Untitled (title suggestions appreciated)

please suggest titles and this was just a story I wrote out of boredom. please comment :]

Was it really happening? Was it really happening like this? Was everything I ever knew floating away, as if in a dream, this fast, all at once? Obviously, it was. I sat in the back of our old blue van, nose flattened against the smeared window as I watched my house grow smaller and smaller. Katie was standing there. But she wasn’t waving anymore. She was still crying though. I couldn’t see her face, but I knew. I knew the tear streaked face all too well.

          Cody stood with her, arm around her shoulder. He was still waving. I put my hand on the glass, my palm hot and clammy against its cool surface. My eyes were dry. I had cried long ago, when no one was around. I wasn’t dramatic. I had just gotten it out almost carefully in a way. Not wanting anyone to see.

I curled my fingers into my sweaty palm and sat back from the window. My face was still cool from where it had been touching. I looked at my hands. They were red and splotchy. I turned and looked at the picture leaning against the seat beside me. It wasn’t very good, kind of fuzzy. The sun had made a glare next to Cody’s head. But it was my favorite.

Katie, Cody and I sat outside at the local Dairy Queen. We each held a dripping ice cream. Mine was falling to the ground as I tried to dodge Cody, laughing. My eyes were squinted and my mouth was wide open in mid-laugh as he kissed me on the cheek. He had ice cream all over his mouth. Katie sat on the other side, trying not to be crushed and juggling a cup of ice cream. She was glaring at me, but the angry look wasn’t real, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Cody’s friend, Jake, had taken the picture. It had been planned, but I had no idea. 

I tucked the picture into my bag, and looked back out the window. We had turned. I couldn’t see my house. My friends. They were gone. Just like that. I sighed, shakily.

My phone vibrated. I looked at the little screen before flipping it open. 1 new text, it read. I opened the phone. The screen lit up. This isn’t the end, you know. It was from Cody. I smiled, barely. I could hear myself breathing, as I typed. How do you know?

I waited. Vibration. I flipped open the phone. I won’t let it be the end. My lip trembled. I bit it and typed. How?

I won’t let you go. I love you, Abbey.

I closed the phone for a minute, looking at the ceiling, letting the tears drain back into my head. Flip. You know I love you…I always have.

I could imagine Cody’s face. At that moment, it jumped into my mind, for some reason. I’d known him forever. We’d grown up together. Our moms taking turn watching us during the day. Ever since our freshman year I’d started liking him more and more. Now I knew how he felt. And he was gone.

I’ll talk to you soon. I looked at the screen, and was ready to type when another message popped up. Katie says bye too.

I nodded and typed. I love you both. Good-bye.

I waited for another text but none came. I slipped my phone into my pocket and loosened my seatbelt, lying across the backseat. My dad’s face was smiling in the rear view mirror as he patted my mother’s hand. She smiled at him and said something. Keegan, my little brother, snored softly in his car seat in front of me. They were all so happy, and somewhere inside myself, I knew I was too. Cody said it wasn’t the end, so maybe it was just a new beginning.

 

 

Chapter 1

 

          We moved to California, in a car. That was a lot of driving. A lot of driving filled with no cell phone signal or good radio stations. I spent most of the time sleeping, some reading, a lot thinking. Sleeping was the easiest time. Just drifting away for a while. It’s almost like being dead. Completely unaware of what’s going on around you. Reading was pointless. It gave me a headache and my mind would drift away from the book. I’d end up reading one sentence over and over again.

          Thinking was the worst though. I’d think about Cody and Katie and leaving. I’d think that I’d never see them again. Then I’d feel sick.

          When my dad finally said we’re here, five days and a couple historical sites later, I was just grateful to get out of the car and move around. Having cell phone signal was also a plus. Katie had been impatiently messaging me at least 20 times a day asking if I was there yet in each one. I had said no each time. When I got there I didn’t bother telling her. I’d be bombarded with questions if I did so.

          Cody, on the other hand, was more patient. He sent me one message telling me he already missed me and to tell me when we got there. So I did. He simply said, cool; call me later. That’s the thing I liked about Cody. He liked short and sweet and to the point. He was also a great listener.

          Our house was nice; a two story with my room on the bottom floor and my parents on the top. It was what I had been hoping for. It’s easier to hear what the people above you are saying than the people below you and I didn’t like my parents listening to my phone conversations, which they tried hard to do.

          I slowly investigated the room. It was nice, really nice actually, roomy. It was big enough to be an entertainment room, but it was mine. All mine. I flopped down on the twin bed, looking around at the clean, white ceiling and walls. The bed, a black dresser, and a black book shelf were the only furniture in the room. It seemed so empty… and plain. I wanted my friends. I wanted them sitting in my room with me, on my bed, helping me get used to the change. But they weren’t here. They wouldn’t be. Not ever.

          I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them, and sat up. I looked at my reflection in the mirror above the dresser. I looked normal. Same green and gold eyes, pointed nose, olive skin. My thin, brown hair had fallen loose from its ponytail and hung around my flushed, heart-shaped face. It was all the same, yet very different. I couldn’t put my finger on it.

          My phone rang in my pocket and I jumped, startled. Flipping it open, I saw that it was Cody. I quickly pushed TALK.

          “Hey!”

