*formerly known as Shadow Hillcreak*
Iveline Carterson was expecting three things at her new school when her family moved to ShadowHill, Virginia.
1. A clique of bitchy mean girls.
2. Hard classes, strict teachers.
3. The heartthrob that makes ever...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
THERE IS A TIME FOR EVERYTHING. A time to keep secrets, a time to stab someone in the back, a time for heartbreak, and a time for true love.
It's like a map life has planned for us. A twisted, rugged, unruly map that takes us over mountains and through valleys and on long, curvy roads that would sometimes take us to a dead end.
But it's life and in life, there was a time for everything.
Like today.
My dad's ten-year-old pickup truck went over a speed bump, passing by gnarled trees that were still blossoming with flowers and over the large plains of land that were covered in emerald green grass.
The clouds were grey with sunlight bursting from behind, creating a shadow that casted over the next turn. "Are you excited about this move?" my dad asked, keeping his eyes on the road. His voice was very soft, his statement more like a plea for an answer.
My twin brother scoffed, shaking his head and keeping his gaze out on the dirt-speckled window. "What is so exciting about moving to a new state and starting a new life?" Evan said in a harsh tone.
His voice was dry, and sore and his fingers were curled into a fist. He raised his eyes, blue like our mother's, to meet our dad's in the mirror, muttering "Exciting" in a monotone voice that said otherwise.
"Oh don't be like that" our dad replied in a desperate voice, turning a corner. Inside, I winced knowing he was only trying to make conversation but at the same time, he was practically beating a dead horse.
He was trying to keep the conversation alive even when it was already dead the minute he opened his mouth. "I know this is a big change for us but new opportunities are waiting for us here. We bought a beautiful house and you two will be starting school tomorrow. Not everything is bad."
"So moving to a new state, abandoning half of our friends in a last-ditch effort to forget that mom is dead is a good thing?" he questioned. He scoffed, making a disgusting sound under his breath before sinking into the leather seat. "Sometimes, I wonder what sick thoughts go through your head."
Capturing my attention by the rudeness he was throwing at Dad, I gave my brother a death stare. earning only an eye roll from him. In the mirror, our dad sighed, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel and his dreary eyes desperately trying to hold back the tears.
Our mother died six months ago in a terrible car crash. She was driving home from her parent's house when a drunk driver hit her car at a red light. The autopsy predicted that she died not from the actual crash itself but from the amount of blood she lost when she arrived at the hospital.
The loss was devastating, especially for my dad and Evan. My mom and I had a bit of an unstable relationship. Typical mother and teenage daughter arguments but regardless, I loved her like any daughter would love their mother and was wrecked when I found out about her death.
