After Us

Chapter Twenty

There was only two weeks of summer vacation left. It was around this time that we found out that the offer on a house in Pickston had been accepted. Nothing is ever confirmed until all the paperwork is complete but this was a major step for us. Our old house had officially sold a few weeks ago. It was such an emotional process to go through and I cried a lot. As excited as I was about the move, I was gonna miss the house and this town. A lifetime of memories I had grown up with there and I didn't feel ready to give it all up. Even so, I felt that Pickston would be the beginning of a new chapter.

As part of our transition, we were now renting a house down in Pickston and I even managed to meet up with Mira and Hector for lunch. They were so happy about the moving news. Miles had said that he wouldn't tell them, but apparently, he had spilled the beans and they were all as excited as I was.

"He thought you had already told us. He was so mad at himself when we said we didn't know." Mira laughed.

It didn't matter, I filled in all the gaps and answered all their questions as we sat over lunch. Spending more time in the town was exciting but, later,  when Mum and I drove past the High School I got a knot in the middle of my stomach. I had never been to a new school before and had always simply followed my friends. Luckily I didn't entirely feel like the new girl since I already knew Mira, Tamara, Hector, Tristian, and Miles. Miles told me only two days ago that everyone sort of has their group already, meaning that they don't all hang out and eat lunch together every day. I was never good at picking groups in school. I was always that girl who goes to multiple groups to hang out with everyone, but I wasn't sure that I could do that at this school. All I had in mind, for now, was linking in with Miles and whichever group he was in.

I decided to not stress about it because I still had two weeks and I was determined to enjoy these last couple of weeks. I knew that if I didn't I would spend my time worrying about the 'what if's and judging myself too harshly. I try and get better at it but each time stressful situations come, I lose it once again. Oliver used to help me during school to feel confident about myself. Freshman year was hard for me I had a friend group that I was close with since seventh grade but once high school came, they went off without me. I had no one and now thinking back to it I'm actually glad they left because if they hadn't, I would never have become friends with Olive. It was our lack of friends that coincidentally brought us both together. Whilst away Oliver had called to tell me that he's finally made friends at work. He had liked the cafe job but the pay was low and work-shifts got filled up quickly, not leaving him many options. His  new job was at our favorite place, Pebbles Diner, our milkshake meeting place. Our favorite place to meet and solve the world's problems. I will definitely be visiting him and it was great to know that I wasn't leaving him alone.

Miles moved back officially with his Dad and said he had a hard time saying bye to his Mom and Cami although she said she would come and visit more, knowing that she would see me too. Life felt good, and, like a movie, I wasn't sure how it was going to end. I didn't want it to end but I knew that all good things do come to an end. Life will still go on and I still have two more years of high school. More than anything, it's crazy to think how much I've changed just over this summer. All I knew was that I was ready for a fresh new start.