The day to leave arrived to soon as I found myself hugging James and Jordan till they couldn't breath. I Sniffed them both deeply hoping to remember their sent. "See ya around Jersey," Jordan gave me one more hug before I turned to Madelyn.
Madelyn was my closest sister in age, 13. She wasn't into basketball, but she did do softball which was still pretty cool. "See ya later Madelyn!" By then tears had clouded my vision and I stumbled on to Luca.
"Jersey when are you coming home?" My youngest brother asked.
"I'll be back before you even have a chance to miss me." I could tell Luca knew it was a lie but he hugged me all the same and let me go.
Callie was last, my cute little angel. She was only six and I was going to leave her for an entire year. she was going to be a whole year older when I see her again. The thought only made me chock on another sob. Callie hugged me the longest and we had to pry her little hands off me in order for her to let go.
I gave my parents one last hug and ran off to my plane turning back only once to find them all smiling and waving, encouraging me, like this was only a fun vacation and not a whole new life.
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The plane ride past without incident, and I soon found my legs walking out to greet a short lady with tan skin and Carmel colored hair flecked with gray. Aunt Lizzie looked overjoyed to see me and I ran to her side. I had cried on the plane ride and Aunt Lizzie's piercing eyes trailed my puffy ones, but she didn't comment, instead she pulled me closer and whispered in my ear "Sometimes life's going to throw you a curveball, but you just gotta roll with it."
I forgot Aunt Lizzie played softball when she was younger and often relates her favorite sport to life. In her own way she kind of reminded myself of me.
It took a while to find my luggage and even longer to load it all up, but eventually we were able to drive and make it back to Aunt Lizzie's ranch. It amazes me how one women can captain this huge land mass by herself. Even though it's weird to be living in the middle of no where Aunt Lizzie didn't seem all that bad.
When we arrived home I stopped and gaped at the small house. She had acres and acres of land, but she had the smallest house. When we walked in she directed me past the kitchen and to a bedroom that I was meant to stay in. The bedroom wasn't as big as my room back home, and I had to share a bathroom with Aunt Lizzie, but I could manage. I would have to manage. By the time dinner rolled around I had a lot of my stuff unpacked. My whole closet was good and my bathroom essentials had found a place. That was as good as tonight was going to get.
So I pulled on a new jersey and ran down the steps to find Aunt Lizzie stirring a pot of soup. I set the table and we both sat down at her rickety table. Dinner was an awkward silence until Lizzie reminded me that tomorrow was the first day at my new school. The thought alone made me want to curl up and cry. So I said nothing and excused myself to my room.
That night I had trouble sleeping, I couldn't help but think of Jordan and James and the rest of my family. But they weren't the only ghost who haunted me. Lily and Mallory visited me as well, laughing and pointing at my predicament. I woke in a cold sweat and decided I couldn't go back to sleep.
It was only 5 in the morning so I decided to go for a run. I needed to move. I ran for nearly an hour and a half relishing in the feel of my aching muscles. The burning in my legs was enough to clear my head. When I was calm again I ran back to Aunt Lizzie's and hopped in the shower. The water pounded methodically on my back undoing the nervous knots.
When I got out of the water paradise I put on the first jersey I could find with some jeans. Even though people claim they are uncomfortable, Jeans are my favorite. I love them!
When I was fully clothed I put my school stuff together and combed my hair. By then my hair was nearly dry and I decided to put it up with a Dutch braid leading into the pony. Though my dad calls me a Tom boy I still love braiding. I am a natural and I love the way my fingers twirl and dance to the music of the hair.
When I was all done I ran down stairs for a quick breakfast. I found Aunt Lizzie sitting in the counter with over all's on, ready to go to work on the Ranch. She handed me a granola bar and gave me keys to her truck. "I won't be needing it. I barely leave the ranch. Plus I have another truck on the other side of the field if I really need it." I gave her a questioning look. "I keep one truck on each end of the ranch for emergencies. I've never needed both. I'll manage with one and you can take the other. You can take the nearest one, I drove you in her yesterday from the airport. Her names Beth, treat her well, she's very old." My face must have betrayed how worried I was because she added "she won't break down, she's solid, just don't wreck her."
I nodded and was about to leave before I remembered I still wasn't sure how to get to the high school. Lizzie just smiled and gave me the instructions before I could ask and pushed me out. I found the car with ease and climbed right in. I waited for a minute before I started the car. Today was crucial. Hopefully I can just go unnoticed. There was nothing remarkable about me. Minus the fact that I was the only new girl in such a small town in nearly a decade. I sighed and drove off, today would be fine. I had never been good at lying.
YOU ARE READING
Hustle Heart
ChickLit"You just got to hustle to keep up. If your fast enough, good enough quick enough...If I was better, quicker, slicker maybe I could have..." "Look, what happened with your brother was not your fault. Sometimes in the game you drop the ball, and the...
