Prologue
The rain is pouring as we pull out of the driveway. My mother is only focused on the road ahead of us as she navigates through this thunderstorm pulling our U-haul. My brother Sam is in the front seat tapping away on his phone. I’m lying down in the backseat determined not to look out the window. I don’t want to see any part of the small town we are leaving and if I have any say, never see again. Miles, Texas. A place I was born and raised. Population: 856. So, of course, it was a town where we all knew each other. That, as it turns out, would be a curse.
You see, we are basically running away. To get away from my past. To get away from the 853 people that blame me for what happened. Away from the threats, the stares, the whispers, and most of all, him. The one person who started this all. The one person who doesn’t have to run away because he’s the golden boy of Miles. He has the whole town wrapped around his finger. He’s also so many other colorful words that I don’t want to get into right now. The only thing I want is to get out of here. Out of this town. Out of this state. If it was a choice, out of this country. Unfortunately, out of state was as far as we could get.
My mom Tess, aka Dr. Ellis, is a well-known radiologist. She is actually one of the top 10 best in the country. Lucky for us, she is well sought after all around the country, meaning, we could move anywhere. Why were we living in such a small town anyways? It was where my mom grew up. She met my dad, the late Dr. Griffin Ellis here when they were in elementary school. They fell in love in high school and both went on to the same University and Medical Schools. They returned to Miles because that was where my mom always dreamt of bringing a medical facility to. She felt that those living there who needed to see a doctor shouldn’t have to drive almost a half-hour away. She accomplished that dream working side by side with my father. Flash forward a few years and my brother Sam was born. Just a couple of months later, my mom found out she was pregnant with me. However, I arrived early. Sam and I are only 9 months apart. I never met my dad and Sam was way too young to remember him. The day I was born, is the day our father died.
My parents were driving back from a conference in Austin and the weather turned bad. As soon as they crossed the Miles city limits, the visibility was scarce. My dad didn’t see the deer in the road until it was too late and tried to swerve to avoid it but ended up hitting another vehicle instead. He was killed instantly and my mom went into labor with me.
My mom has been adamant that leaving her hospital behind was okay, but I know it kills her. Just like I know this whole situation is killing my brother whether he admits it or not. Sam wasn’t the golden boy of Miles but he was the golden boy’s best friend. Sam was absolutely popular. I’m not saying I was unpopular but Sam was definitely more popular than me. He had it made here. Lots of friends, a beautiful girlfriend, and was obviously a star athlete. Sam can honestly do it all. But above all that, Sam is the absolute best brother anyone could ask for. When no one else believed my side of everything that happened, he didn’t hesitate to. He physically fought his best friend and became an outsider like me. He protected and made sure I was okay anywhere we went. He didn’t let anyone talk about me when he was near. He gave up everything for me.
Both my mother and brother put me in charge of where we were moving to. It was a hard decision. Small town or big city? California or New York? I had to make sure to keep both my brother and mother in mind. Where we moved to had to have a good place for my mom to work and a great sports program for my brother. For me? I just wanted to be above the Mason Dixon line. A line I hoped to never cross again. After weeks of non-stop searching, I finally found the place we would call home.
The perfect place.
Portland, Maine.
Population: 67,000+.
Distance from Miles: 2,098 miles.
