It Was You From the Start

To tell you the truth, I wasn't excited about my big move. Normal people would probably be fascinated about being able to move to a new town. But not me. Especially, not during my senior year.

I promised my mom I would try to have a good time. She said I'd like it in La Push, Washington. I'd told her nothing could compare to living with her in Jacksonville, Florida.

We were in the hospital the day she told me of my big move. That was when she was really sick. It was also when she was still alive.

My mom died only a week ago. She had leukemia. When the doctors diagnosed her, I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to lose my best friend. I wouldn't be able to survive without her. She told me I was going to live with my father after she died. I remember my exact reaction when she told me that.

"I'd rather live with thirsty vampires longing for my blood." I said to her. I thought she would laugh at that, but she didn't. In fact, she took my face in between her hands and said,

"Don't you ever want that, EVER." I didn't bother asking why.

My mother and father had gotten a divorce fifteen years ago, when I was only two. Though I was too young to remember, my mom said that we lived in La Push for those two years. My mom didn't like the small town feel, and Dad didn't want to live anywhere else. So she left, and she took me with her. I knew there was more to the story, but I could never get up enought courage to ask her why she really left. Since then, my mother and I have been best friends.

My dad, Calvin Ateara, is a different story, however. We barely ever communicated except for the annual five-minute birthday call. Other than the fact that he was my father, I knew nothing about him.