Watercolor Road ✔

Chapter 1: A New Everything

*Two Weeks Later*

Julia plopped down heavily on her new bed. Her makeshift bedroom in her uncle's apartment was once Rory's office space, a twin-sized bed, desk, dresser, and wardrobe crammed into the space. Rory painted in his free time, so some of his art supplies still scattered the room. However, he had moved most of it into his room or out into the living area, leaving Julia with only a few remnants.

The sound of someone clearing his throat jerked Julia out of her thoughts. She turned her head to see her uncle standing in the doorway.

"Hi, Julia," Rory said, sounding slightly uncomfortable. When he didn't get a response, he continued. "I just wanted to make sure you're settling in. Do you need anything?"

"No."

Her uncle hesitated for a moment, giving her space to continue speaking. When she didn't, he gave another attempt at conversation. "I have your school information here." He handed Julia a small stack of papers. "It starts on Monday, and all you have to do is go to the front office and give them these forms. They're already filled out, and the school knows you're coming, so they'll have a schedule waiting for you. Of course, you don't have to go if you don't want to," Rory added in a rush. "I mean, if you don't feel ready, I understand—"

"I'll be fine," Julia cut him off. "I'll go to school." Silence followed, and as Rory opened his mouth to reply, Julia beat him to it. "Look, I just want to be left alone, okay?"

Rory nodded. "Okay." Strain rang through his voice. "I'll be out here if you need anything. And I'll have food later if you get hungry." After waiting a moment for Julia to respond, he left the room, softly closing the door behind him.

Julia stared out of the room's small window. There was nothing to look at. Rory lived in the Middle of Nowhere, Texas. Redwater only had about 2,000 residents. Julia's old high school in California had a student population of 3,000. She loved big, bustling cities. Here, the silence deafened her.

Even Rory's apartment wasn't an actual apartment. An old, large house had been divided into four separate living spaces, two upstairs and two downstairs. Rory and Julia lived in one of the upstairs apartments.

Julia laid back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. She usually spent the Friday before the start of school with Alicia. They would go to a movie, shop, and eat ice cream, enjoying the last few days of summer. The day before school began, Julia would go to Alicia's house and help Alicia pick out her makeup and accessories for their first day. Then, the two girls would go to Julia's house and repeat the process. The school Julia used to go to had uniforms, so the girls had to get creative with their looks.

Now, so close to the beginning of her senior year of high school, Julia had no desire to do any preparation. All she wanted to do was sleep.

Even if Julia didn't want to admit it to herself, she felt grateful in some ways that she was at another school halfway across the country. Had she stayed in California, Julia would have had to endure the constant stares and whispers of her classmates. She went to a big school, but rumors and drama spread like wildfire. Here in Texas, she had a fresh start and a clean slate.

Wallowing in self-pity, however, Julia only focused on missing her best friend, old school, the bustling life of the Bay Area, and above all, her parents. Her mom and dad got so excited on the first day of every year, and Julia's heart ached at thinking about how ecstatic they would have been for her first day of senior year.

Instead of being surrounded by the people she loved, all Julia had was a badly sprained ankle, a healing concussion, and an uncle who she hadn't seen in over a decade.