My Dilemma

I sat at our groups table, chewing on my lip like I had been since I got here. I was so nervous. So upset.

Last night was horrible. I had come home to chaos. Dad had told everyone that he was cheating, and that him and my mom were getting divorced. It was decided that Sarah and Isabelle would live with my mom, and I would live with my dad. I could visit on weekends, but that was it. I mean, my family wasn't nice to me. It was rare that they were, but they were family. And family is supposed to stick together.

So are friends. And with this divorce, I wasn't sure if I would be able to. Dad still wasn't sure if he was going to stay in town, or if he was going to move us to another area. I didn't want to leave. For the first time in my life, I was happy. Before this week, yes. I would have been telling my dad to move as far away as possible. But now, I didn't want to. I had only known these guys a few days, but they knew me. They knew about my problems and life. Except what happened last night. Almost everyone had texted and called me last night, but to no avail.

Dad had promised that if we do move however, I could get vocal lessons. Guitar. Piano. Anything. He had promised that he would let me record in his friends recording studio. But he couldn't promise me friends.
This had left me so torn. I could either have friends, or do what I've been dying to do for years. Eventually, they would lead up to each other. If I became famous, I could come back here and be with my friends, if they still wanted me. And if I stayed here, I would still have the chance to better myself. It might take longer though.

Dad had promised me that if we moved, I would make new friends. But that's not what I wanted. I didn't want new friends. I wanted these friends. Something about them drew me towards them. They were positive, upbeat, funny, and I felt like I could trust them. Even with Joey on the first day, I had a feeling we were going to be friends for a long time. I mean, sure. There's Skype, and other ways to communicate. But that wasn't good enough. I would miss being able to hug them, drive around at night, sleep over. Everything.

While I was lost in thought, again, Joey and Brittany sat at the table across from me. Soon joining them was Luke, Meghan, Jimmy, and Ingrid. I pulled my eyes away from the table, and looked at them all, scanning their faces.

"What's wrong? You never answered us last night. I thought something happened to you!" Joey said. My eyes quickly flickered down again as I pulled out my phone. I had a feeling that if I spoke, I would start crying.

I typed it out on my phone, and showed it to Joey.

My parents are getting divorced. Mom gets to keep our house, which leaves me and my dad to find a new place to live. He's thinking of moving to another area.

He didn't dare read it aloud. Everyone just kind of gathered around him for a moment to read it. He handed me my phone back and looked at me. I looked back at him, holding my phone. I opened my mouth, but only to take a breath.

"I'm sorry Echo." He finally spoke. I pushed my bangs away from my face.

"I don't wanna go." I said finally, my voice cracking. "Before this week, I would have been begging my dad to move somewhere. But now I don't want to." I looked away for a minute.

"Did he say where or why?" Brittany asked. I shook my head and looked at my nails.

"He said somewhere cheaper, but that's it's gonna benefit me." I said, trying to stop the tears from running down my face. Wait.

Benefit me.

I wiped under my eyes, and tried to think this through.

"What is it Echo?" Luke asked, watching me. I chewed on my lip harder.

"I wasn't horrible yesterday in class, right?" I asked, looking at him and Jimmy. They shook their heads. "I could try doing a few shows to raise money so my dad and I could stay here." I said, hopeful. This idea was a long stretch, but it was my only shot. Even with my dads business, we would be short by a couple thousand.

"Well, it could work. But we'd have to start asap, and advertise a ton. And book places." Luke said. I looked at him.

"We?" I smiled a little. He nodded.

"I'm in!" Joey put his hand in the middle of the table. I giggled a little and put my hand on his. In less than five seconds, everyone had their hand on the table. "We can do places that are free to play. Like parks. And for a guitar, you could get sponsors that will pay you to use their stuff." He suggested. I nodded.

"Damn you're smart." I smiled.

"And in the mean time, you can use one of my guitars." Luke offered. I smiled up at him, extremely thankful.

"Thank you."