Tortured Pasts

Chapter 5

I zip up my last suitcase filled with the rest of my clothes. I look around my room. A feeling of heaviness comes over me, and a small tear falls from my eye. If these blue walls could talk, they could write a book.

Four years of memories were made in this room. Four years filled with highs and lows. Mostly lows, but it is bittersweet. One chapter is ending, and a new one is beginning. It's time for me to move on. I came here to get better, and that is what I did. Now it is time for me to leave home again.

I grab my suitcases and close the door behind me. My flight to New Jersey leaves in four hours. A week ago today, I told my parents I had accepted the job and was moving back. They were speechless.

My dad was furious, especially when I told him I had no idea what type of business Scott had. He told me I was making a mistake, and I was foolish to be running head-on into something I knew nothing about. He said he does not think I am ready to return to Jersey yet. I could not be mad at him; I knew I was taking a risk. I also knew I would regret it if I didn't.

My mom wasn't mad or happy; she was sad. Her youngest was leaving her again, but she knew that Scott would not put me in a situation I could not handle. My mom has loved Scott ever since we were in elementary school.

Whenever he was at my house, he was always in the kitchen talking with my parents. Some people think that would be annoying because he was supposed to be hanging out with me, but that's who Scott is. He can get along with anyone's parents, just as I do. It is one of the many things we have in common.

I walk through the TSA checkpoint and grab my carry-on bag. The airport is busy today as many families are hurrying around to get to their gates. A young couple behind me was praying they would make it to their gate on time. The boyfriend tries to calm the girlfriend down as they rush past me. That is why I always come to the airport at least two hours before. You never know how long security will take.

I get a breakfast burrito from one of the little food shops and then grab a seat near the floor-to-ceiling windows. I love watching the planes taxi in and out and take off. I saw my blue and white airplane make its way to the gate. I look around at the clear sunny sky and all the skinny green palm trees. I will miss the feeling this atmosphere gives me. The warmth it offers.

I look at the time on my phone. In thirty minutes, I will be on my way to New Jersey. No turning back now.

To my surprise, my flight is not crowded. It is one in the afternoon, and I will land at Newark International Airport at three fifteen. I will probably get there around three because the flights are always faster than they predicted.

I ensured I had a window seat, as I always did when flying. The old married couple I am sitting next to start a conversation with me. They tell me they are going to visit their daughter's family. They show me pictures of them, as older people usually do. They look like a close-knit family.

After asking the flight attendant for a water bottle, I put my headphones on, getting lost in the clouds with my thoughts. I said my goodbyes to my friends last night. Samantha cried, but at the same time, she was happy for me. She told me now she has a reason to visit New Jersey whenever she wants to. I laughed at her. She is crazy, but I would not put it past her to show up unannounced. She is the type of person who would do something like that, and I would not mind it.

My friends thought I was crazy for taking such a leap without having a backup plan. I convinced them I would be okay and Scott would watch out for me. I assured them he would pick me up from the airport and take me to the apartment he had secured for me.

To my surprise, Scott paid my first and last month's rent, so all I had to pay was the eight hundred dollar security deposit. He told me not to worry about paying him back, which shocked me. A few years ago, he would have never said those words.