Mine, He Said

"Can you tell me again why we had to leave England and come to Vancouver" I asked my mum while we dragged boxes out of the car. "Because my parents are here" my mum said. "Yeah? that still doesn't mean we need to keep living here" my mum stiffened at my attitude. "Young lady, mind your tone, your grandparents are thrilled we're here because they haven't seen us in ages, the least you can do is act nice about it" I sighed "I'm sorry mum it's only that, I liked it better back there, I miss my friends". My mums eyes went soft and she set her box down then wrapped me in a hug, "I know, sweetheart, and I'm sorry but I really think this could be good for us, plus the job I got here pays so well and now I can get you more of the things you want, we can go more places and still cover the bills without stressing about being broke, I just want you happy". My mum's a lawyer and she's been doing that for the last 9 years. She saved every bit she had, enough for us to move here and stay comfortable for a long time. "I know, but I'm really going to miss my friends" I grumbled, "And I'll miss mine too, but we'll both make new friends here, and who knows, maybe you'll meet some guy here and maybe I will as well, I might finally get my groove back" she swung her hips when she said it, "Ugh, mum! I did not need to know that" she laughed while taking boxes into the house while I shivered after her. myself. My name's Maeve Winters, I'm 17 years old and there's more behind our move from England to Vancouver than my mum is saying. She keeps saying the whole reason is that her parents are here, but there's always this look on her face that makes me think something else is going on there. anyway, what else should I mention, oh right, my parents are divorced. They broke up when I was eight, and I remember waking sometimes to them arguing but I would press my hands over my ears because I couldn't handle it, so I had no idea what they were saying. That carried on for a few weeks, mum even packed our stuff before she took me to a hotel, dad always tracked us down and then it would kick off all over. Then one night, I remember dad stepping into my room, murmuring something, kissing my forehead and leaving. By the time morning came around, he was gone. I still can't remember for the life of me what he murmured, and by now it doesn't matter much anyway, after all I've not seen my dad since then. Sometimes when I'm at the playground, I swear I spot him by the gate but he's gone the second I look twice. Whenever I ask my mum why they broke up, her face twists into a scowl while a flash of fear flickers through her eyes as she only says "because he's a monster". Yet, from what I do remember, he was the sweetest dad ever. I don't remember him being cruel, violent, or anything that should make my mum call him a monster. As far back as I can remember, my dad would fool around with me and crack me up, and on my birthday we'd head out for dinner then have ice cream after. I also remember dad lifting me onto his shoulders so I could see the New Year fireworks over London properly. I miss him, but then there are times where I hate him because he never fought harder, and after all these years he still hasn't even tried to get in touch with me. Thinking that is what gets me through the pain of never seeing him again. When I'd unpacked and carried my boxes into my room, I could finally get a proper look at it. It was way bigger than the room I had back in England, and all my furniture was already in place. My double bed had its red floral duvet spread over it, and it was pushed against the wall below the window on the left side of the room, and my bedside table was beside it with my small lamp on top. I put the boxes down then walked across to the door on the right side. I tugged it open and there was a walk in closet! How fancy is that? Another door sat right beside it so I opened that too and found an en-suite bathroom. I honestly thought I'd died when I saw it, there was a bath tub and a separate shower, and even a vanity sink with a mirror over it. I squealed in delight when I saw all of it. I guess moving maybe isn't too bad. Later that night, I couldn't get to sleep. I kept thinking about starting school. I mean, was I going to make any friends? would anybody even like me? What if I made a total mess of myself on the first day, what if I tripped badly, slid on something, ended up in the splits and my trousers tore, showing my knickers. No, calm down Maeve, you're thinking too much, besides you've still got a week before school starts. I shoved every negative thought out of my head and tried to think good thoughts instead. Everything's going to be fine, nothing awful is going to happen, it'll all be good. Eventually tiredness caught me, and right before I drifted off, I heard a faint howl in the distance.