I groaned as the lights in my room flicked on. "Turn them off" I demand as I tug my blanket over my head. "Cali, baby I need you to get up. I need to talk to you" My mothers urgent voice called. I sat up immediately hearing the distress and urgency in her voice. "Mom? What's wrong?" I ask tossing my blanket off me as I get up.
"Honey come downstairs and talk with me" She says rubbing her face. She twitched quite a few times which caught my attention right away. "How long has it been since your last one?" I ask her as I follow her down. "A week" She says as her hand moves to scratch at her arm. "Mom stop it. Why do this to yourself? You know how bad you get when your withdraw kicks in" I say grabbing her hand.
My mother was addicted to drugs. Basically anything she could get her hands on. Meth, coke, weed. Anything. Her number one go to was to shoot up constantly. The marks on her arm could prove it if you didn't know it. "I'm going to Rehab" She says shakily. "What? Are you serious?" I ask softly. I was shocked but also proud.
She'd been hooked on this shit since I was born. "Yes. I haven't been the best mother. I know that. And I want to fix it baby. I really do. I'm gonna get better." She tells me giving me a weak smile. "Mom that's amazing news." I grin at her. "But, while I'm gone you have to stay with someone, since your not of legal age yet." She tells me softly.
"Who am I staying with?" I ask curiously. I knew I had aunts and uncles scattered around the area. Most of them were in the same boat as her, addicted to something. "Um... your going to stay with your father" She trails off. My father. I never got to meet him or learn about him. All she told me was his name was Charlie.
I guess she didn't want me to go looking for him. "So you're actually going to tell me something other than his first name?" I tease lightly. Mom gives me a small glare which makes me laugh. Her glare looks like an angry puppy. "Yes you brat" She grumbles at me. "He knows about you. He asked me to keep him updated on you. But the last few years I haven't gotten around to it. Last picture he got of you was when you were 12." She smiles.
"When do you leave for rehab?" I ask softly. "I already called the rehab center. They're sending some people to come get me in a few hours" She says sadly. I frown at her. "Don't get all sad. Once I'm better we can be the mother daughter kick ass team we've always been" She grins at me. "Of course we will be" I giggle.
"Go ahead and go pack. I'll have all the info you need ready when you're done." She tells me as she gets up. I walk up to my room and start to pack the stuff I wanted to take with me. I finished 2 hours later. Either I really have that much stuff or I'm a slow packer. I brought all my things down to my car. I walk back in and give mom a smile.
"Alright. Here is the address and heres some money to help get you there. It's not too long of a drive but I want to be sure you make it there. And he knows your coming so it won't be to much of a shock" She smiles handing me the stuff. "What about the agency? Their top agent can't move without letting them know." I say worried.
"I already called them. They said they'd call you later tonight to get you in contact with another trainer to keep you in shape and give you your next assignment." She explains to me. "Thank you mom. Call me whenever your aloud to. Or I'll drive down to visit" I smile at her. "Of course baby. You get going. I don't want you driving in the dark" She smiles.
Once we say our goodbyes, I make sure I have my phone and skateboard in the truck before pulling out. I put the address into my GPS and it shows it's a 5 hour drive. Why couldn't he live closer. I stop at a gas station filling up my tank and grabbing some snacks. I get back in the truck and pull out heading where my GPS is leading me.
After 2 bathroom breaks and another stop for some gas I finally made it to the tiny town of Forks, Washington. I let my GPS finish leading me and end up outside a 2 story white house. There's a police cruiser and a shitty truck parked outside. "It's now or never" I mutter to myself. I climb out walking to the door. I knock on the door waiting patiently.
The door opens and a pale girl with brown hair and brown eyes is staring at me. "Can I help you?" She asks awkwardly. "Um I'm looking for Charlie." I say just as awkward. "Yeah sure. Charlie! Someone is here for you." She calls into the house. "Already? That was quick" I hear a gruff voice answer as footsteps are heard.
A man rounds the corner who looks very much like the girl. Brown hair, brown eyes, even a brown mustache. "Cali?" He questions staring at me. "Yupp.." I say rocking on my feet. "This is Cali?" The girl asks. "Yeah. Sorry, Cali this is your half sister Bella." He tells me. I look over at her and smile. She gives a smile back before giving me a hug.
"I've always wanted a sister." She smiles. "Me too" I giggle. "Why don't we get your stuff inside. Looks like it's going to rain." Dad says looking up at the sky before running to my truck. "It always looks like that here" Bella whispers to me with a smile. I laugh as we both walk out grabbing the last few things from my truck. They lead me to a bedroom that already has some stuff in it.
There's a nice double bed pushed against one wall with a dresser next to it. On the other wall is a desk with a laptop on it. There's another door which I guess is Closet space. And my favorite thing is a bay window facing out the front of the house. "It's not much" Dad starts off. "I love it." I smile at him. "Well I will let you unpack" He smiles leaving me and Bella in my room.
"He wouldn't shut up when your mom called to tell him you were coming" Bella laughed. "I bet he was the same way when you came out here" I smile as I start to unpack. She starts to help with a short laugh. "That was just last week and you're right. Anyone around town made comments about how excited he was. He wouldn't shut up" She tells me and I laugh.
"So no offense, but why did you suddenly move here? Not against it. Curious" She tells me. "Um... I can explain later cause I know he's gonna ask the same thing. Rather not tell the same story twice." I say sadly. "Of course. I understand" She says, seeming to sense the topic drop. We finish unpacking as Dad calls that theres food downstairs.
We both walk down and sit down eating the pizza he ordered. "Your not a good cook are you?" I ask with a grin. "He's not. I've been cooking since I got here." Bella laughs. "Don't gang up on me!" Dad says laughing. "You two will be starting school tomorrow..." He says awkwardly. We both groan which makes him laugh.
We all move into the living room after we eat and that's when the question comes up again. "Cali, I'm glad your here, but it was a bit sudden. Why did your mom send you here?" He asks me. "Um... she went to rehab..." I say quietly but they both heard me. Bella was next to me and grabbed my hand supportively.
"Rehab? For what?" Dad asks curiously. "Drugs. Meth, weed, coke... you name it. She was on it" I say looking down at my lap. "Was she on any before she had you?" He asks. "No. She explained as I got older. It was after I was born. When I was 2 I caught her shooting up. Of course I didn't know what it was. But she told me when I got older" I start off the story.
"A little after she had me, she went into a depression. She said that there were days she didn't want to be near me. She told me those were the days when I would do anything I wanted in the day. Watch tv, eat ice cream and pizza all day. Stay up until midnight. But by midnight it would pass and she'd nag me for being awake so late" I say with a short laugh as I realize I'm crying.
"She said that was her only escape. That they helped her be happy and that it kept the depression away. Earlier today she woke me up telling me she needed to talk to me. I could tell it was important. And along our walk downstairs I could see her fidgeting and scratching at her arm. She told me she had been clean for a week. And that I'd be coming here while she is in rehab. She wants to get better. She said she knew she had been a shit mom and wanted to fix it" I finish the story as I wipe my face.
"I'm so sorry I never reached out to meet you sweetheart. And I'm glad she's working to get herself better for you" Dad says softly. Bella wraps me up in a hug and I relish in it. Once we finish our talk we both head to bed for the dreaded school day tomorrow.
