She was a good girl.
She was polite.
She was humble.
She was extremely beautiful.
She studied hard.
She didn't drink.
She was completely genuine.
She would curl up with an good book every night and be completely content.
She had a past that always t...
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"I can't believe you're finally moving back home," my best friend Luke Taylor enthuses as we drive past the vaguely familiar sign.
"Welcome to Pearlacre"
The sign had faded in color since the last time I had seen it and looked worn and tired. In a strange way, I felt as though I related to the sign.
I hadn't seen that sign for 3 years, and although it didn't seem like a lot, it felt like it was a whole lifetime ago to me.
Of course I had been back here throughout my time abroad to visit my grandparents, cousins, and obviously Luke, but it had only been for a short time and I had always flown in, never having seen this particular sign since the last time I drove past it. Although we were heading in the opposite direction, I made sure I turned my body around to take one last look at the once bright sign. A memory that I've never forgotten.
Perhaps it was the fact that the last time I saw the sign it was after everything had happened and looking back at it allowed my younger self to reminisce. I never understood why my mom decided to up and run, I mean I understood that after everything that happened she needed a fresh start but it always felt to me like she was running away from everything.
Her family was around, maybe my innocent mind felt as though her family could heal everything and it would all be okay. I didn't want to leave my family, I was always extremely close to my cousins on my mother's side as well as her parents, and she was always extremely close to her family. It never really made sense to me.
That was until I grew older and understood exactly why my mother did what she did.
In fact, I still wasn't truly on board with moving back home. Of course I would never tell my mom that, she missed her family so much and anybody could tell. The distance didn't affect our relationship with my mother's family at all, we would call every day and see each other every holiday, but it eventually wasn't enough for my mom.
She was an amazing mom and my best friend. If she had known that I wasn't ready to return she never would have made the move, but she had sacrificed so much for me and I knew this was what she really needed, what both she and my younger brother Elijah needed. Elijah was young when everything happened and although he pretends to be cool, I know that it still affects him and that he needs to be back with our family.
My mother was lucky though, she met a man while we were away and recently got engaged to him. It may seem like a short time, but Robert and my mother were absolutely perfect for each other, and Robert was perfect for Elijah and I. Robert was an amazing man, he had invested his youth into his work and therefore didn't have a family of his own so he loved Elijah and I like his own children, and we loved him back.
Robert was a detective and a good one at that. He had started off as a cop but got promoted extremely quickly. He loved his job so much and it was always really nice to see. He was such a family man and it shocked me that he hadn't had his own. My mother's family also adored him, something that they never experienced when it came to my mother and her choice of men.
