Heart of the Forest

Chapter 1 Millie's POV

It's been over two years since the worst day of my life. The day David died.

I remember it so vividly. I thought it would get easier to get out of bed, but it wasn't.

One thing kept me strong, kept me going, Connor.

Smiling at the thought of my sweet four, almost five-year-old, I finally rolled out of bed. He had honey blonde hair and green eyes just like me and a tenacious personality just like David.

Connors' smile could light up a whole room. It could bring you out of the darkest of places. He was the only thing that I had to live for.

He was the reason for everything. The reason we would be moving to a small town in Washington.

I never thought I would leave Southern California. When David and I took out a loan for this house, we thought it would be ours forever.

However, California is too expensive for a single mom with no help and a minimum wage job. My parents lived across the United States in North Carolina.

  Not like it mattered I wasn't close to them anyways.
  
  After David got in the wreck, it was just Connor and me with no one near us.
  
We were alone and falling behind on our mortgage payments fast, so when David's aunt called and offered me a job as a receptionist at her spa and a house that had been in the family, I jumped at the opportunity.

Christmas and Thanksgiving were the only times I had met David's aunt, but she was offering me a lot. More than I knew my parents ever would.

She even offered to pick Connor up from preschool and watch him while I finished shifts at the spa.

The thought of someone else watching him made me anxious; however, I needed to take whatever help I could get. Before the accident, I was a stay-at-home mom.

David worked hard as a doctor so that I could stay home with Connor and all our future children....Our future children we would never have.

After David died, I began working part-time at a local pet store while Connor went to Pre-k. Obviously, not ideal for a Southern California budget.

David had left us a pretty good cushion, but that was running out fast as most of it went to the house.

"Mom, mom, mom, I want pancakes, please. "Connor's sweet voice brought me out of my thoughts

"Okay, sweetie. Let me finish making the bed, and I'll come and cook some for you." That boy is gonna eat us into debt.

My son could put down some bacon, eggs, and pancakes.
 
He loves breakfast food. He will have breakfast three times a day if I let him. A literal garbage truck.

After breakfast, I got Connor dressed and ready to go. Then I put on cartoons for him, so I could get dressed uninterrupted as well.

The movers would be here at 11:00, and it was already 10:15. Everything was packed and ready, minus the dishes we just used.

Those would need to be washed, but I could wash them and just throw them in a bag.

There is always something to do; the thought echoed through my head as I looked in the mirror.

I ran my fingers through my wavy honey blonde hair. Next, I applied a thin coat of mascara, making my green eyes pop. Lastly, I applied a light shade of pink to my full lips.

Looking in the mirror, I looked nowhere near as old as I felt. At 29, I looked about 25, but I felt much much older than that.

Today I was wearing leggings with a dark green sweater. I would need to remember to place Connor's jacket in the front seat of our silver Ford Explorer since it was much colder in East Washington than it was in Southern California.

"Mom, do you think it will be snowing when we get there?" Connor instantly became excited to move after I told him it snowed in Washington every year.

The snow was something he had never seen in person but longed to after watching Frozen.

Yes, my son loves Frozen 1 and 2.

"No, honey, it will probably start snowing in November or December. Right now, it is only October, so you have about a month or two, and then I promise we will play in the snow."

"Can we build a snowman? Please? "

"Of course we can, buddy." Note to self don't forget to buy a snow shovel for the driveway and whatever else one needs to survive the snow.

  I'm sure there is a list on google. Ugh, there is always something to do.

"The movers are here," Connor screamed excitedly, then dashed to the door.

"I've told you not to open the front door without mommy's permission ever, especially not for strangers."
  
    It took 16 almost 17 hours to reach the small town of Nelson, Washington. As soon as we saw the Welcome sign, the GPS read nine more minutes till our destination.

   I wasn't surprised. This was the smallest town I had ever seen, with a population of 564. Good thing we were almost home sweet home because I really needed to pee.

As we continued, we drove further into the trees. Great, the house is in the middle of the forest where we could get attacked by a bear or wolf.

Wait are there wolves in Washington?

I made a mental note to add that to the list of things I needed to google later.

I was starting to freak out since it was basically pitch black in this Forest, and it was just my sleeping four-year-old and me. The movers won't get here till tomorrow.

If a killer jumped out and attacked us no one would learn of it till morning.

Stop it, Millie. You and Connor are in a car. How is anyone attacking you? I tried to bring myself out of my panicked thoughts but failed as evident by my racing heart and sweaty palms.

Could it get any darker?

Finally, we pulled up to a clearing. The house was completely lit up. There were lights on both sides of a pebble walkway, which led to the lit cottage.

Aunt Jules must have turned the lights on for us knowing we would get here in the dark. I smiled at the thought. She was such a kind soul.

The house was a beautiful wooden cottage in the middle of the Forest. It looked so peaceful, homey, and perfect.

However, it also looked a little too far away from humanity for me. Home sweet home, I thought as I put the car in park.

"Cool, the house is a cabin." As soon as I parked, Connor woke up. Not only did he wake up, but he was wide awake. Great....

"Look at those trees. They are huge!" He continued in excitement as we made our way to the front door.

I tried to rush him inside as best as possible because I still had to pee, but he was looking all around in excitement.

"Whoa," he exclaimed when we finally made it inside. If the outside was beautiful, the inside was just as magnificent.

Everything was made of wood except for the large glass windows and the gorgeous stone fireplace. It looked like the perfect wooden cottage.

  Luckily, Aunt Jules left the place mostly furnished for us with a couch in the living room, a small round table in the dining room, and a bed for the master bedroom. The only piece of furniture we were missing was Connor's bed, but he slept with me most nights anyway, so he would be sleeping in the master bedroom with me tonight.

After driving for so long, I was ready to crash. Connor, on the other hand, was all wound up and ready to explore.

"Can we go for a walk outside, please?" Connor begged

"Absolutely not!" I quickly replied

"Why not?" Connor pouted

"It is the middle of the night. We are in the middle of the Forest and have no idea what kind of animals live here. Besides, it is super dark, and we could easily get lost."

"But please, mom, please."

"No way, but if you brush your teeth and go to bed for mommy, we can go for a hike tomorrow."

"Okay fine, "Connor agreed but solemnly.