Chapter 1
It has been four years now and to say my life in California was comfortable would be an understatement, I love it here but not as much as I love New York. Sonoma is gorgeous but I miss New York honestly I would have gone back sooner but the fear of running into Lucas was stronger. My brother called me two years ago to let me know that Lucas went down to our parent's house looking for me. I was hoping after a year he would have stopped and it's scary how well he knew me, when my parents asked Lucas why he came down there now all he said was "She wouldn't go somewhere obvious right away." Lucas truly did know me, part of me loved that and another part of me was scared by that.
It's been rough sorting through my emotions about Lucas, I thought about seeing a therapist but how do I explain to a therapist who Lucas was without getting him in trouble with the police and giving away my hiding place? I never told my family why I left Lucas. Of course, my brother went to the worst ideas first asking me if Lucas hurt me or if something happened. I wanted to tell them but I didn't want to scare them or worry them, my mother pushed harder now for me to move back down to Texas but I refused. I love my family but I hate my hometown...nothing but bad memories there. Besides I found a beautiful apartment here in California and had an amazing job as a Family Support Coach. After what happened between Lucas and me and my family worrying so much I knew I wanted to help others and honestly, I loved that job so much. I worked with families who have adopted children and helped the whole family become stable and helped the siblings grow a bond together, it's honestly such a rewarding job. In some cases, I wish I had ended up as close with my siblings as I helped these kids become close.
But now I feel like I need to change my life, I need to go back to New York. After getting off work I headed back to my apartment and ordered a pizza, as I was waiting on the pizza I opened my laptop and started to look for apartments in New York. I decided to move somewhere a little bit further than where I used to live just in case Lucas was still looking for me. I found an apartment that was affordable in Utica, after finding an apartment I knew I needed to find a job. After looking what felt like hours on Indeed and applying to many different positions I decided to give myself a break. Right when I closed my laptop my doorbell rang, I smiled when I remembered about the pizza and after paying for the pizza and closing the door I sat down to watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy on Netflix while eating pizza. Honestly, this is the best kind of night. Pizza and Grey's Anatomy the only thing I'm missing right now is some ice cream.
After I was done eating and I put the extra food away I was about to sit down and watch another episode when my phone started to ring. I saw it was a New York number hoping it was a job I answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hello is this Scarlett?" A lady who sounded to be in her early 40s asked.
I smiled happily and almost did a happy dance "Yes, this is she. May I ask who is calling?" I was hoping this wasn't a scammer and was a job offer I was so excited I could jump up to the moon right now.
"Yes, this is Anna I'm calling from Hillside Children's Center, I see here you applied for our position of Youth Advocate 2. Is that correct?" The lady asked in a friendly tone.
I was now extremely happy I was hoping for this place to call me back "Yes ma'am."
"Wonderful, now I see here it shows you currently live in California so I'm to assume you plan on moving here to New York soon? Are you familiar with the area?"
I smiled happily "Yes ma'am I used to live in New York four years ago, I moved to experience new things but New York has always had my heart so I knew it was time to come back." This wasn't a lie, I like it here in California but New York feels like home to me.
"Well then, I have to say after reading through your application and your resume I am happy to hear that someone with your skills is coming back here and is interested in our company. When do you plan on moving back here?"
"On about 3 weeks."
"Wonderful, so would you be able to start your first day next month?"
I had to hold back the most girlish squeal ever "Yes ma'am that would be perfect."
"Great, I'll send you an email with the details. I hope you have safe travels Scarlett and I can't wait to see you next month. Have a nice day."
"You as well ma'am."
After hanging up the phone I screamed out in job while jumping up and down, I got the job! I got the freaking job! This has now motivated me to go to New York so I ran to my bedroom and started packing things up as I knew I wanted to move back to New York as soon as possible so I could settle into my new apartment and then soon start my new job. I then remembered I should call my mom and let her know what I was doing, so after packing I grabbed my phone and dialed my mom after a few rings she picked up.
"Hello Hunny, how is everything?" My mother asked happily.
I smiled and tried my best to control my excitement right away "Is the rest of the family at home mama? I kind of have some important news I'd like to share with everyone at once."
My mother gasped in shock "Yes! Everyone is here hold on." I heard some movement "Alright Scarlett I'm in the dining room where everyone is and you're on speaker."
I got slightly nervous I didn't know how my family would react but I could only hope they would accept my decision to move to New York, after taking a deep breath I nodded to myself "I've decided to move back to New York, I have an apartment lined up and a new job lined up also. I know this is sudden but it's what I need to do." I waited for anyone to say anything but then I heard Tony scoff in annoyance
"You mean Lucas is in New York and that's what you want right?" Tony sounded so annoyed and I couldn't believe he would think I would even go back to Lucas after being away from him for four years.
"No Tony! It's been four years for God's sake. I'm over Lucas and I just miss New York I miss the rush of the traffic and busyness of the city. I'm not like you who is just comfortable living forever in a small town!" I didn't mean to start yelling but Tony just had that kind of power over me to get me so riled up to the point I was screaming at him.
"Hunny, I think what Tony means is...why now do you want to move back? And I think Tony has a right to ask about Lucas since you never told us why you left him and we all respected that and respected your privacy...but you have to admit this is out of nowhere." My mother said frantically trying to calm down both Tony and me.
I sighed as I rubbed my temples "I understand it's sudden but it's what I need and you all just have to respect that especially you Tony, I won't be pressured into backing out of this. This is what will make me happy. I only called you to let you all know so you wouldn't find out later like you did about me moving to California alright?"
After a couple of minutes passed Tony sighed and I heard a chair scrape against the floor and footsteps walk away, so I knew now that Tony left the room which I didn't mind honestly, then I heard my father speak up.
"We trust you, sweetie, you are a smart girl and I never will question your judgment or decision-making. So if this is what will make you happy then I'm glad and I support you one hundred percent." My father said happily and I couldn't help but smile
"Thank you, Dad...mom?" I asked nervously and then I heard my mother chuckle softly.
"Oh, hunny you know I'll always support you on what you choose to do. I hope everything works out for you, just always remember to check in with us so we know that you're okay, alright?"
I chuckled "Yes mama, I promise."
After a while of talking I hung up and laid on my bed smiling thinking about New York and how excited I was to move back. After a couple of minutes, I yawned and slowly closed my eyes as sleep slowly took over.
~~~~Time hop 3 weeks later~~~~
Finally, I'm back in New York, it feels so good to be back. My apartment isn't as nice as my last one but I still like it mainly because it's right now anything in New York is amazing to me. I've already unpacked all my belongings and put them in the places I wanted them. I laid back on my bed smiling to myself as I thought to myself "This is the freak start I needed, I'm so glad to be back...I just have to watch out for Lucas." I then shook my head and smacked myself in the face lightly as I groaned "No Scarlett don't even think about him, you will be fine and this is the best thing you could have done for yourself." I said to myself and smiled again. I was determined that nothing would ruin my bad mood. My phone dinged and I looked down to see I had a text message from my mom.
Mama:
"I hope you are settling in well to your new place. Call me when you get the chance hunny, love you."
I smiled softly as I read the text message, that's my typical mom even after some family drama she will always make sure everyone is okay. It's one thing I admire about my mother a lot. I started to reply back
"Hey Mama, yeah I just got done unpacking I will call you later I was going to eat something and then take a short nap to recharge myself. I love you too."
After texting back my mother I set my phone down and headed to the kitchen to see what I had on me and decided to just settle for a PB&J sandwich can never go wrong with that right? After eating I headed back to the bedroom and laid down and smiled as I thought about what was to come. I can't wait for next week to start working, after thinking about that I fell asleep.
