Dropouts

"Hey, I gotta take this." Bri announced as she walked to the porch, outside.

"Hey Mom. Everything okay?"

"There's something we need to talk about." She said in a shaky tone.

"Um yeah." Bri said, " What is it?"

"The factory is moving locations to a spot in Kentucky. They agreed to pay for moving expenses." There was a pause before her mother continued. "We're going to have to move."

"What?"

"Listen, I can't afford to lose this job. I would do anything if meant we could continue living here. Unfortunately, we can't do that. " She rebutled.

The moments after were filled with silence. There wasn't anything reasonable to say, or atleast anything they could think of.

The silence was broken.

"Another call is coming in. I have to take it. Just come home and we can talk about. Okay?" Her mother replied, rushed.

"Okay, bye. Love you."

"Love you too."

After their call ended, Bri went inside. She was still shocked by the load of news that was unpacked on her.

"Liam" Bri sighed as she sat down beside him.

"What?" He asked, admiring a potato chip.

"I think I'm moving. The factory is moving locations." She, yet again, sighed.

"What? Where are they moving?" He started rambling.

"Somewhere in Kentucky. Can you drive me home?" Her tone was emotionless. If anything, it was drained.

"Sure. Umm, let's go." He said.

They got in the car and started to drive to Bri home. About half way through the drive, Liam came to a realization.

"If it makes you feel any better, I will probably have to move as well. Unless Mom finds a new job." He announced.

She thought about that for a second but didn't respond. She didn't have anything to say.

Eventually, they got to the place Bri called home. Liam walked her to the doorstep before deciding to enter with Bri.

When they got in the house, her mother was looking over papers that they could only assume were about the move. They both took a seat on the opposite side of the table and waited for somebody to start a conversation. Moments went by and all they heard was crickets.

Liam decided to break the silence.

"Do you know what the town is called?" He asked.

"Yes. It's called Bullek. " She looked up from her papers to scan over the two before looking back down.

"Ms. Weathered, do you know who else is deciding to move?" Liam poked.

"Call me Julia. And no, I do not." Julia stated.

"Oh, okay. Well, I better get going. Goodbye Bri. See you sometime. Bye Ms. Weathered. Sorry, Julia." He stuttered walking towards the door.

"Goodbye Liam." Julia said while walking towards him.

She gave him a hug before telling him, "I would suggest talking to your mother about that. "

Bri walked up to her bedroom and went to bed after Liam left. She was going to talk to her mother but decided not to. Bri felt as if it were no use. She knew that they had to move. There was nothing she could do about it.

---

When Bri woke up, she went downstairs to find her mother cooking breakfast.

"Good morning honey!" She chirped.

"Morning." Bri responded, sounding very dull in comparison to her mother.

"We are moving. Just in case you wondering. " Julia said while flipping a pancake.

"I figured." Bri grabbed a water bottle and left.

She went back to her room and called Liam. It took him a second but eventually, he answered. When he did, Bri put him on speaker.

"Hey babe" Liam greeted.

"Hey. Did you ever talk to your mother?" Bri questioned.

"No, she's still asleep." His tone was dull.

"Okay, call me back when you do."

"Okay."

"Bye. Love you."

"Bye babe. Love you."

And like that, the conversation had ended. Bri got ready for the day and Liam got ready for a conversation with his mother.

---

Liam made eggs for breakfast. After he had set the table, his mother emerged from her room.

"Morning Mom." He greeted her as he sat down.

She sat down as well and responded, "Good morning."

"We have to talk about something." She announced.

"If this is about the factory moving locations, I already knew about that." He informed her.

"Umm, okay."

"What I want to know is, are we moving with it?" Liam asked.

"They offered to pay for it. I can't afford lose this job either. We have to move. " She said , stress etched in her voice.

"Okay." Is all Liam managed to say.

He didn't know what to think. Or what to feel. He just didn't know. All he knew was that he was happy to be with Bri.