Misplaced

Chapter 1: The News

I miss my dad, yet I hate his guts. I simply don't know how to feel. Only a month ago, my parents and I were all living in the same house and, seemingly, happy. Come to find out, my parents were anything but that. Why couldn't they just work things out? Why did they have to split up and make my life miserable? I have my reasons for disliking my father. He was always the one to start the arguments. He only thought of himself. He was selfish. Honestly, a lot of those arguments could have been prevented if he would have just been quiet. But I'm sort of learning to deal with it, since it's been happening for a while now, and almost a month since my parents have officially divorced. I'm still not over it. I don't know if I ever will be.

There is dead silence in my room, when I hear knocking at my door.

"Come in." I mumble.

My mother walks in with a gleaming smile on her face, but I can see pain written all over it. It's all hidden behind a facade created by her eyes. She sees me drawing in my sketch book and stares at me until I look up. Our eyes meet.

"Genevieve, sweetie. How are you?" She asks this question with such sincerity that the tears burning in my eyes are almost impossible to restrain.

I can't let her see me cry, I think to myself. I have to be strong. If I break down, what other hope does she have?

All of a sudden, I feel hot tears streaming down my face. I try to turn away from my mother, so she doesn't see them. I honestly hate myself right now.

"Genevieve, look at me honey." She utters, painfully.

I glance at her for a few seconds, and seeing her gives me a strong feeling of reassurance.

"It's okay not to be okay."

That one sentence pricks my heart as she continues talking.

"I know this is hard and overwhelming for you. I'm so sorry. But we have to stick together. You're a strong girl, I know it. I love you."

She wipes the tears off of my face and embraces me in a long, warm hug. I feel tons better afterwards.

"Well, I actually came in here to talk to you about something." She starts.

I become very alert and grasp the urge to listen to what my mother has to say.

"What is it?" I ask.

I can feel the hesitation in her painful breaths, and I immediately know that whatever she is about to say will be hard. However, she forces the words out.

"We're moving."

I sit there without moving a muscle for the next ten seconds. I feel like I don't even want to breathe anymore. It would be less painful, after all.

I finally muster up the strength to speak again.

"Mom..why? No, I can't. You don't understand. My whole life is here. This is my home, mom."

Before I know it I am crying again and I ask through sobbing gasps "H..how long do I have?"

"One week." She mutters.

"But...mom.."

She cuts me off before I can continue.

"I know, honey. I don't want to move either, but since your dad and I split up.. I can't afford to pay for the house anymore."

Great, I think to myself. Now my father is officially successful in ruining my life. He didn't even bother to say goodbye. Or apologize. Maybe I should give him time. But he just left. He left his family, his wife, his only daughter. Just walked out.

My thoughts become more vivid and I say through spaced breaths "Mom...I...don't know what to say. I feel like I have nothing left from my normal life. Everything is gone now."

She looks at me and says "Genevieve, you do have something. You have me, and you have my love. No matter where we go, I won't stop loving you. Okay?"

She kisses my forehead and gets up to walk out of the room, leaving behind an emptiness within me that aches with every breath.