All the things I didn’t know.

You know that feeling? That feeling in the pit of your stomach that you get, the one that feels like you swallowed a really heavy rock? Some call it intuition or esp, whatever you want to call it it shows up when something big is coming. Yeah, that feeling. That’s what I had as soon as I stepped foot onto my drive way after returning from my daily run on the day my life changed forever. Before we go any further I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Charlie Jade Summers, I’m 17 but only for another 8 days. I was a senior in high school up until a couple of months ago when I graduated. I was supposed to go to university next year on a track scholarship but I blew my ACL and had to have surgery. My knee healed in record time, the surgeon said he had never seen a knee heal so quickly or thoroughly it was like nothing ever happened. But it took long enough for me to have to give up my full ride scholarship, atleast for this year. I live with my mom and step dad, they’re cool parents. It helps that my mom is pretty young, she had me at 18 so she’s only 35 herself so I grew up with her more as a older sibling then a mom. All of my friends took off for university and I dumped my boyfriend not too long ago. I’ll get into why some other time. So it’s just me, mom and Brad. Or at least it was. So back to THAT day. I swung open the heavy glass door to the only home I’ve known for the last 11 years and found my mom sitting in the formal living room waiting for me. That’s when I knew something was up, no one ever sat in this room. It was uncomfortable and uninviting, it looked like a furniture store showroom. “Hey Bubs, how was your run?” mom asked casually, ‘Bubs’ is the nickname she has had for me since I was a baby. “Hey Mom” I answered suspiciously, “ it was good……what’s up?” “I need to talk to you about something, go grab some water then come sit with me” mom responded. It was obvious to me she was trying to remain cool and collected while freaking out internally. I did as I was told and made my way back to the big cream coloured leather couch. Mom took a big steadying breath then turned to look at me “there’s no easy way to say this so I’m just going to come right out with it. Charlie, we’re moving to Japan.” It was like I had no control of my mouth, a huge laugh burst out without anything to stop it. “Oooh yeah sure mom! Let’s move to Japan and then next year we can move to Mars!” I spit out in between spurts of laughter. “Charlie, I’m serious. Brad got a great job opportunity that’s way too good to pass up. The only hiccup is that we would have to move to Japan. In 2 weeks.” I stared at my mom with a dumbfounded look on my face, I’m sure I looked like a bumbling i***t. I sat there staring at her for what felt like an eternity until I spat out “No! I’m not moving to the other side of the world” then I did the most stereotypical teenage girl thing I could have done. I got up, huffed then proceeded to stomp my way up the stairs. Half way up I turned to her and said “you can’t make me go” with a scowl written across my face. She looked at me with a sad expression and replied “Bubs, you don’t have much of a choice”. I couldn’t help it, the tears I had been holding in bubbled over and spilled down my face as I stumbled up the last few steps, across the hallway, flung my bedroom door open and fell face first onto my white and pink duvet. I rolled over and laid staring up at the plastic glow in the dark stars on my ceiling. As the sun started to set and they began to softly glow it reminded me of the stars my dad and I used to gaze at at his compound when I was little. Then it dawned on me. I do have another choice, my dad! I could go stay with my dad! I haven’t lived with him since I was 6 and I really don’t know him that well but it’s only for a year. I could put up with anything for a year then I would be off to university. There was only one little problem. My mom hates my dad. Like genuinely hates him. To this day I don’t really know what happened. They were so in love, like the type of love that is sickening to watch it’s so sweet. Then one day it was gone and so we’re we. We packed up and never went back. My dad is a great guy, or at least what I know of him is pretty awesome. To be fair I don’t know that much about him because his life is confusing he lives on this huge compound in the northern part of the province with like at least 200 other people. He owns a bunch of businesses ranging from auto shops to hair salons. He’s very wealthy but generous, he sent me a red Jeep Rubicon for my 16th birthday (mom was so pissed!) but since he pays the insurance and gave me a credit card to pay for gas mom really couldn’t do anything about it. He’s been begging me to come spend my 18th birthday with him, which is weird because normally we just meet up when he’s in town for business meetings but for some reason he wants me to be at his place for my birthday so I’m sure he won’t mind if I ask to stay. I quickly pull out my phone and call him. I normally just text my dad but I figured this deserved a phone call.. He picked up on the second ring and I immediately heard what sounded like a growl then it went quiet. A moment later my dads voice came through “hey Chuck, everything okay?” I rolled my eyes at his super