Trial By Hellfire

Chapter 1 - On The Move

The summer of 1985 was supposed to be like any other. Beach trips with my best friends almost everyday and now that I finally had my license I could go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted; as long as I had access to a car. But that all changed one night at dinner with my parents.

"We've started looking for houses in Hawkins. We've found some pretty nice ones! Hopefully we'll be able to get settled before the new school year starts."

"Hawkins? As in Hawkins, Indiana? Why're you looking for houses out there? If we wanted to visit cousin Steve we could probably just stay with him."

"Didn't you hear? You father got a great job offer in the city, so we figured we'd look for a nice house that's close to family."

"Wait, we're moving to Hawkins?! But Dad has a great job where he makes plenty of money! And we only live like, 15 minutes from the beach!!" I think my mom could sense the attitude in my voice, luckily for me she was a very patient woman.

"Your father got an opportunity to work for a very prestigious firm in Indiana, if he plays his cards right he stands a strong chance of becoming partnered within a year."

"But Mom!! What about all my friends here!! I was finally gonna ask Bryan out to lunch, or dinner even!!"

"Oh, honey. You can visit your friends next summer, and they can come to visit you whenever they please. And we all know that at the slightest inkling of danger you run away. And as I've always said, there's no shame in running darling."

After that conversation I couldn't help but storm off. I ran all the way to my room and didn't even think of coming out until the next century. How could my parents mess up my junior year like this!! It wasn't fair! Within a month my life as I knew it was packed away into boxes. I had one final beach trip with my best friends since childhood Becky and Caitlyn, and we promised to write and call as often as possible.

"What're we gonna do without you Lizzie?"

"Yeah! Like, who're we gonna go shopping with? And we were gonna go see Back to the Future together!!"

"Yeah, Michael J. Fox is supposed to be a total hottie!"

"I can't help it you guys!! You know if I could stay here I would! And I guess my parents are talking about keeping the house for vacations and stuff, so whenever I'm here we'll be like, SUPER close to the beach still! Just, promise me you'll write and call. I don't know how or even if I'm gonna make any friends."

"Well I'm sure you will, but they won't be as good as us!"

"Yeah, totally! Hey, what about those nerdy boys? I'm sure they'd love to hang around the cool new girl from the west coast!"

"What, Mike and his friends? I haven't talked to them in years! Not since Steve and Nancy broke up. And even still, they're so nerdy!" We all laughed.

"But at least you know someone!" Becky said. I could tell they were trying to make me feel better about this whole moving across the country thing. I just still could shake the overwhelming sadness that I was watching my last beach sunset for what felt like forever.

By the end of the summer my family and I had packed our entire lives into the back of my mom's station wagon. Dad led the way in his Chevy DeVille, a car that, on occasion, I thought he cared about more than me. Mom and I followed in her trusty station wagon, on our way to a new town, and an unknown future.