Starting Over

Moving.

I've never really been fond of moving, though you'd think after moving thirteen times I'd be used to it. I am however, excited about this particular move; my mother and I are moving to Burlington Vermont. I have always loved the north; the cold winters, the leaves changing color in the fall, and the thick layers of snow covering all evidence of existence. I loved it.

My mother is in the military, which is why we move so much. She is all I've ever had in my life; being an only child and not having a father around we grew very close. I never had many friends growing up, the only person I hung out with was my cat, Scar, and he is still my best friend. Every move I get filled with the hope of actually making a friend in my new neighborhood and every move I am disappointed with the harsh reality of no friends. That was until I moved to Savannah Georgia where I met my best friend, Shae.

I never expected to get has close to her has I did but we have become more than best friends, we were sisters; literally. Shae’s parents got a divorce about three years ago, neither of her parents wanted her and instead of her going into foster care my mom adopted her. Her father was in the military so she was used to moving a lot, I think that’s why her and I got so close. We understood each other. Shae was spending rest of the month with her mom before she officially moved to Vermont with me and my mom.

Lucky her, she doesn’t have to pack and unpack.

"Spencer, darling, please come down so we can leave now." my mother called from the bottom of the stairs.

I looked around my empty room one last time before picking but Scar and turning off the light. I was going to miss this house the most out of all of the buildings I've called a home. We stayed here the longest and have the most memories here. The weather was always warm, I didn’t care for it but the history here was something I did like. I slowly walked down the stairs, a slight tug at my heart as I reached the last step for the last time. I inhaled deeply, making my way out the front door and too my mother's car. I sat in the passenger side seat and watched my mom close the door and run to the car.

"You ready?" she asked turning the key and starting the car.

"As I'll ever be I guess." I muttered tightening my grip on the fluffy cat in my lap.

As my mom drove the car down the road we sat in silence, the only sounds coming from the radio playing obnoxious pop songs. I kept my eyes on the dashboard until my mom cleared her throat to speak. I glanced toward her, her eyes still fixated on the road.

"I found us a house."

I weakly smiled although she couldn't see it "is it pretty?"

"Yes, all of the houses in Burlington are beautiful. I really think you'll like it there, Spence." She glanced at me and smiled.

I smiled back and nodded my head, not able to come up with anything else to say. After another hour on the road I had fallen asleep to the sound of a radio DJ announcing the local news.

When I woke up the car had stopped and the sky was black. My mother walked out of the building we had parked next to and got back into the car.

"Oh good, you're awake. We are stopping here for the night, okay?"

I nodded my head slowly, still in a sleepy daze. My mom parked the car in a proper spot and turned off the engine. We got out of the car and grabbed our suitcases from the trunk, locking the car behind us.

The hotel room was small: two full sized beds, a night stand, and a lamp. I set my suitcase at the foot of the bed I was claiming and put Scar on the bed. I quickly changed into an oversized shirt and flopped onto the bed, and decided to send Shae a quick goodnight text.

Hey Shae-bay! I hope your mom and you and well. We should be in Vermont in a couple of days. I miss you bunches and can’t to see my sister again! Anyway, text me in the A.M. goodnight! Love you. xxx.

I didn’t bother waiting for a reply before letting my head hit the pillow and falling into a dreamless sleep.

The aroma of coffee excited my nose as I sat up too quickly, dizziness filling my head. I slowly stood and walked to source of the smell, smiling when a familiar Starbucks cup occupied my hand.
"Thanks mom" I mumbled before sipping my coffee.

I checked my phone for notifications but nothing other than twitter announcements. I don’t know who I bothered checking for a message from Shae, she would never willingly wake up this early.

Travel day mornings were always the same: mom woke up at the crack of dawn, showered and got dressed, then got us coffee. I woke up to the smell of the coffee, drank it too quickly, and got ready to sit in the car again. We still had two days to go before we reached Vermont, which meant two more days of sitting in silence or sleeping in horribly uncomfortable positions.

We packed out bags quickly and got into the car; after the first hour I had again fallen asleep.

The next two days went by uneventfully but we finally made it to Vermont. I jumped up and down in my seat as we drove closer to our new home.

"Do you think the neighbors are nice?" I asked my mom as we pulled into the neighborhood.

"I hope so."

"Me too" I smiled, looking at the houses we drove by “Shae is going to love it here.”

The neighborhood was in a historic district so all of the houses we built in the 1800's or earlier. Each house we passed took my breath away until we finally found ours. The house was two stories, white with a teal trim. My mom parked the car in the driveway and I hurried to open the door and run to look at the house. I smiled from ear to ear at the place I was now calling home.

I took a quick picture on my phone and sent it to Shae, “Our new home! <3”

"It's so beautiful, mom!" I exclaimed.

"I told you!" My mom smiled and draped her arm across my shoulders.

We were just about to open the door for the first time when someone behind us cleared their throat. My mom and I spun around quickly to find a woman and a boy about my age standing on our porch.

"Hello, I'm Carol." The woman said smiling and holding out her hand for my mother to shake. Carol was a short woman, not terribly thin, and had short black hair. She was a genuinely beautiful woman.
My mom shook the Carol’s hand, "Hi, I'm Elizabeth."

The woman glanced at me before nudging her son with her elbow.

He coughed awkwardly before he spoke. "I'm Oliver." he said quietly, lifting his head for me to see his face. He was gorgeous. Dark brown hair framed his face and fringe fell over his forehead, highlighting his pale complexion. His light red lips formed a shy smile and his lip ring shined in the sun. Almond shaped eyes a shade of brown so dark his pupils could not be seen locked with my grey ones.

"I'm Spencer."