flattering nickname he had given me. “Yeah Dad, everything’s fine but I have a question to ask you” I took a deep breath then started explaining at the end of my explanation I said “so what I’m trying to say is, can I come live with you for a while? I promise I’ll be no trouble and I’ll get a job and pay my share. I just really don’t want to move to Japan. Please?” That last part I said in my sweetest daddy’s little girl voice. He chuckled deeply on the other end of the line “oh Chuck, nothing would make me happier then to have you come live with me. But I have to ask, what did your mom say?” Ugh, I wish he hadn’t asked. “Well, I haven’t told her yet” another chuckle came through the line, “but I’ll let you know what she says” I quickly added. “Okay kid, let me know what she says but you have and always will have a place here, after all your my only child and I love you” he said sending a pang straight into my heart. “Love you too Dad, and thanks”. That was it. I had my plan, now for the hard part. Convincing mom. I decided to take a shower first before trying to convince my mother to jet me live with the man she hates while she moved across the world. I walked into my bathroom and looked in the mirror. My honey blonde hair was piled on top of my head in a mess of curls, fly away pieces stuck out all over the place, partly from sweating during my run and partly from running my hands across my head from stress. My eyes had black circles under them with streaks of black running down my cheeks. Had I known I would be crying I may have opted for the waterproof mascara. I was in no way ugly but I don’t think I’m drop dead gorgeous either I had heterochromia which meant I had two different colour eyes, one blue and one green. I was one of the tallest girls in my school at 5’9, I didn’t have a huge chest but nothing to complain about either. I was wider at the hips and I was actually quite proud of my butt. It was my best ASSett (ha!). I stripped out of my leggings and sports b*a after previously discarding my tank top in my room and stepped into the already running shower. It was hot, probably too hot for most people but for some reason I never felt the elements as much as the average person. I’ve always been a little different, not in any one huge way just little things, nothing I could pin point but I never felt normal. I was always the fastest runner, I could hear things my peers couldn’t, I rarely got sick and if I did I recovered in no time. These all sound like good things right? I’d have to agree most are but there are some not great parts too. Remember that boyfriend i mentioned earlier? I broke up with him because he couldn’t satisfy me sexually, he was great but it was never enough for me. No one has ever been enough for me in that way. I’m not saying I’ve been with a ton of guys but after you try a few and none of them can even come close to getting you off you kind of give up. Technically I’m a virgin but you don’t need to have s*x to get off. Then there’s my temper. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t go around breaking things or yelling at people and it takes a lot to get me mad but when I do it’s borderline animalistic. I can’t seem to control it. It feels like someone else is controlling what I say or do. Speaking of which, I know everybody had a voice inside their heads but not everyone has full on conversations with them. Well, I do. After taking a unnecessarily long shower I got out, threw my hair into a bun on top of my head, threw on some sweat pants and a tank top and headed downstairs to face the music. I found Mom and Brad sitting at the kitchen table with a coffee in hand. I sat down across from them. “So, Brad I hear congratulations are in order. I’m really happy about your new job but like I said I’m not going with you.” I turned my attention to my mom but I couldn’t bring myself to look her in the eyes. I looked down at my hands as I started. “Mom you said I didn’t have much choice but that’s not true. In a week I’m going to legally be an adult and I’ve made an adult decision. I want to go live with Dad, I’ve already spoken with him and he wants me there. It’s only a year before I go to university and dad has the resources and connections to help me finish my rehab and get me into a good school. I’m going to miss you guys like crazy but this is the best choice for me. Please I know how you feel about dad, I don’t understand it but I know. Please, let me do this”. I finally found the courage to look up into her eyes. I expected to find anger but instead I found sadness. She said nothing. It was Brad who gently put his hand on moms and spoke, “Lydia, babe, I know how you feel about Charles, I know he hurt you deeply but he’s Charlie’s dad. Charlie is a smart, responsible girl and old enough to make her own decisions. Asking her to follow us to Japan is huge and frankly a little unfair.” Ooh, there it was, the anger in moms eyes. Brad noticed it too so he quickly added “Charlie will always have a place with us in Japan if she wants it but I think we owe it to her to let her see what life is like with her dad in the woods” That was all it took. I will forever be grateful to Brad. Not only for being so great to my mom but for making her find reason because if she hadn’t, my life would have been completely different.