X factor love

Chapter 1 - Moving - Charlotte

"Charr, come on honey, we're gonna get going real soon!"

"Please stop calling me that," I rushed pass my mum to get my stuff from my empty room.

"Aww come on! It's such a cute name! You even made it your Facebook name!"

"Yeah, and I whole-heartedly regret that decision."

"Now now, don't be like that! Go get your stuff so we can be ready for the shuttle when it arrives."

My legs climb the stairs and I grab my suitcase from my room. Just as I'm about to leave I take one last look at the place I grew up in and feel a twinge of sadness. This was the room that I lined my possessions with, the kitten and puppy posters, and later on, band after band as my interests shifted. Still, it felt kinda good to be moving somewhere to start a new life and leave all my mistakes behind, in tiny old New Zealand.

Ever since my dad had gone in and out of work, he had decided something crazy and gone to look in Britain for a new job. Surprisingly, he found one incredibly fast as a music developer in a company. Surprising, because my dad was almost 50. The plan was for him to get a place and for us to all move over there when he was settled, and the time had finally come.

I turned and carried my suitcase down the stairs, as if something fragile was inside. In reality, the only thing that was broken was my heart. 7 months of an awful relationship, man, no wonder I was so eager to move somewhere else and start fresh.

At first the idea of moving to Britain had seemed ridiculous - a massive change from being able to walk through my home town and bump into someone from my mum's old job, or my year 6 teacher (who I was really good at avoiding). But as I remembered all of my mistakes, all the things I had done wrong, all the people that had screwed me over, I realised that starting in a new country could be a good thing.

I rejoined my mum in our living room and she stood there, staring at the empty room. 

"This was the first house we ever bought, and I'm sad to be leaving it," I saw her face and I realised, she was just as nervous as I was.

I gave her a hug just as I heard the shuttle come up the drive.

"Come on, let's go to Britain."

We loaded all our stuff into the van, and with a final glance at my old house, my home for many years, I was ready to go.

"Goodbye," I whispered from the shuttle, as we began the long drive towards the airport, "and thank you."