Chapter 1
"You can't do this! I'm your daughter!" It's raining, and her mother is smiling at her from the window of her locked car. It's a nice, last year's model, and right up until this moment, Addison's favorite place in the world.
Then, her mother decided to ask her to get out, and Addison, thinking it was some sort of joke, complied.
"No sweetie, you're not. I understand you think I have some special place in my heart for you, but you're 21 now. Time to move out." Her words are a little muffled over the rain, but Addison can still make out the words from the windshield.
It's her 21st birthday; they were going to breakfast, and she is dressed in her favorite jeans and shirt, with a fresh face full of makeup. Now she feels like an idiot. Her face reddens, and her tears mix with the rain.
Her mother, stepmother, is right. She had only come into Addison's life five years ago when her father wanted to find someone else to occupy his bed. Addison understood, or at least tried to. Her mother had been dead for years, and he had been lonely. She was sort of happy actually.
At first, she hadn't liked Jessica; something about her scratched her the wrong way. But she grew on her. They had gotten close, and when Addison's father passed away last year, they had never seemed closer.
Or so it seemed.
"Please—" the sound of the window rolling up cuts her off, and she has to fight herself from falling to her knees. All she has known is their two-story house, and now?
The trunk clicks open a little, and because Addison knows that this is no sick joke, no prank, she runs to it and, though hesitating because the fact that this was planned all along makes it so much worse, she grabs her packed bags out still.
And there she stands, on the side of the road in a deserted street, as someone she called mom drives out of her life.
Forever
Addison has to find refuge underneath a bus shelter, and because it's a Sunday, the next bus won't come for another hour.
At first, she couldn't stop crying, and it's almost comical because she's surrounded by five of her suitcases, all varying in sizes and different shades of pink. They look less vibrant in the rain, mud on the wheels and shiny with water.
The cleanout Jessica had planned for them to do, as a fun way to clear up closet space for them both, makes her sick now.
Her sobs have turned into sniffles when she finally dials her best friend's number, and since it's her birthday, Grace picks up on the second ring.
"Hey, birthday girl! I'm in the car right now, so you'll have to speak up." Of course. Addison groans and leans back against the cool metal, her purple sweater she had pulled on now damp from a drip above her.
Her voice is hoarse, so it takes a few tries for her to get the words out and also for Grace to understand her.
"What! Where are you? I'll come right now!" Besides it all, Addison smiles through her tears and looks up at the darkened sky.
At least she still has Grace.
