Road to Anywhere part 1

“Life isn’t a fairy tale, Heather! There are no ‘happily-ever-afters’”. My mother sounded exasperated and angry, as if I had no right to question her about the big “D”. It was a quiet, warm evening in June. I was supposed to be heading to Katie’s house for our weekly sleepover. Yet, I was here, at home, listening to my mother make excuses why she and my dad could no longer be together. I sat quietly on the sofa, twirling strands of blonde hair around my finger. “Baby,” My father said quietly, putting his hand on my knee. “We know this is hard for you, but it’s just not working.”

How many teenagers in this country have to listen the agonizing tale of their “fairy tale” lives being torn apart? A lot of my friends, including Katie’s, had parents who were separated or divorced. But somehow, I’d never imagined it would happen to mine. My mom, Audrey Elizabeth Spencer, is glamorous and movie star material, someone who you could imagine being on Broadway. She has beautiful blonde locks of hair that bounce over her shoulders, and her blue eyes always sparkle. My mom, even though I love her, acts fake. She needs money and material things to be happy. Our house, which is a pretty nice Californian style house, was one of her great accomplishments. Well, it wasn’t her accomplishment, she didn’t build it; however, she likes to think she did all the work.

This probably sounds harsh, but it’s the truth and no one said the truth was pretty. My dad, Garrett Lee Spencer, is no Brad Pitt, but he is attractive. It’s hard to see what him and my mom saw in each other in the first place. He’s extremely laid back; I guess you could call him debonair, not really the typical lawyer type. He’s tall, dark and handsome basically: Black hair, gorgeous chocolate brown eyes and a great smile. He’s a charmer, even if my mom doesn’t see it any more, a lot of people do, especially women.

“You’re going to be living with your father. I don’t have time to take care of you or to fulfill your needs. I’m still young and I want to go to Hollywood.” My mother’s mouth was pursed in an even line. I stared at her. I had always known she was selfish but this was unbelievable. Dad stared at her, too, disgusted. “And your father is being transferred to Pennsylvania–”

Dad chose that moment to interrupt, “Hon, it will be so much better there. The company is choosing a couple of us, and moving us there to start a new company in Pittsburgh.” My heart stopped.

“Dad, you have to be joking!” I cried. “I am not picking up my already settled life. I’m a sophomore and I have the best friends and the best school and you want to ruin my life?” My parents were surprised at my outburst. They weren’t used to me yelling at them. My mother pushed me to this, though. Why should my dad and I have to rearrange our lives so that my mother could become a supermodel or a movie star? I was definitely angry at her.

* * * * *

I grabbed the money that was hidden in my jewelry box, which was about $200, and my bag full of clothes and necessities; I threw it out the window, and then climbed carefully down the ladder. Without looking back, I ran towards Jessica’s house.

* * * * *

Jessica was shocked to see me in tears. See, because I’m the together one of our group. I’m the one solving everyone’s problems and making them happy. “Katie, oh my gosh!” She handed me a box of tissue, as if that could make everything better. “You can cry on my shoulder,” She said and we hugged. I told her everything that had happened. “What are you going to do?” She cried, after I had given her all the vivid and gory details. “I don’t know. Go home tomorrow and act like everything is normal,” I lied. She didn’t have to know because I didn’t want her to go ragging to my parents.