Loose Ends - Book One

Ana ~ Mother in Shining Armor

Mom pulls up in a teal blue Chevrolet Malibu, not the silver 2007 Toyota Prius I remember her having. I almost didn't even recognize my mother. She looks worry-free and content, which are feelings we used to chase when we had no money.

I stare out the passenger window while listening to the gravel underneath the tires.

"I know you must be wondering why you haven't heard from me this past year..." she finally breaks the silence.

I say nothing.

"We're in a new house now."

My heart skips. "What?"

"I see that got a reaction."

It's the last thing I expected her to say to me, today. We lived in a shithole ever since my father left us years ago. "You moved?"

"We moved."

We did nothing of the sort. "Moved where? When did this happen??"

"Remember when we stayed with my sister in her beautiful house for your cousin's graduation?"

"Aunt Lynn?" Aunt Lynn lives in Kingston. Why are we talking about her? My heart finds it's beat again way too fast. Did she take my stuff? Did she decide it was all old and useless and assume I'd get new stuff? Did she throw out my lava lamp? My weird collection of rocks I found at the lake near my grandpa's house?

Then my heart sinks right into my stomach. The chess piece. My chess piece. It's a Knight made of glass from a really fancy chess set. That thing means everything to me. I have no doubt that if my mother found it, she thought nothing more of it than an old trinket and threw it away.

"You look like you could throw up, and I didn't even say it."

I swallow the lump in my throat. "We live in Kingston, now?"

"You have something against Kingston?"

I have something against you making decisions like this and not including me, mother.

"Don't worry, all your stuff is in the new home. I didn't get rid of anything."

I release the breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"Also," she continues, taking a small deep breath. "I met someone."

Whoa. I did not see that coming.

"His name's Dean," she smiles, "and he's really excited to meet you."

"Wow, you didn't tell him?" I draw my attention back outside the passenger window. "Lies already?"

"Of course, I told him. We've been together six months."

Wow. That's the longest since dad. So, is he why she hasn't reached out? Because she's not giving him a very good first impression.

"Anyway, Charlie has missed you so much."

I smile at the sound of my little brother's name. We were inseparable before I left. He used to follow me around like a shadow on the sun's brightest days. I can only imagine what he thinks of me, now.

Mom kept talking but I pretty much tune her out for the rest of the way home. Everything is just so much to take in and I feel left out of everything. My relationship with both my parents was never anything special, but after she let those people take me to the psyche ward without even listening to me, I lost hope in restoring it. Now that I'm out of there, I've learned that my life is already so different than what I remember. Is my little brother going to shun me? Am I going to hate this Dean guy? I'm scared to death to find out, but I'm not the same fragile girl that I was. Try me.