Year's. At first, Carter was unfazed, her mother was a beautiful woman constantly going on dates with a variety of men.
Truthfully Carter had always been disappointed she didn't resemble her mother in the slightest. Where her mother had warm hazel eyes, Carter had lifeless brown ones. Her mother had wavy, long, amber hair, Carter had untamably straight,long, dark brown hair. Cassandra had adorable freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose and cheeks, her daughter had a beauty mark or two scattered on her face(she thanked her lucky stars they were barely noticable). Even their personalities were polar opposites. It seemed unfair to Carter that she hadn't inherited anything good from her mother.
Her mother's charms had won Hank over in a heartbeat, or so he says. After a couple of dates during his days in California, they began a serious relationship, something Cassandra never thought she would have again. They continued to speak over the past year, Hank taking days off throughout the months to pay her a visit. After two or so months, he convinced her to move to his home state, but gave her time to decide when she wanted to make the trip.
Months later lead to Carter packing boxes to move to a completely new state on the other side of the country. This curve-ball life had thrown her ruined all her articulated plans. She had planned to buy the Mazda with the secret money she had saved when she got back from San Francisco, get a job with her best friend Stacy, and finally make her move on her high school crush Ryland.
Cassandra met her daughter's glare, she knew how unhappy Carter was. She wanted nothing more than to tuck the stray hairs whipping around Carter's face, around her ear in the moment. Their fight was inevitable if the move was gong to happen. It was a very hair-raising decision to move because of the thought of how Carter would react, it took all of her senses not to let her inner mom kick in and stop the moving process. Hank was a great person, he would be the extra support the three of them needed in their lives. He was understanding, and very insightful, it was his idea to move. The way he spoke about New York on his last visit made it seem as if it was his own personal slice of heaven. That's all Cassandra ever wanted, a heaven where her problems couldn't come in and ruin everything she worked hard to achieve.
No one hated seeing Carter upset more than Cassandra, she felt completely guilty. It was near the end of her Junior year, her trip only a couple weeks away. She hated the timing of the trip, it only added more tension between Carter and her. Hank was right though, it was about time she did something to make herself happy. In time Carter would be out and about all over New York, making new friends, going on other trips. Cassandra just hoped she would come around before they landed .
* * *
The knot in Carter's neck was nearly unbearable, she had a fair dislike of airplanes (she hated Hank more than airplanes) and airports. All she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and sleep, preferably with her cat Charlie by her side. She thanked the universe her mother gave up the idea of leaving Charlie with Stacey, she wouldn't have known what to do without her fiery orange fur-ball. He was a little piece of California that would be coming with her, reminding her that she only needed to survive a year or two, then she could go back and pick up where she left off.
Chase was happy the airport was two hours away. He enjoyed car rides almost as much as he loved his Xbox, something he would never admit to his older sister or anyone for the matter. It never clicked why his sister was such a perfectionist when it came to such small details like where she sat on the trip to their new home and what position Charlie's crate was in beside her. She wanted to be a photographer, and her personality was a complete opposite from the pictures she took, which always had a hint of chaos to them. Whether it was the location or the pose she'd shoot the model in. She was a difficult person too, always wanting things her way,and specifically the way she planed them. If there was something she needed to learn above everything else this summer, it would be to let go and roll with the punches life threw at her. But then again, that was just his opinion.
He looked out the window, making smiley faces on the foggy window of Hank's car. Hank was driving, his mom in the passenger seat beside him, and finally Carter and himself in the back with Charlie. It amazed him how she was able to sneak such an obvious, orange-haired cat onto the plane. Carter loved her cat more than anything and anyone else, he even sided with her against their mom about the decision to leave him with Stacey. Charlie may not personally belong to Chase, but he can't help love the cat almost as much as his sister...almost. He also knew that without this cat, there was no way they would even be able to get his sister out of the now empty house.
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
Every Little Thing
रोमांसThis year was supposed to be simple: survive the rest of high school, save up as much money as possible, move back to California and become roommates with Stacey. That was the plan, it was all set from the moment she landed in New York. But of cours...
