home and she was a little angry that I’d not had the guts to totally break
it off with him but she was glad I was safe; as was I.
Now that I didn’t have the ring I fell into a deep
sleep; the best I’d had in days.
-14-
I pulled back the drapes and stared at the mansion
house. Did I really live there as Emily Gray?
And if I did, could it mean the people living there now were sort of my
ex-relatives. I started to get ready for
school. I reached for my hairbrush and
noticed a mark on my ring finger. It was
bruised. It was strange because it
wasn’t really hurting me. I pulled my
hair back into a ponytail, brushed my teeth and went down to get breakfast.
Mom was already up pouring coffee. I could smell
toast. She’d buttered it and put it in
the toast rack and so I took a piece; enjoying the taste of melted butter on my
tongue. I felt good today, for the first
time in ages.
“How are you today?” Mom asked as she sat down with
her coffee opposite me.
“I feel great, how are you?”
“I’ve got an interview today, actually. If I get it I won’t have to work two shifts any
more and I’ll get to spend more time with you.”
“Mom, that’s great. Where is it?”
She placed her coffee on the table and held it tightly
in her hands. “It’s in Maine. Not far from your college.”
“What?”
“If I get it I can come with you to Maine and we can still live together, if you
want.”
I thought about Eddie. “But if you move to Maine I won’t be able to
come back here at weekends.”
“What is there here for us? Once you go to college
you’ll meet other boys and you’ll forget about Eddie.”
“Mom, why are you doing this?”
“It’s fate don’t you see? It’s a fresh start for both
of us. Now that you’re older I’m ready
to get on with my life too. There’s
nothing here for me, Charls.”
“I’ve got to get to school.”
“You can’t avoid this talk. I’m going to the interview and I’ll move to Maine with or without
you.”
I grabbed my school bag and knocked for Amber. Now I wouldn’t be able to see her at weekends
either. I just had to pray Mom didn’t
get the new job. Amber answered the door; toast still hanging out of her mouth.
“I’m so tired today,” she mumbled. I didn’t answer. I had so much going around in my head.
“What’s up with you?” she asked.
“Ambs, Mom might be selling the house and moving to Maine with me. She’s says there’s nothing here for her. She isn’t thinking about me at all.”
The color drained from Amber’s face. “What did you say?”
“I told her she was being selfish but she said she’s
moving with or without me.”
“But you can’t go for good; I’ll miss you.”
I fought back tears. “And I’ll miss you too.”
“And what about Eddie? He’ll go mad if you aren’t
going to be coming back at weekends.”
“I know. I
don’t know what I’m going to do. I just
hope she doesn’t get the job.”
I found it hard to concentrate for the rest of the
day. It was lucky we’d already done all of our tests and we weren’t really
doing any real work. We both had a free
period after lunch and so Amber had agreed to come with me to the mansion. If the blonde woman was my ex-relative of
sorts then I wanted to find out more about her and my past. We were both going to pretend that we were
doing research for a history project and go from there. I was willing to risk
her thinking I was weird.
Amber knocked loudly on the door again and eventually
somebody answered it. It was the blonde
woman from the attic sale. “Hello again,” she said. “Can I help you?”
“We’re doing a history project at school,” Amber
began, “and we were wondering if we could ask you a few questions about this
house and some people who used to live here.”
She paused, giving us both the once over. “I would
have preferred some sort of notice but luckily for you
it off with him but she was glad I was safe; as was I.
Now that I didn’t have the ring I fell into a deep
sleep; the best I’d had in days.
-14-
I pulled back the drapes and stared at the mansion
house. Did I really live there as Emily Gray?
And if I did, could it mean the people living there now were sort of my
ex-relatives. I started to get ready for
school. I reached for my hairbrush and
noticed a mark on my ring finger. It was
bruised. It was strange because it
wasn’t really hurting me. I pulled my
hair back into a ponytail, brushed my teeth and went down to get breakfast.
Mom was already up pouring coffee. I could smell
toast. She’d buttered it and put it in
the toast rack and so I took a piece; enjoying the taste of melted butter on my
tongue. I felt good today, for the first
time in ages.
“How are you today?” Mom asked as she sat down with
her coffee opposite me.
“I feel great, how are you?”
“I’ve got an interview today, actually. If I get it I won’t have to work two shifts any
more and I’ll get to spend more time with you.”
“Mom, that’s great. Where is it?”
She placed her coffee on the table and held it tightly
in her hands. “It’s in Maine. Not far from your college.”
“What?”
“If I get it I can come with you to Maine and we can still live together, if you
want.”
I thought about Eddie. “But if you move to Maine I won’t be able to
come back here at weekends.”
“What is there here for us? Once you go to college
you’ll meet other boys and you’ll forget about Eddie.”
“Mom, why are you doing this?”
“It’s fate don’t you see? It’s a fresh start for both
of us. Now that you’re older I’m ready
to get on with my life too. There’s
nothing here for me, Charls.”
“I’ve got to get to school.”
“You can’t avoid this talk. I’m going to the interview and I’ll move to Maine with or without
you.”
I grabbed my school bag and knocked for Amber. Now I wouldn’t be able to see her at weekends
either. I just had to pray Mom didn’t
get the new job. Amber answered the door; toast still hanging out of her mouth.
“I’m so tired today,” she mumbled. I didn’t answer. I had so much going around in my head.
“What’s up with you?” she asked.
“Ambs, Mom might be selling the house and moving to Maine with me. She’s says there’s nothing here for her. She isn’t thinking about me at all.”
The color drained from Amber’s face. “What did you say?”
“I told her she was being selfish but she said she’s
moving with or without me.”
“But you can’t go for good; I’ll miss you.”
I fought back tears. “And I’ll miss you too.”
“And what about Eddie? He’ll go mad if you aren’t
going to be coming back at weekends.”
“I know. I
don’t know what I’m going to do. I just
hope she doesn’t get the job.”
I found it hard to concentrate for the rest of the
day. It was lucky we’d already done all of our tests and we weren’t really
doing any real work. We both had a free
period after lunch and so Amber had agreed to come with me to the mansion. If the blonde woman was my ex-relative of
sorts then I wanted to find out more about her and my past. We were both going to pretend that we were
doing research for a history project and go from there. I was willing to risk
her thinking I was weird.
Amber knocked loudly on the door again and eventually
somebody answered it. It was the blonde
woman from the attic sale. “Hello again,” she said. “Can I help you?”
“We’re doing a history project at school,” Amber
began, “and we were wondering if we could ask you a few questions about this
house and some people who used to live here.”
She paused, giving us both the once over. “I would
have preferred some sort of notice but luckily for you
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