Ashes

Chapter Four:

^^Karson Kook^^

Kimber's POV:

I tried to debate things with my mother, but it was no use. I was moving to Lewisville to live with my Aunt and her 3 sons. 2 of which are twins, Rio and Romeo. They're freshmen and then there's Karson. He's a junior like I am and one of my favorite people in the whole world. He's my best friend, but I couldn't go live with them. My life was here. My friends, my volleyball, my clubs, everything, but my mom wasn't hearing it. She said, and I quote: "Karson is your best friend anyways and you can make new friends. You'll be rehabbing your knee anyways and when you heal you can always play for Lewisville or if you want to, Hayden High. Lastly, you can join your clubs and electives at their high school just the same, this isn't a debate, Kimberly. You're going to stay with the Kook. End of discussion."

Jake even tried to talk to her, but my mother was not having it. If Dad was here, this would be different, I thought. I tried my hardest to push that to the back of my mind as I stood up and tried to pack my things. 20 minutes in and Jake left the room to go get a snack so I picked up my phone. I had 4 texts, all from Karson.

Cuzo Karson🤞⚾:
Hey, Cuzo!
Jake texted me when you woke up.
I hope you're doin' alright
Text me when you get this
12:55 pm

Karson was always checking up on me when I was hurt, and never hesitated to come down when I was sad. They only lived a couple of hours away, but it was still a drive he tried to make whenever he wasn't at a baseball tournament. He really is my best friend.

Cuzo Kimmy🤞🏐:
Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

I am in fact awake now and I'm super nauseous but oh whale🐳
Anywaysssss, Uhm, big news Cuzo
Allison already talked to Sarah
Guess who's moving in, effective immediately.
I start school at Lewis next Monday.
1:22 pm

Awaiting Karson's reaction, I continued packing and Jake came upstairs with some Lays, munching as I packed.

"So," Jake began. "You're moving in with the Kook's."

"So it seems." I sighed.

"Shouldn't you be a little more excited?" Jake asked. "I mean, you're moving in with your best friend," he tried to sound optimistic but he and I both knew neither of us was totally happy about this.

"Jake-"

"Stop, Kimber. It's gonna be a change but you're gonna love it soon enough. Just... watch out, is all. Karson's friends are a tough crowd to run with and you can barely walk so just, please, be careful," he moved to me and helped finish my packing. I phone rang and I saw Karson's name at the top.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Kimmy! Hey!" He said.

"Are you talking to your cousin?" I heard a voice in the background say.

"Shut up, Jackson," I heard another voice.

"K, if you're at school, it's okay, call me after, and then we can talk."

"No, my friends and I have early release, we're sitting in a Chick-fil-A right now. We have to leave in a little while to get to practice, mine lasts until 5 so I thought I'd call you now. Is this not a good time?" he explained.

"It's always a good time, Kars. What's up?"

"Well, first I wanted to check up on you. You doin' okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. Super tired though. I'm gonna sleep more in the car," I said, putting my phone on speaker and going back to putting things inboxes. "You're on speaker, K. Jake's in the room."

"Hey, Karson," Jake said.

"Hey, Jake. Anyways, so you're moving in. What time are y'all leaving?"

"As soon as I'm done packing. Let's see," I started, looking towards the clock. "It's 2:10 right now, so probably around 3:15-3:30. Getting us there by about 6:45ish." 

"That means we're going to get dinner and then coming home and unpacking. Do you want me to ask the boys to come to help?" I thought about it. It might be nice to know some kids in my grade before I start school on Monday.

"If it's okay with Sarah, sure. It'll be nice to know some kids in my grade before I go to school." I answered. Jake shot me a smile and nodded his head as we heard muffled talking. I took a deep breath as I heard Karson again.

"Yeah, no. Okay. Bet. So the boys said they can help us out tonight and then we have a surprise for you, Kimb," he began to sound excited.

"Okay...?" I smiled.

"Hey, I gotta head back to practice, but I'll see you soon. I love you," he said.

"Love you, Karson," I said and then hung up. I gave Jake a worried look.

"Don't worry. Everything is gonna be fine," he said.

That was the wrongest thing Jake had ever said to me.