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Drugs

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Drugs.

They were the one thing I hated but somehow relied on for almost everything—from painkillers for headaches to the smell of weed seeping through my door as I tried to mask the smoke. They made it feel like things were okay, like my mom didn't just move us away from home without a real reason.

Well, maybe there was a reason; getting expelled isn't exactly "no reason." But making me move three hours away? That was overkill. Especially to some place where I didn't know a soul, in the middle of summer. Now I was stuck in a town that could practically be called "the middle of nowhere," all because I got caught smoking in the school bathroom.

"Ariana, come here!" My mom's voice sliced through the silence, pulling me out of my thoughts. I rushed downstairs, only to find her on the couch, asking me to hand her the remote sitting barely two feet away from her. Typical. Rolling my eyes, I handed it over and went back upstairs.

Honestly, I was surprised she hadn't beat my ass after finding out why I got expelled. I expected some serious punishment—the whole belt-to-ass routine. Instead, she decided moving me here was a better punishment. And she was right. I'm absolutely miserable, and she knows it.

As if moving wasn't bad enough, my new school has a summer assignment: a 900-word essay on some random book that I'm convinced no one's ever read in their entire life.

There was only one person that could possibly make this better for me: my best friend Harmony. She's my lifeline to whatever bad shit was happening in life. By now I would have called her but unsurprisingly along with dragging me to the middle of nowhere she took away my phone.

Which since I was basically exiled to our new house, that meant no talking to harmony and looking out of the window of my new house watching my neighbors like a stalker. It's basically become my daily routine at this point: wake up, talk to mom, mom either stays home or leaves for work, and I watch my neighbors like a stalker until I get bored and go back to sleep.

I was desperate from human contact– just not with any of these people. I wanted to talk to people that were new, someone in the same boat as me.

Then suddenly a U-Haul caught my attention as it drove down the street and stopped right in front of the house across from mine. It was like the gods had answered my prayer–I hoped that whoever it was would be moving across there and to my absolute favor.

Two people got out of the truck and a girl my age and her dad looked to be moving into the massive house.

Shit. Maybe I should go and greet them, it's the one thing I've wanted since moving into this shithole. Running down the stairs I ran into my mom. "Can I go meet the new neighbors?" I asked, barely holding back a plea. She reluctantly agreed, so I put on my shoes in a timely, totally never rushing manner and went to greet them.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself and catching my breath as I crossed the street towards them. The girl and her dad were unloading boxes, both looking a bit sweaty and tired from the hot summer heat.

The girl was pretty, but her dad–he was definitely something to look at. With a strong build and those dark eyes I was surprised that he didn't have a wife, or girlfriend moving with them.

"Hey, need any help with that?" I called, hoping to sound casual.

The girl looked up at first surprised, and then she smiled warmly, " Oh, Sure that'd be awesome I tried to tell my dad to get more help."

She sat the box down and brushed her hair out the way. "Im Layla, by the way and that's my dad, Andrew."

"I'm Ariana," I replied, glancing back at her dad as I lifted a small box. "I live across the street"

Laylas dad gave me a quick smile as he balanced some books in his arms. "Nice to meet you, Ariana. Also, thanks for the help–we're a little buried over here" He chuckled, and I had to fight to keep my pants on.

"We wouldn't be buried if someone had remembered to call the moving company, still thanks for the help though" Layla said in a joking tone.

"No problem," I said, to both of them trying not to smile as her dad." I know how you're feeling. I just moved here too."

Layla perked up "Really? So, you're, like new-new? Fucking finally, someone who gets it."

I grinned, "Yeah, I guess you could say we're in this together." We both laughed at the high school musical reference.

As we carried the boxes inside, I kept glancing at Layla's dad, who was moving back and forth from the truck to the house. Finally, we took a break and Laylas dad was attempting to wipe the sweat off of his body.

Maybe this move wouldn't be so bad after all.

Maybe this move wouldn't be so bad after all

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