The Racing Nights

2 | Seperated

Caitlyn

REALITY WAS THE epitome of strength. Take my life for example, I had to endure my parents' countless fights that resulted in both of them broken up. Now, all I had left was my camera that dad got me on my birthday and my one ambition to get into a Fine Arts program in Boston University.

Through the outskirts of NYC, I gazed out of the window with my hands around the only thing that remained from my dad. I was the only victim between them, at least I didn't have any siblings to suffer with me. That was the only upside of their divorce.

"I'm sure that you will love your new highschool," mom hummed delightfully as she glanced at me through the rearview mirror of her Jeep. She worked in a real estate agency, so she used her car a lot to show the investors around. "I can't wait for you to get started." And get rid of me. I continued her sentence internally. Mom only loved two things, her neighbors and her job. The second part was the reason that they couldn't get along.

"Yeah, I'm sure it will be different than my other high schools," I retorted while I scrolled through the camera roll.

My memories at Montclair still fresh in my mind — the feel of the paintings against my fingertips, the diverse culture and stunning natural surroundings. I smiled automatically when the pictures stopped at a one certain memory; it was Brenn Vinley, posing in front of Van Vleck House & Gardens with a lopsided grin on his face.

"You know, we can visit your dad any time you want." She consoled me, rounding off a corner to my new current home, she felt guilty for dropping the surprise only two days before.

Tears prickled at the corner of my orbs when I spotted the image where I was with my best friend, Tia Gerald, at the farm with matching necklaces and purely happy smiles. We had a blast that day, I remembered her words about having a pre see you later not goodbye blast farm party.

Mom stopped the car and we stepped out for the grand view of the house, it was a moderate one with woodsy red-brick exterior with a blue entrance door and two stories stacked. It wasn't over the top, it looked cozy enough to me with arrays of flowers on either side of the doorway stairs.

Brooklyn was a charm — it was a never ending neighborhood with vibrant sidewalk colors and wide parking lots in front of each house that overlooked the spacious park, where people ran with headphones beside the lake. I had yet to discover it since I had never been anywhere else than New Jersey, the homesick feeling deepened inside of me. It could be a show stopper, but it didn't compare to my original home. Where dad, Tia, and Brenn were.

I helped mom with my luggage, a sling bag where my camera was gently perched across my body, she locked the car afterwards when I got them all in. It wasn't much anyway, dad wanted to have some of my clothes if he ever felt like he missed me too much.

As soon as I walked into the house, the lavender aroma coated me whole. Like I was in a smell haven, mom was picky about candles and scents, she only settled for flowery odor. It got me dizzy for a bit, but I gave her a tight smile when she looked at me to see what I thought. She also had a large television in her living room with a bouquet of daisies and a marble coffee table, the creamy walls welcomed me to the sound of jazz that quietly played.

Lastly, after she showed me the basic kitchen and her bright utensil collection, we trudged upstairs to my room that was next to hers. She memorized my special color, lilac purple, I was awestruck at the awesome bed cover and the photographs above the king sized bed that had my comfort people, the ones closest to my heart.

"Thanks mom, it means a lot to me that you did this for me." I let her know that I liked the gesture and she grabbed me for a hug.

She was far from being a perfect mom, but she tried to amend things with me for a long time. Especially that she wasn't there in most of my experiences, but I could see that it affected her too.

So, I hugged her back. As much as I could, we were on tready waters with each other, but it was worth the mend.

"Oh, honey. I would do anything for you." She stroked my hair and we pulled away, her hand on my side as we shared a sincere smile. After all, I inherited my mom's oceanic eyes and my blonde hair. "I'm going to be working in my room, if you need anything, just give me a shout." I nodded at her and she raised two thumbs up before she went to her room.

I plopped on the soft mattress with a tired sigh, it was an exhausting day and I had to unpack my toiletries as well as my clothes. There were two huge closets with space to put the shoes, so I got to work the moment I unfastened my belongings.

After an hour of dread, I hopped to the shower stall with an empty stomach, dying to eat out. I belted out perfect by Ed Sheeran and mom knocked on the door to get ready.

I felt like a whole new person when I changed to my light colored jeans and my red top with a cherry design in the middle, pairing it with my adidas sambas.

As we roamed the Williamsburg neighborhood on the way to Champ's Diner, the breeze played with my hair and the skyline of Manhatten loomed across the water, bike riders coasted past and graffiti murals splashed color onto the walls.

Mom pulled over into the parking lot at the luminous signboard of the diner, people lounging on the bar seats and others delving into their sandwiches. It was a long ride, but the chilly weather energized me.

I was behind my mom when we got out of the car, I hadn't noticed that a motorbike was going my way until the headlight illuminated on the concrete.

"Caitlyn, watch out!"