She Lays Down [h.s.]

Twenty-Two

Inspiration for this chapter: How To Draw -THE 1975

After some talks with Ember and Harry, Mary's decided that it would be a wonderful idea to buy a new home. She loves the home that she's in currently, but it isn't hers. The house that she and Ember live in now is haunted with bad memories and bad décor that Alec never let anyone change. It's time for a new start, a fresh start, and she and Ember decided that a new house was perfect for that.

At first, Ember was wary of the idea—as she should be—because she's spent all of her life in this house and it's the one place that she knows better than anything. But she remembers all of the nights that her mother cried and all of the nights that her fought and she doesn't want to remember that.

All of her memories are in this house, and while she loves the good memories, she understands where her mom is coming from when she says that the walls are filled with bad memories and she wants to go somewhere where they can fill them with only good memories. Ember thinks that the best part about deciding to move into a new house is the fact that Harry is moving in with them.

When her mother told her that he would be staying with them every day, she practically bounced off the walls. Ember loves Harry to death and she's thrilled that he's going to live with them all the time instead of going home and coming back a few days later. She's been waiting for this to happen for longer than she cares to count and she's so happy to see that her mom is happy again.

Now the time has come and all of her things are in boxes and in the moving truck. It's a strange feeling, leaving the only home that she's ever known, but it's not exactly a bad feeling either. Ember feels like she's growing up and saying goodbye to the old and hello to the new things that await her now and when she's much older.

She's standing in her bedroom with Miss Elly in her hand, watching the clouds go by out the window and wondering if she'll ever come back to this place someday. Mary walks in and leans against the door frame. This is hard for Ember and she knows it. Her heart is here along with her childhood and even though she wants to move somewhere new, it's hard to just walk away from everything that she's ever known.

"We don't have to leave right away. We can sit here and talk for a while if you want, I know that this isn't as easy as you thought it was going to be."

Ember turns around with teary eyes and Mary offers her a soft smile because she understands what she's feeling. Only, her parents didn't give her and Claire a choice, they just made the decision and brought them along whether they wanted to move or not.

She looks at her mother for a moment before running across the room and throwing her arms around her tightly and closing her eyes. She doesn't say anything, but she doesn't have to.

Mary hugs her daughter close and rubs small circles on her back to soothe her just a little bit more. Harry's walking in to tell them that the truck is ready and he stops just before the doorway, the words still stuck on his lips.

Ember seemed so excited about the move and he never thought to consider that it would make her upset. He feels terrible as he watches Ember pull away from her mother and wipe her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Ember looks up at him with glossy and confused eyes, "For what?"

Mary's wearing the same look as he crouches and opens his arms to give Ember a hug himself. Ember doesn't hesitate and practically falls into his arms.

"I'm sorry for making you leave. I didn't think about how you would feel about it when I asked your mum to move in with me."

She laughs softly and hugs him a little tighter before she pulls away, "I want to leave too. But I still like it here."