The Alpha King's Mate

t w o

h e r

The next week went by so fast.

For the past two nights, Faith and I have been having the best girlfriend sleepover ever. She didn't take the news of me moving too well. She has been there for me through everything and could not believe that I was leaving her for such a long period of time.

For the past couple of nights, we have been having the best girlfriend sleepover ever. Never once did with of us brought up the topic of me moving. We just had extreme Netflix binging sessions and caught up on all of our sweet tooth fixes, with nights full of chocolate chip eating and brownie baking.

She helped me pack all of my belongings into boxes to ship off to my aunt's house. All the furniture and other big items had to stay here, so I could only pack my clothes and a select few small items. The room that I have grew up in was basically stripped bare into a place I didn't recognize.

On the last day, moving day, all of my boxes left already so I can have them when I arrive. Before Faith left the night before, she gave me her teddy bear. The same one that we practiced kissing on in case a boy ever looked our way, the same one that we both slept with when we had nightmares. She wanted me to have it so I would always have a piece of her wherever I go.

She came back over right before the final send off as well. I gave her a huge hug and promised that I would Face-time her everyday, and report any cute boys that I see. We were both in tears. We grew up together in the sandbox and now life is literally pulling us apart to the other side of the world.

My mom walked out of the house with Charles in tow, and I knew it was time to go. I said my goodbye to her the night before, but it was not as hard knowing that she was the one who is purposely sending me away.

"Goodbye Faith," I said as I separated from her embrace and made my way to the Uber.

"Goodbye Hope" she said as I closed the car door and waved goodbye.

A COUPLE HOURS LATER

The plane ride was not too bad. I remembered to bring my gum to chew as we lifted off, as well as my headphones to listen to my music. I was in my own world during the plane ride, having a lone tear fall from my eyes bearing witness to the terrain outside my window changing from my home to the foreign mountainous land. Before I knew it, I heard an announcement to prepare for landing.

I knew that my Aunt Morgan and Uncle Benjamin would be waiting for me in the airport, so I went to baggage claim, grabbed my belonging and went to the terminal to find them.

"My have you grown big, the last time we have seen you, you were still spilling spaghetti over your head" my Uncle Benjamin said as he found me and brought me over to my Aunt Morgan

I gave them both hugs as I said, " I missed you to Auntie and Uncle."

Even though I haven't physically seen them in forever, we were still super close because of my mom. She made sure that we FaceTimed and kept in contact with one another because she found the importance in being around family. Ironic, right?

In the car ride, my uncle was talking to my aunt about some kind of dinner plans they had. I slowly began to tune them out, plugged in my headphones, and began to play my music again.

The chorus for the Frank Ocean song that I was listening to was about to come up when my aunt tapped my shoulder to catch my attention.

"Hope, Benjamin was trying to tell you something"

"Sorry" I said as I paused my music. I'll listen to you later Frank Ocean.

"It's okay Hope, I just asked you what you were planning on doing this summer?" My uncle asked.

"Well, after unpacking and settling in, I was thinking about traveling around the country. Maybe I'll get inspired." I said.

I am an artist. Ever since I was little, my hands were always attached to some kind of crayon or marker and always found somewhere to draw out my imagination. In my old school, I painted murals all over the walls showcasing our school spirit.

"That sounds like a plan, maybe I'll have my friend's son Alexander be your tour guide." She said

"Sure that sounds nice." I said

As I was about to put on my headphones again, Uncle Benjamin said, "We're here"

I looked out of the window as we pulled up to the driveway of the most beautiful house I have ever seen. My mom always told me that my Aunt and Uncle lived good lives, but I didn't know that it was this good. The whole place had such a homey vibe to it all.

I opened the car door and inhaled the fresh smell that the outdoors brought me.

My uncle grabbed my bags while my aunt showed me to my room.

"I designed your room and unpacked most of your boxes before you got here, so I hope you like it" she said as she opened the door to my room

I looked in and found a beautiful room full with everything I could ever need. There was an easel with blank canvases lined up against the wall, an amazing window seat with huge and comfy looking pillows that I can look out into the lush forest that was my aunt's backyard, a desk filled with school supplies, a queen bed topped with a soft looking comforter set, and my personal pictures and some of my favorite paintings scattered around the room. There was a walk in closet filled with my clothes and an adjoining bathroom stocked with my favorite toiletries.

I looked at her and squealed, "I love it, thank you so so so so so much!" While giving her a little spin.

My uncle came in and dropped off my bags and said, "I'm glad you like it Hope. I want you to think of this house as your home for the time being. We love you very much and can see yourself living here. Tomorrow we can talk about everything else over breakfast"

I gave them a group hug and then went to look and familiarize myself with my new room.

I heard the door close, and saw that my aunt and uncle found their way out of my room. I yawned and felt the toll that the long plan ride had on my body. I went into my bag, took out my chargers and plugged in all of my devices so I can have them charged and read to go for tomorrow.

I also texted Faith and my mom and let them know that I landed. We are ahead by a couple of hours, so I knew that they wouldn't answer me right away, but I didn't want them to worry.

Then, I went into the bathroom to take a quick shower, changed into a pajama set I had in my closet, and fell into a blissful sleep.

ARTSYSLEEPER

1,236 words