erase me | m.c.

one

With my school bag slung over my right shoulder, I stepped off the bus and strode down the sidewalk, past the familiar red stop sign and in the direction of my house. I observed the way the trees on the opposite side of the street swayed with the movement of the wind.

I smiled to myself as I focused down at the cracked concrete underneath my feet. The thin white cord from my earbuds waved back and forth, repeatedly hitting against my chest. The blistering heat made the walk from my bus stop to my house a living hell, but it was officially summer break, and I couldn't be more excited about doing absolutely nothing for three months straight.

I hadn't planned anything for the entire summer, and I wasn't planning on doing anything. I wanted to take it easy; no friends, no family.

After turning the corner and walking up a small flight of concrete stairs, I reached my front door. I lightly grasped the metal door handle and twisted it, opening the door slowly. I wanted my presence to go unnoticed, so I swiftly walked past the kitchen and headed up the wooden staircase, careful not to make any noise.

I walked straight into my room and stepped inside, softly shutting the door behind me. I threw my black book bag on the ground next to my dresser and sat down near the top of my bed, letting out a long sigh of relief.

I felt all of my pockets in search of my phone, and as soon as I found it, I heard a soft knock on my bedroom door. I groaned, almost like a polite invitation to fuck off, because I wanted to be left alone for at least five minutes.

A few seconds later, my mom slowly opened the door, peeking her head inside. She figured that I wasn't doing anything too important, so she closed the door, and walked over to my bed, delicately sitting down on the edge. The smile on her face was a sign that she had some sort of news. I had a feeling that what she wanted to tell me was something that she was excited about, so that meant wouldn't be anything I was interested in.

She stared at me expectantly for what felt like three minutes, before I began to grow impatient with the gauche silence. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked, my annoyance showing. She was always the one to drag things out to make them seem more important than they actually were, which never actually worked, frankly because it always ended up pissing me off.

"Aria, I've got some good news," My mom announced enthusiastically, struggling to contain her composure. She absentmindedly picked at a loose string dangling from my duvet, seemingly trying to find a good way to state her thoughts.

"We're," she trailed off. "..going to Florida!" She rushed the last part, and it looked like her cheeks were about to explode into a million pieces. She shifted over in front of me and embraced me in an uninviting hug.

"Since when?" I let out a gasp. Of course my mom would have planned something when I didn't want it the most.

She let go of me and leaned back, leaving her hands on my shoulders. Just motherly things. She stared into my eyes sympathetically, her smile diminishing. I felt bad, of course, but my mom knows me better than anyone else. She knows that I don't particularly like doing things that don't involve sleeping or eating.

"Your dad and I have planned it for months. We thought it would be nice for all of us to get out of Illinois for a bit," She sighed, brushing a few pieces of hair behind my ear. I hated when she did that, so I moved the section of hair back to its original place.

"How long are we staying?" I questioned, deadpanned. My emotions were starting to mix, leaving me unsure how to feel at this point.

"We're staying with Grandma for the entire break." She bit her lip, anticipating my reply. When I didn't say anything, my mom stood up, turned on her heels, and headed for the door.

I didn't have anything to say, nor did I want to say anything. Although I knew my parents were hiding something from me for all of those months, I avoided questioning them about it. My mom left little hints about the trip around the house - like travel brochures on the table next to the couch underneath piles of bills, and luggage tags in a red porcelain jar on the counter.

"Make sure you're packed. We're leaving tomorrow." My mom murmured, breaking me from the trance, before disappearing behind my door. I brought my knees up to my chest and sighed, gathering my hair in my hands, and tossing it behind my back. She probably thought that the trip was something I wanted, but what I wanted was to stay home under the covers.

As hard as I tried to be grateful and accept the fact that I was going no matter what, it didn't change my perspective whatsoever. This was supposed to be a summer of relaxation and doing what I wanted to do, not taking an 18 hour car drive to Florida to stay with my grandma for the entire summer.

I was quite pissed, to be honest. After 180 days of human interaction, I'm being forced into it again for another three months.

Being social wasn't my thing, and I always found new ways to avoid coming in contact with people. I only had a few good friends, and everybody else was just somebody to talk to, especially if I needed a partner for some partner project in school.

It's not like anybody really wanted to be my friend, anyways. Everybody leaves you at some point in your life, and you're left wondering where the relationship went wrong. So, what's the point of letting anybody in?

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a/n

i feel like i'm moving too fast with this but bear with me ok

i'm trying to slow down but it's hard

if you're actually reading this ily