Nova Scotia

Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

            Packing my belongings was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Maybe it was because I didn’t have a lot of clothes or possessions to begin with. I'd donated and thrown out most of my summer wardrobe – which also happened to be my only wardrobe. All I had now were a few pairs of jeans, one skirt, a few dresses for special occasions, lots of sweaters and warm shirts, and even a few pairs of shorts, because who knew what Nova Scotia’s weather could be like?

            As for prized possessions, I didn’t have very many of those, either. I had pictures from high school of my friends and me, and a few pictures of cousins that I was still very close to. I had pictures with family, pictures with people who’d given me awards, and some pictures of myself. I had a few stuffed toys that I still kept close to my heart, because I was such a sentimental person. I also had a few little bobbles and knick-knacks that still meant a lot to me because of all the memories they had.

            Other than that, I had nothing. I'd already filled one large suitcase with all my clothes (including some winter coats, a few pairs of shoes, and lots of underwear). I was in the process of filling a large duffel bag with other toiletries and necessities when someone knocked on my bedroom door.

            Instantly, I was alert.

            I lived alone with my almost-soon-to-be-not-quite-divorced mother, spending every other weekend with my dad if he was free enough from work to entertain his eighteen-year-old-soon-to-be-in-college daughter for two days. My mother and I had long given up the ‘knock before you enter’ policy. She only knocked when she was trying to persuade me to do something (i.e. forgive her, pay her back some money I owed her, or let her borrow my car because she got hers towed. Again).

            “Come in,” I said, putting down the stuffed toy I was holding. I sat down on the small space left on my bed and waited for my mother to enter.

            “Hi, sweetie.” My mother’s voice was quiet and timid. She sat down next to me on my bed, her blue eyes wide and sincere. “All packed?”

            I gestured to the half-filled duffel bag beside me. “Um… Almost. Did you need something?”

            “I just wanted to ask you if you really want to do this,” she admitted. “I mean, if you feel like your father and I’s court case is becoming too much, Candice-”

            “Mom,” I interrupted. “I'm doing this, okay? I love Grandma Sheela, and staying with her for the summer will be good for me. I need to take a break from California anyway.”

            “But, Candy,” Mom implored. “Nova Scotia is so far away. Can't you stay with Evan and his family? I'm sure they’d love to have you!”

            I tried not to flinch at the mention of my current boyfriend, Evan. He was a very significant part of my reason for leaving California so suddenly this summer. He was also the reason why I'd decided against staying in California for my college years. I wasn’t very keen on keeping up a relationship that was only committed on one end. The other end, sadly, was out banging everything with breasts.

            My mother didn’t know about Evan. I hadn’t been able to tell her or my dad, because they were both too busy with their never-ending divorce case. There were a billion and one things my parents disagreed on, but Evan was not one of them. They both adored him, and insisted he was the perfect boyfriend for a girl like me. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that their only daughter’s model boyfriend was the male version of a whore – sleeping with everything in sight.