Never Been Ready

Home, sweet home

A/N: The prologue to this story has been posted! Please go back to the previous chapter and read it before reading this. Thank you and don't forget to comment to let me know how you like it~

The drive was quiet when I finally managed to pull off the interstate. All I could hear was the low thrum of my old Chevy truck, Barry, as it beat down the empty highway and over the Ashley Rivers bridge. I held my breath, my nerves fraying every time I passed over a bridge or huge bodies of water. I hung on to the prospect of being secured and safe in my car, with my two boys, but I would only relax once we got home.

Home. The term tasted odd on my tongue as I tried to picture myself settling into this new place. Illinois had been my home for so long that I was still slightly surprised I actually did it. I left. I left that hell hole and took my boys with me.

I know they were both so excited to see their new home but my heart broke at the fact that a one-bedroom apartment was all I could provide them with. These thoughts and regrets filled my head as my eyes stayed focused on the road.

By the time I passed through North Charleston, the sky was already pitch black. It probably wasn't wise of me to still be driving for sixteen hours straight without a wink of sleep but I was determined to make sure we made it to Charleston in one piece. The two little sleeping bundles in the backseat depended on it; they depended on me.

I gazed tiredly at their chubby faces that looked so serene and peaceful in sleep, reaching over with a free hand to adjust the Cars blanket that had Lightning McQueen on it. Bryan's police puppy, Chase, was secured tightly in the crook of his arm while Connor gripped a black and white spotted Dalmatian named Marshall. I knew once we got settled in I'd need to purchase a TV and cable so they could watch their little shows. Even though money was tight, I'd sacrifice what I had too in order to provide them with the best.

Connor and Bryan were identical in every way but personality and were a real handful when awake, if I was honest. While Connor was quiet and kept to himself, Bryan was a real rascal and definite troublemaker. Connor followed him around everywhere and I could already see how fiercely protective these two would be when they grew older. They weren't expected but I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. They brought me so much joy for the past two years that I could ignore the loneliness that had once been in my life. The ache in my chest. Everything had been mundane and empty before these two boys that I was determined to make sure they had a better childhood than the one I received.

I felt a tear slip down my cheek but I wiped it away quickly with the back of my flannel before focusing my attention back to the road before me. I hoped I had made the right choice in moving. We could all use a fresh start.

I hoped this was it. Charleston was my Mexico.

.

.

.

Time passed quickly as I drove on, part of me excited at the prospect of exploring this new town but another part of me nervous beyond all heck that I had to start over again. I came here with only one-thousand dollars in funds and my last paycheck from the diner. Which, wasn't very much. My old boss, Miss Sally, was a nice older lady in her fifties but she could barely pay her workers half the time that I was surprised she was even willing to give me a payout. Sally's Diner was the last place I wanted to get a job at because the truckers that came through weren't exactly ideal company but it was a job at the time so beggars couldn't be choosers. However, I hoped I could do better this time around. I owed it to my best friend, Lake, who helped me get this place and of course my boys. I sighed quietly and shook my head at the thoughts running through my mind.