There Will Be Blood (not mine)

3. Purity

I was going to miss my best friend and even though she was staying here, Angie and I promised to keep in touch. I knew that we would naturally drift apart, me being on one side of the country and her, the other but I hoped that we could keep some sliver of the relationship we had.

My two small bags were packed, my tuition was paid, and I was ready to go. Freddie would be okay by himself because he was fine before I came around and he would be fine without me.

To be honest, I really shouldn't be going to a big city like Chicago or Northwestern for that matter. Northwestern was the place where rich kids go who know what they want to do with their lives. I was a seventeen-year old girl, about to be eighteen, who didn't know what to do with her life. Was that normal? Fortunately, I could just check the 'undecided' box on my application but I knew that was going to have to change soon. I prayed that I found what I liked before it was too late.

Right now, I was leaning towards literature but where were the job prospects in that?

"Mads, we need to leave in a couple of hours." My father called from the family room as I finished my cereal at the kitchen table.

"Okay, let me just go say bye." I gobbled down what was left in my bowl and threw it in the sink, "I'll be back in half an hour." I called out of the door.

I ran into the constant downpour that was Thorp's weather and jumped into the faded red 1954 Chevy pickup that Freddie bought me when I turned sixteen. It was complete junk but I loved it.

The engine thundered and I tried to memorize the noise because it would be a long time until I heard that sound again. With the tuition being so much, Freddie didn't really have any extra money to buy me plane tickets every couple of months. I would most likely be back in Forks for Christmas but definitely not Thanksgiving or Spring Break.

I drove through the small neighborhoods of Thorp until I stopped in front of the white house on the corner, a couple minutes from mine. If it wasn't raining, I would have walked.

I made sure to look at everything while I passed so I could remember what peace felt like. Chicago was in no way like Throp and even though I wasn't necessarily a country girl, I had never been into the concrete jungles of other cities besides Phoenix. Seattle was big I guess but from what I saw on the Internet, Chicago was ten times larger. I hope I can hang with the big fish.

I pulled in front of the white house with Jimmy Newton standing on the front porch in nothing more than sweatpants, leaving the muscles of his chest exposed.

Damn him!

I had always had some sort of attraction to Jimmy. It wasn't romantic but it was definitely hormonal. He was my other best friend in this town and had been my first everything. Dance, kiss... other things. He brought out emotions in me that I couldn't even imagine but we had never tried to have an actual relationship. It just wouldn't work.

"I'm sorry I'm late." I ran through the rain and shook off the water once I was under the covered porch.

"No problem." He smiled sadly, "You all packed up?"

"I guess so. All two bags." I replied sarcastically, "I don't own much else."

"Damn, I can't believe our little Maddie is off to the big city." He picked me up and spun me around.

"Jimmy, put me down." I laughed furiously as he tickled my sweet spot.

He set me back on the ground but didn't relinquish his hold on me. I rested my head on his chest.

"Don't you own a shirt?" I joked, not that I cared.

"I just woke up. Deal with it." His tone changed, "We'll all miss you Maddie."