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Chapter 24

When she woke up, she signed into her laptop and checked that all her assignments were done and checked her final grades. She decided not to attend graduation. She had too much on her plate. People were going to be talking about her and her family.

She went to the store and got some boxes and started packing her room. She didn't have much to pack. Her parents lived so close by that whenever she needed something she just went and got it from home.

She remembered how much she fought to be able to stay at the dorms. Her parents wanted her to stay home, even Landon wanted her at home. But she told them she wanted the full college experience or she would apply to a university out of state. She had been accepted to main universities across the country, but at the moment she thought the right thing to do was stay close to home. How wrong had she been. Although she would've never met Patrice or Mike. How she missed them.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. "Hello?"

"It's your mother."

"Hi, mom." She said coldly.

"Your father and I were discussing that we haven't received the tickets for your graduation ceremony yet."

"That's because I won't be attending graduation."

"You will deny us seeing you walk up to the stage to get your diploma?"

"Yes. I'm upset about all that happened. People are going to be talking, specially if you two show up acting like nothing happened. Oh, and you can tell dad I lost my job because of him."

"I'm sure he can make some calls and get your job back."

"Call who? He doesn't have any connections anymore. Listen, I'm busy. I'm packing my stuff right now."

"I also call you to let you know we will be moving. I'll send you the address. We'll see you tomorrow at the new address."

"Moving?"

"And don't use your credit cards, they won't go through."

"What's going on, mom?"

"We'll talk tomorrow." And Julia hung up. She looked  in her purse for her wallet. She counted the cash she had. She was glad she had cashed all her checks from the firm otherwise she wouldn't have any money. Her phone vibrated; it was a message from her mother with their new address. She looked the address up and it was on a shady part of town. What had her father done now?

She tried calling Patrice but she didn't pick up. She needed to speak with her. This is the longest they had been without talking. Her phone vibrated again. It was Mike. She quickly picked up. "Hello?"

"Hi, you. How are you?"

"I'm good, here packing my room."

"That's right, you'll be graduating tomorrow. Wish I could be at the ceremony."

"That's okay. I won't be attending."

"Why not? It's the most important part of college. It's the end."

"Because of everything that happened. I don't want people whispering behind my back. I'll just get the diploma in the mail. Which reminds me I need to change my address. Apparently we are moving."

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know, I looked up the address and it is in a very shady part of town. And I can't use my credit cards, as I was told by my mother, they won't go through."

"Do you need me to wire you some money? I can do that right now."

"No! I couldn't take your money. And I have money from when I was working at the firm. I'm sure I'll find something soon. I'll start looking tomorrow. By any chance do you know of anybody that is hiring?"

"No, but when I get back, if you haven't found anything yet, I will help you find a job. Everything will be okay."

"So, how was your day?"

"Fought with my brother. Almost came to blows. He wants to move our mother to this crappy nursing home because, according to him, he is paying too much. I pay most of the bills, he says that it should be like that because I don't have a family. He has a family, so he is entitled to throw a fit."

"That's not fair. Your mother's care should be equal."

"He makes good money too. They are always traveling and his wife is always buying new cars and jewelry. Don't get me wrong, I do make good money too. But I know not to overspend. You've seen where I live. I could have a fancy house, but for now that's all I need. That's something my ex and I were always arguing about. That my brother would give his wife so much and apparently I was cheap."

"Sorry to hear that. It must be stressful. So, what are you going to do about your mother? Have you ever thought about moving her to a hospital over here?"

"I have, but she just loves Maine. The doctors say it wouldn't be good to move her away from this environment she's used to."

"I understand. I hope to be able to meet her someday."

"She would love you. I told her about you and showed her a picture. She said you're beautiful. Hey, I got to go. Talk to you soon. Keep me posted. Bye."

"Bye."