          “Hey, Abbey. What are you up to?” He asked this as if I was still right around the corner, like he was going to suggest doing something tonight.

          “I’m just checking out my new room. It’s huge! But it feels empty. It’s like I’ve been gone for months already.” I examined my fingernails, waiting for him to answer.

          “Yeah, I know. Crazy, huh?”

          “Yeah, it really is.” I looked back at my reflection, wondering if this is what I looked like to Cody. Of course it was. I mean, how different could I look in another person’s eyes?

          “Morgan?”

          “Hmm?”

          “I miss you, bud. We usually see each other every day. It’s been five days.”

          “I know. Don’t remind me.” There was silence for a minute.

          “Well, I’ll send you some pictures of me, and Katie so be looking for them. Send me some pictures of your new house.”

          “Yeah, I will. Definitely.”

          “Good. Well… I’ll talk to you later. Expect a call from Katie.” I laughed.

          “Oh believe me. I am.”

          “Yeah, you know how she is. Well, you know I love you, and miss you.”

          “You too. I really do. I’ll text you later.”

          “Ok. Well, bye.”

          “Bye.”

          There was silence for a minute and then a click. I looked at the phone in my hand, before dropping it to the carpeted floor. I sat for a moment, unsure of what to do. I looked back at the mirror, then at my bag. I quickly opened it and removed my picture, walking to the dresser and leaning it against the dusty mirror. We looked so happy then. I shook the thought out of my head. There wasn’t any point of thinking about them.

          I looked around the room before picking up my old goose feather pillow I had thrown on the floor. I curled up at the end of the bed, sniffing the familiar pillowcase. It smelled like home. Now if I could just make the whole house smell like that, it would be almost perfect. Almost.

          I lay there for a while listening to my parents unpacking the car. The moving van wouldn’t come until tomorrow. I could hear Keegan’s feet pattering around the house, and the buzzing of the ceiling fan in my room. I listened for a little longer, until my eyes grew heavy and, slowly, I drifted off into a fitful sleep.

 

    *                    *                    *                    *                    *                    *               

           

          The next morning I woke to the sound of Keegan running down the hall in his little Sunday shoes. Even on the days we skipped church, Keegan some how knew in his little 4-year-old head that it was time for church and he insisted on wearing the shiny black size 2s.

          I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my puffy eyes, and looked around. For a minute, I didn’t know where I was. Where were my posters, pictures, and everything else I had so carefully tacked to the walls? Where were my fluffy, black and silver comforter, and my sea foam green recliner? Where was my closet? Slowly, I began to remember where I was. I was at my new house, in California. My parents were here; my brother was here, even my dog Burnet was here. But Katie wasn’t here; Cody wasn’t here.

          My feeling of comfort slipped away and I let out a loud breath. It’s sound filled the room along with the fan’s constant whirring. I inched off the bed, my feet sinking into the deep carpet, and bent down, picking up my phone. There was one new text and a missed call. I looked at both. The call had been from Katie. Poor Katie. I know I shouldn’t have gone to sleep. Katie was probably a nervous wreck, waiting for me to call. She probably didn’t sleep.

          The text was also from her. She had asked why I hadn’t answered and if I was ok and if I missed her. I said I had fallen asleep, yes, and yes to the three questions. Luckily, she didn’t text back. She was probably asleep. It was 7:42 a.m. here. 

I glanced over at a pile of clothes next to my door. Mom probably put them there. I pulled out some plaid, flannel pajama paints and pulled them on, after slipping off my jeans. It felt weird putting on pajamas in the morning, but I just felt kind of lazy. I slid my phone into one of the deep pockets and pulled my hair back into a messy ponytail. No one was going to see me anyway.

I walked down the long, hard wood floored hallway, to the kitchen. My mom stood next to the sink, filling the cabinets with dishes, and Keegan sat at her feet, playing with Burnet’s ears. The dog’s tail swished on the tile when he saw me, and he whined in mid yawn, shaking his ears out of Keegan’s tight grasp. My mom who was on the phone smiled at me before turning and putting a childproof lock on a drawer in Keegan’s reach. I smiled back and patted Burnet who ran up to me barking loudly.

“Shush, Burnet,” I whispered when my mom glared at me. The dog rubbed his long snout on my leg as he sniffed me. Panting, he seemed to smile up at me, pleased. I crouched down and rubbed his tawny ear. He watched me with soulful, chocolate eyes.

As I pet him, I couldn’t help but remember how he had gotten his name. Cody had found him when he was a puppy, wandering the streets next to his house. He took him home and posted flyers, but no one picked him up. He decided to give him to me for my birthday, which had been the weekend before. We went to Cody’s house to celebrate my late birthday present and the puppy completely chewed up and destroyed Cody’s favorite CD. It was one I had made him for Christmas. The CD was called “Burn It All”. So came the puppy’s name. Burnet. It was kind of dumb now that I think about it, but I love the name.

I stood and glanced around the kitchen before heading outside to get the paper. Burnet dashed past me and scurried around the yard, sniffing every piece of yard. I shook my head and walked to the driveway, shuffling along.

 

 

Author's Note

please suggest titles. i will add onto it soon. its unfinished. let me know if you want more or if it isn't that good...or interesting...or whatever.

Reviews

[emily]

I really like it, definitely continue! Sorry, I don't have any title suggestions. x3