Breathing

Chapter 2

Authority came off this man in waves, making me instantly cower away from him. Mom has told me about him and what he did for a living. She always told me that he worked for a very special company that she didn't even know about. Saying that he may seem intimidating but he was always a very nice and genuine man. I find that very hard to believe just by looking at the way he is dressed and the stern, unpersuasive, blank look on his face. I look at him and all I see is empty icy blue eyes that hold an unreadable emotion. I study him a while longer and then hear him say something.

"Hello Ashley, it's nice to see you again, even under these circumstances," He says in a very broad, husky voice. I can tell he is trying to hide all emotion but its easy to see that deep down he is hurting just as much as I am. But he will never feel the amount of pain I have and or will. He probably expects me to welcome him with open arms. Like hell I will. He basically left my mom all alone to raise a child by herself, regardless of the fact that he had to leave for his "job". I instantly don't like him, and its pretty evident that he can tell that I can't stand him.

I simply nod my head at him, and then look of in a different direction, already bored of this conversation. "you're going to be living with him from now on, seeing as we can't take care of you currently. You leave this afternoon for Stowe, VT. You'll be starting a new school there," Says my grandmother trying to be reassuring about the whole situation. I just mumble an "okay" and hug her tightly. I'm going to miss her so much, when mom wasn't around, grandma would take care of me, and we grew really close. Same with my granddad, we aren't as close but we still get along very well.

Blake goes to say something, which I found out was his name when he greeted my grandpa. "We leave in an hour so you'll need to pack all your clothes. You'll have all new furniture at my house so just bring the things you need most so we can catch our flight," He says blandly as he checks his phone for I'm assuming an email. I just nod and hug grandpa tightly and say goodbye to everyone that came this morning and then follow Blake to the Taxi on the street.

About 15 minutes later we arrive at my house. It feels weird to be here without my mom but I get out of the car anyways. I'm surprised Blake follows my actions but I don't say anything and walk inside and head to my bedroom to pack all my things. I also grad all my photos and things that remind me of my friends and family, especially mom. Standing outside my room I sigh and close the door knowing that I can't fight this war. Walking down the hallway to my moms room, I open the door and stand there silently staring at everything. Everything is exactly the way she left it. Everything is untouched, like its frozen in time. Taking a deep breath, I walk inside and go straight to the closet and grab my moms favorite dress. She said that if anything happens to her, that she wanted me to have it. It is a gorgeous burgundy colored dress with a beaded belt. The sleeves go down to your elbows and the bottom flares out slightly giving it a fluffy look, that back is also completely covered in lace. I've always loved the way mom looked in the dress. I grab a couple of things to remember her by and leave the room.

As I head downstairs with my suitcase in hand, I see Blake looking at our family photos. He doesn't notice me but I can hear him softly say "Im going to miss you so much Sam.." I feel like i should feel bad for him but I don't. Clearing my thought to let him now I'm in the room, he turns around and see's me standing there. "Ready to go?" He says sternly, the whole soft side of him gone. I simply nod and we head to the front door. I almost leave the house but forget about something, or more like someone. "Raven!" I call and slowly from the kitchen walks a sulking pure black German Shepard. I grab her service dog harness and put it on her along with her leash and then walk out the door, locking it behind me. Raven is my service dog but she loved mom just as much as she loved me. I can see the confused look on Blake's face once he sees my dog, but he doesn't question it and walks back to the taxi. I'm glad he didn't ask, not that I was going to tell him anyway but still.

About three hours later, I'm standing in the Vermont airport that's about an hour away from Stowe. I can feel my hands get sweaty and Raven nosing me to get my attention like she was trained to do, but I just pet her head and tell her softly that I'm okay, even though it doesn't work.

We grab our baggage and head outside to see a giant limo waiting for us. I just stare and shake my head while thinking "of course he has one of these", I smile softly at the driver as he takes my luggage and slide into the car with Raven, sitting as far away from Blake as possible and start reading on my phone as Raven crawls in my lap to try and comfort me. It works but not much, there is no technique that she learned that will help me grieve, but I am glad she is by my side. It helps me not feel so alone.

"You'll have your own room but you share a bathroom with my son Ashton. You also have a younger brother named Jake, he is 11 and Ashton is your age." I almost forgot he remarried when I was younger. I don't say anything and just shrug at him. I could care less if he has other children. His phone rings and he answers it says "Blake speaking. Yes. No ask them to extend the deadline. I don't care if the publisher will be angry!" He yells into the phone raising my anxiety. Raven soon pushes me down onto the seat next to me and lays on my chest to try and relax my body. It works but I'm still on edge. Blake notices and gives me a funny look but continues arguing on the phone but doesn't sound as harsh this time. I sigh and slowly fall asleep with Raven laying on my chest. This is going to be a long drive.