Midtown

Two

Carly

"This is going to be a nightmare." Carly sighed as she looked out the car window. It was the fifth time she said it already this morning, so her mother didn't respond to it. Carly did everything but kick and scream to avoid moving to Midtown. None of her methods worked seeing as her mom parked their car behind the large U-Haul her dad drove that sat outside a large white and black house.

"Why did you pick this place again?" She asked. It was a cloudy day, so the already depressing town looked even more gloomy as she continued to study the house.

"The price was right and its close to both your school and our new place of work." Her mom answered.

It was only the three of them in their family. Their new house was large with three bedrooms. The idea that the third room would be for guest was laughable to Carly.

She heard the rumors. She knows the stories. Everyone in Uptown had something to say about Midtown. Even people in Midtown have something to say about Midtown. No one likes to drive in this direction, much less stay in the town.

Carly couldn't blame those people though. Who would want to get caught on these streets at night? She already felt in danger, and it was noon. If she had a genie's lamp, Carly would definitely wish herself out of this.

After getting out of the U-Haul, Carly's dad went up to the house and her mother went with her to open the back of the truck.

"You don't have to be so down about this Carly. We're here so just accept it." Her mom started, "We just need to get our finances together again and we'll decide then if it would be better to move back."

Carly didn't agree nor disagree with her mother. Her parents were laid off at their old job and they were in a big financial crisis. So it was either move here or end up on the streets.

Sure, the streets of Uptown looked a lot better and were much cleaner, but that didn't mean Carly would rather live on them. So that made her keep her mouth shut this time. Before she grabbed a box to take in, she looked up and down the street.

There were at least sixteen houses on her new block but she only noticed about six or seven cars included theirs and their moving truck. It felt so empty and abandoned. By now, Carly would have at least seen her neighbor leaving, and the kids across the street playing outside if they were still in Uptown. So far, she hasn't seen any living movement.

"These boxes aren't going to get in by themselves." Her mother said.

Carly grabbed one of her boxes she could see and headed in to her new home. The newly polished hardwood floors creaked a bit after she stepped inside. The living room was spacious. The flooring was wooden and seemed almost like someone tried to polish it up.

Everything about the house seemed normal. Carly sighed a relief with the thought. But she still can't let her guard down. Normal or not, there was still something about Midtown she needed to figure out. Not even her house was a safe place yet.

Hours past before the last trip to the truck came, and all boxes and furniture were in the rooms they needed to be in. It was well into the evening already. Carly fell into the nearest chair she could find not wanting to move another thing.

"You sure you don't want to go? I'm just looking around is all."

Carly looked up and hear her father talking to her mother as he was coming down the stairs.

"Are you going somewhere?" She asked.

"I just want to familiarize myself with the area. You want to take a ride?"