when i'm gone

moving

i woke up late the next morning. i didn't know where i was momentarily. i had forgotten about what happened last night until it hit me and i felt around with my leg for mommy in the bed, but she was gone and the sheets were cold. i lifted my head off of the pillow and rubbed my eyes. i glanced at the clock and it read 11:17 am. i yawned painfully then sat up and slipped out of bed. i walked through the opened door and headed for my room. i peeked in and saw cc and twyla were still asleep. it looked like they hadn't even moved since i saw them last. i headed downstairs and smelled coffee and blueberry muffins. i saw grandma was taking a tray of freshly made pastries from the oven and mommy sipped a nice steaming cup of coffee.

"good morning, sunshine," grandma patted me on the head with an oven mitt on her hand. mommy looked at me meaningfully. "rest good, baby?" i nodded, "i did." i walked up to the window in the kitchen by the little coffee table and looked down at the small city down below. i could see graffiti along the cement walls of buildings and trucks moving through quickly. "what's down there?" i asked as mommy followed my eye. "that, my dear, is highland park." mommy's voice seemed to raise happily and it was as if she was holding back her excitement. "you know what else is down there?" mommy asked me and set down her coffee cup loudly. "hm?" i turned around to face her. "our new house!"

i was speechless. i opened my mouth but nothing came out and i stared at her. "o-our new house? what do you mean?" i had to sit down. "this morning, i got up real early and looked at houses for sale near grandma and grandpa and found a perfect one right down in highland park. i got it just now. we are going to have to go look at it of course to make sure we want it, but otherwise i told the lady that we wanted it right away. that it was an emergency and we needed to get out of our house right away." i jumped up. "this is gonna be awesome! is the house big? what's it like?" i looked out the window again before she could reply, and realized something. there was no ocean. "how'm i gonna surf?" "woah, woah slow down, lovebug. the house is... small, but perfect for us four. and we can just drive up to the beach whenever you guys feel like it."

everything was happening to fast, i couldn't take it. i blinked and looked at the ground. "us four...?" i looked up suspiciously. mommy rubbed her eyes and cleared her throat. "daddy and i have got some things to work out, ok? don't worry. it's not your job to worry about it." she could see my anxiety creeping up. i accepted it. don't worry. it's ok. don't worry. i convinced myself then heard a few footsteps entering the kitchen. twyla and cc clambered on to mommy as she sat and hugged her tight. "morning!" they said in unison.

a few hours had passed and we all were dressed, in the car driving to the new house. i looked around at all the shops and cafes. it was a rundown place, bars on the windows of some stores, lines to a bagel shop. when we arrived, i noticed we had no driveway. it was a tiny little gray house with white window panes and a white door. the porch was wood with chipped off paint and a broken rocking chair, but wind chimes hung and made a delightful sound. we pushed open the creaking door and saw the interior was nicer than the outside. "this is so cute," twyla twirled around in her dress. the kitchen was all marble and the couches were a white leather. there was a big flat screen tv and two bedrooms. inside each bedroom had its own bathroom and a set of windows. the backyard was grassy and had a swing set that looked like termites had gotten the best of.

"this place needs some love. what do you think guys?" mommy looked at us after we had explored. "i like it," i said confidently. "it's really cool," cc looked around again. "please, can we get it, please?" twyla hopped on her toes. mommy laughed and looked at the seller. "it's ours." we all let out a hooray. i ran outside to the porch and then down the sidewalk a ways so i could grab mommy's purse that she had forgotten in the car. i watched my feet as i jogged until suddenly i collided with someone and didn't have enough time to catch my feet so i fell backwards and hit the cement hard. i groaned and opened my eyes, the sunlight making me strain them. i saw a familiar face. i gasped. finneas?