Healing Hector

ONE

Four years.

When you think about a person's whole lifespan it doesn't seem like that much time, but it was certainly long enough for me to get used to being away from Stonewood. 

Dad hadn't moved us that far, we'd spent the past four years living in a tiny town about a hundred miles or so up North. England just isn't a big enough country to escape that far in. The town seemed to attract a lot of older retired people, so it provided some much needed calmness to our lives. It was refreshing being away from Stonewood, and I'd even made a close friend - Jessica. But unfortunately I couldn't exactly bring her back with me, as much as I didn't want to face everyone alone. At least I had someone to talk to over the phone.  

Everything was strangely perfect before Dad had a heart attack, I finally felt like I was able to breathe, able to make friends without fear of exposing my secret in a town that thrives on gossip. I've never had to face this alone, and my heart breaks at the thought of trying to adjust to life without Dad by my side. The past four years with him had been spent perfectly at least, but that didn't change the gaping hole he left in my life. 

Knowing that he would give me some cliche line of encouragement, I took a deep breath in and tried to focus on how I was going to get through my final year at school.

Uncle Max interrupted my trail of thought by setting the final one of my boxes down on the floor of his spare room - my new bedroom. It was a tiny box room that just about fit a single bed and a wardrobe in. It didn't look like it had much use over the years, the magnolia paint was peeling off in most places and the bed frame looked questionably unstable. Max lived in a small flat in the centre of town, and he'd always lived alone so I'm lucky there was even a spare room to move into. 

"I know it's not much, but there's a closet in the hallway I've cleared out so you can store some of your things there." He said, reading my mind. 

"No it's perfect, thank you." I responded, trying to be as polite as possible. I couldn't help but feel guilty about having to move in with Max. Even though I was seventeen now, he'd chosen to never have kids and yet he'd still ended up responsible for one. It wasn't his fault I was short on relatives to take up guardianship.

He was my mum's brother, and not the biggest fan of my dad so I hadn't spent much time with him before, but that was clearly about to change. I'm not entirely sure what caused the dispute between Max and my dad, but I know it had something to do with my mother. Even if I had wanted to ask, my mum was always a sore choice of topic to speak with Dad about. I don't remember her, but she passed away when I was still a toddler, so I eventually gave up asking Dad about her as it only seemed to cause more pain than it was worth. Maybe one day Max will tell me more, but I won't get my hopes up. 

I pushed open the window of my bedroom to let in some fresh air, it had a clear view of the row of shops on the high street. Max's flat was situated just above a dry cleaners. As much I don't like people, being able to people-watch aimlessly from the confines of my room would at least provide a good distraction while I'm stuck in Stonewood again. 

Max ran his fingers through his greying hair and his eyebrows furrowed, as though he wanted to say something to me but didn't quite know how. His head almost hit the top of the door frame as he stood there. According to Dad, my mum was also blessed with height but I seemed to miss out on the decent genes, standing at 5"4 - just another average trait to add to the list. 

The look quickly disappeared from Max's face as he realised I was staring back at him expectantly. 

"Do you have everything ready for school tomorrow? Want me to drive you in on your first day?" He asked.