Eddie Munson - Novel Like

Prologue

I slid the last of my books into the cardboard box and glanced around the empty room. We'd only been here for eight months, but the thought of starting over again always caused a knot to form in my throat. My mother, Amy worked as a travel nurse. We moved around the U.S every six months to a year depending on the length of her current contract.         
Recently, she was presented with the opportunity to travel abroad, helping women and children who had fallen victim to domestic violence.

My mom grew up in an abusive household and made it her life's mission to put those years of trauma to good use. It was her dream job...and I was thrilled for her, but we both agreed it was no place for me.         
Instead, she arranged for me to spend the rest of my senior year with my uncle, Dave. He and my mom had always been close. He typically flew into whatever random city we were currently living in and spent the holidays sleeping on our couch. I had spent quite a few summers in Hawkins as a kid, but it had been years since I'd spent any real time with him.

Uncle Dave was great, but the thought of not having my mom around when I needed her made me more than anxious.        

I heard a small knock and turned to my mom standing in the doorway. "Honey, how's the packing coming? The movers will be here any minute."        

"I just finished." I replied quietly, flopping myself onto the lumpy mattress.

It hadn't taken much time to pack. Our lifestyle forced me to become a minimalist and I was practically a packing pro.         

Leaning against the doorway my mother sighed and crossed her arms. Her ageless face suddenly looking sullen. "Are you sure you don't want to come to Europe with me? It may be too late to get a ticket, but I think I can squeeze you in my carry on." We shared weak smiles as she made her way to sit next to me.        

"I'm going to miss you honey" she muttered, causing the sting of tears to threaten my eyes.   

"I'm going to miss you too mom" I choked. I refused to let her see me cry. She worked tirelessly for this position, and I wasn't going to let my teenage emotions get in the way of that.   

"You can call every night if you'd like, plus I'll be flying in to spend the holidays with you and Dave."        

"Great, so I only have to make it three months without burnt spaghetti" I teased.        

My mother playfully gasped and held her chest, "Rude! Jokes on you Ali, Dave's no chef. In fact, he nearly burnt our house down when we were kids heating up ramen...fire department came and everything" she smirked, shaking her head.         

"Note to self, keep a fire extinguisher handy. Got it" I joked.         

We both laughed as I leaned into my mother's embrace. I took the moment to soak in her scent and memorize how her arms felt around me. It didn't matter where we lived or how many times we moved, she always felt like home.         

God, I'm going to miss her.