Totally Undercover

Chapter One

I groaned, slamming the top of my alarm clock to stop the horrid beeping. Last night I wished so hard for today not to come, yet here it is.

I closed my eyes, thinking of the day about to happen. It was the day my mom and I were leaving the one home I had ever known. My parents separated two weeks ago, and I was pretty sure a divorce was on the way. Unable to take the heart break, my mom picked the farthest place on the continent and bought a house. It was so stupid, if only my dad bothered to try and listen to my mom for a few minutes, then none of this would have happened. Instead, he had to be his usual stubborn self and only believe what his eyes told him.

Guess I know where that quality in me came from.

Closing my eyes and falling back asleep, I was about to dive back into my dream when my mom came in, shaking me awake.

"Come on sweetie, I know this is hard for you, but we still have some last minute things to pack, and you want to say goodbye to your friends, don't you?" she asked sweetly and sadly. It was hard for my mom too. She was leaving all her friends and the only life she ever knew too. Like mother like daughter, we were both born and raised San Diego girls.

"I...hmm...food...sleep...bye," I mumbled incoherently.

"Up, now Ashlee," my mom said, pulling my covers off. I curled into a ball, expecting cold air to whip me in the face, but relaxed as the summer air sneaked in through my open window.

Sighing, I rolled out of bed and put on a pair of jean shorts and a shirt I had laid out for myself before everything was packed. I quickly put my hair up into a messy bun and slipped on my gladiator flats.

Most people would be mad and angry at their dad for leaving their family, but I was mostly sad. He didn't even try to fight for it to work, and he didn't let my mom explain.

One thing that really made me sad was all the happy family times we had together, all the vacations, laughs, and dinners we had, would never happen again. No more big family parties during Christmas and no more movie marathon nights. Plus, I was moving across the continent. I wasn't going to see my dad a lot or for quite a while.

Shaking my head from my depressing thoughts, I went to my bathroom to pack away my last few things. Memories of my best friend Anna and I trying on make up for the first time flooded through my head. Memories of coming home wasted from my first party and puking out everything inside of me also came along, making me smile.

Forcing away the tears that threatened to spill, I picked up my tooth brush, tooth paste and makeup, shoving them into a bag.

I went back into my room and did a triple check, making sure everything was packed. Looking up, my once messy room with pictures and poster all over the wall was now squeaky clean and empty. Unable to control it, a single tear slipped down my cheek as all the memories I ever had in this room rushed through my head.

That time when Anna and I decided to curl my hair and burnt a piece off, or when we had all our crazy sleepovers. That time when my first crush, Justin, asked me out to the movies when we were working on a project together on my bed, or when my parents would come in early in the morning on my birthday and surprise me with presents and cake.

All these little things flew through my mind, and fell with that one tear. I hated having people see my cry, because it made me seem weak. I knew I wasn't weak, I could deal with a lot of crap. Plus, especially now, I know my mom needed me to be strong enough for the both of us.

Grabbing my last few bags and massive suitcase, I said a silent goodbye to my childhood.

I pushed my two duffel bags down the stairs as I hoisted my back pack up on my shoulder, along with my purse. I watched the two bags land in a messy pile before dragging my suitcase down the stairs. I had too much crap, but this was all that I was going to have for a week, so I made sure I was fully preapred.