It's Complicated.

Prologue

Ashleigh's POV

"I'm going to live with dad then." I narrowed my eyes at my mother.

When I was little, I lived in a small town just north of London, England, with my Mum and Dad. At age five, my parents hit a rough patch, and their marriage broke down. For work, my dad had to stay down south, but my mum insisted my older brother Jacob and I move up to Blackpool along with her. 

"Mummy, I don't want to go there." I said whilst my mum packed my bags. 

"It's for the best Ashy..." She turned to me and gave me a half hearted smile.

"It's not though mum, is it?" Jake was eight, and knew much more about what was happening than I did. 

"Yes it is Jacob. Now help me pack your clothes." Mum shook her head at my brother and busied herself packing.

"What about daddy." I felt the whole room grow cold and quiet, all you could hear was the clock in the background. Tick, tock, tick, tock. "Mummy? Is daddy not coming too?" 

"Ashleigh, you know he has to work down here." She sighed softly.

"Why don't we stay here with him? Why are we moving far away from my friends and my school?" I didn't want to leave and go to a new place.

"I'm sorry." 

That was that, we moved away, and Jake and I stopped seeing our dad, and our friends. We joined a small school, 'Primrose Primary.' Then 'North High Secondary.' It was halfway through sixth form that I found out about my mum and her 'boyfriend,' when she said "We're moving! To A..MER...I...CA!"

"What?" I said to her bluntly.

"We put an offer in on a house in a city called Hamilton in Mississipi, and it was accepted! We're moving to America!"

"When?" No way was she doing this to me again.

"When we get our visa's or what ever they are." She sounded nonchalant, as if it was just easy to move around all the time.

"I'm not moving with you. I'll go live with Jake." I retorted.

"Honey, he's at Uni in London. You know you can't." She smiled slyly. She knew I didn't want to go, and she loved my brewing anger. "You shouldn't flare your nostrils Ashy."

"I'm going to live with dad then." I narrowed my eyes at my mother.

"No you are not." She shouted at me.

"You never agreed on who would have me and how long for, and I'm eighteen in a year, you can't do anything about it." I licked my lips nervous of her reaction.

"If you do that. You're not even considered my daughter anymore." Tears filled her eyes.

"I'm sorry mum, but I don't want to leave the country, and I have friends back there. I can't restart my life again..."

"Okay, we'll speak to... Him." She let out a sigh, and flipped open her phone. "Mark, it's Karen, we need to talk about Ashleigh." 

Mum's eyes signalled at me to leave the room whilst they talked, so I wandered out the door and sat on the lounge. Through the wall I could hear murmers, and harsh whispers.

Finally, mum came out and sat down next to me. "Okay, your father said you can go and live there." I smiled, relief overflowing from my body. "On one condition. You behave yourself 100%. That means no parties, no getting drunk, no having s--"

"MOTHER." I cut her off. "It's fine, I will do anything to stay!" 

Tears once again consumed her eyes, "I really will miss you, my beautiful baby girl." She hugged me into her chest.

"I'll miss you too mum." 

"I know."

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dedicated to @cover_fever for making my cover!