Left Behind

Chapter 1- A New Beginning

After pressing down on her horn, my mom swiveled her car around the blue Chevy that was blocking the intersection. As we passed the car she flipped them the bird and sped off down the street. I gripped onto the handle above me to ensure that I wasn't thrown through the window as my mom turned a corner. Was she that eager to get rid of me?

"Mom I think you should slow down a bit," I suggested trying to keep the irritation out of my voice. She glanced at me from the corner of her eyes and pursed her lips. The faded scar on the edge of her upper lip curled with her facial expression.

"Are you trying to tell me how to drive now?" she asked me as she stopped at a red light. Panic aroused in my chest and I frantically shook my head. "You think because you got your little license now…you think that you're better than me?"

"N-no mom, I was just making a suggestion." My heart was beating so hard against my chest and I felt as if I couldn't breathe. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

She mumbled some incoherent words under her breath as she pulled onto the highway. My mom was on her way to her friend Gayle's house to drop me off. She says that she is only going to go away for a bit but I know that she's running away. She doesn't plan on coming back so that's why she's dumping me off to the most reliable person she knows. If only she had waited a couple more months until I was eighteen, then she wouldn't have to worry about shipping me off anywhere.

I looked out the window and sighed, but not too loudly for my mom to hear. What would my new life be like in New Jersey? I was so used to the hustle and bustle of New York, what would this be like? I know it's not that far away but there's a difference between city and open land, New Jersey's got a lot of open land.

"Karly, are you listening to me girl?" my mom asked, cutting off my train of thought. I nodded and she narrowed her eyes. "Listen to me for a second okay? Can you do that?"

I nodded again and took in the fact that we were already parked in the driveway of what I assumed was Gayle's house. Her house wasn't that large from the outside but it was a hell of a lot bigger than my one bedroom apartment. There were a variety of flowers planted around the house and I could already tell that she was a gardener. The bricks of the house were a soft peach which made the house have a welcoming feeling.

"I don't want you giving Gayle any trouble, that would just put me to shame,"

I mentally snorted; you already put yourself to shame.

"She has a son around your age and I don't want to hear anything about you becoming pregnant. Do you understand me?"

"It's not like you would know anyways," I instantly covered my mouth with my hands. I hadn't meant to say that out loud but by the look on my mom's face, I could already tell that she wouldn't care.

"What did you just say? I should just-"

There was a knock on the window behind me and I took the chance to break eye contact with my mom. When I glanced over I spotted a lady around the same age as my mother. She had short wavy blonde hair that outlined her small round face perfectly. She smiled and her already small blue eyes crinkled along with it. She motioned for us to get out of the car and then she walked up to the front of the house.

I glanced over at my mom and caught a quick hint of a smile. Lord knows it's been a good couple of years since the last time I saw my mom smile.

When she looked down at me the smile instantly vanished. She shoved my shoulder as an indicator that I need to get out of the car. I climbed out of the car and I shuffled to the back to get my belongings. It wasn't like it was much anyways; it was only two bags. One bag consisted of my clothing and personal items and the other were my school supplies. I didn't have many things.

"Karly hurry up!" my mom called from the porch steps. I jumped in shock and quickly scrambled to the front of the house. The blonde lady was standing outside waiting for us and she gave me a huge grin. I offered a small smile in return and she ushered us inside. As I was walking inside my mom held me back and whispered, "You should really cut your hair, you don't want to draw attention to yourself."

I looked down at my waist length auburn straight hair and frowned. "Why would I need to cut it? How does this cause attention to be attracted to me?" I asked in confusion. She glared hard at me and I quickly looked away.

I wasn't going to cut my hair. If I didn't cut it back then when he had wanted me to, why would I cut it now? It took me three whole years to grow my hair to this length and I wasn't about to cut it because she thought it would 'attract attention'. There was nothing special about my dull auburn hair other than the fact that it was extremely long.

I followed my mother into the house and I stopped in the living room where they were both standing. I was surprised with how homely the place felt. It felt like what a real family home should feel like not. My old apartment reminded me of a drug dealers hide out.

"Karly," I looked up and saw that the blonde lady was speaking to me. "I'm Gayle, I'm really glad that you're going to be staying with me and Jake," she smiled widely and I offered another small smile.

So there's no father in the picture? I remember mom saying that she had a son so I assumed that was Jake. Well, at least we had something in common; no father.

"You can bring your belongings to your room, it's the first door on the left," Gayle continued. I nodded and smiled before turning to walk up the long stair case. It wasn't a large one but it twisted all the way up. Someone could be hiding behind the wall and no one would know that they were there.

I stopped at the top of the stair case and experienced a major brain fart. Did she say first door on the left or first door on the right? I opted for the latter and I swung the door open. It wasn't a small room but it wasn't particularly large. The walls were painted a light gray and the queen sized bed was set in front of the window. There was a nice sized TV in the corner and the dressers were almost empty. There were a couple books and perfume bottles on the dresser which was in the other corner of the room.

I dropped my bags and sailed my body onto the bed. I closed my eyes and smiled to myself. For once in my life I actually felt like I was home; I felt like I could sleep in peace. I guess that's how I ended up falling asleep ten minutes later.

When I opened my eyes everything around me was dark. It seemed as if night had fallen down while I was asleep. I eased my body off of the bed and I scrambled around to find the light switch. After some tapping on the walls, I discovered the light switch. I flipped it on and shrieked when I noticed another figure in the bed. My out burst made him stir a little but he didn't wake up. Was this Jake? And if it was, why was he in my bed?

I paused and mentally cursed myself. Was I in his room? Was I the intruder? I pulled at the roots of my hair and did a little panic attack. Okay, I needed to calm down. Maybe if I quickly gather my things and exit his room, I could pretend as if I wasn't in there. If my mom had ever seen this then she would call me a slut for sure. It boggled my mind how a girl who hadn't had her first kiss and was still a virgin, was capable of being a slut. Then again, everything my mom did amazed me.

I shook off the thought and quietly tip toed over to the bed to collect my belongings. As I was retreating I heard him shifting behind me. I froze in my spot and closed my eyes, hoping that he wouldn't wake up. When he settled again I continued walking towards the door.

"Turn off the light on your way out," a voice grumbled behind me. I jumped and shut off the light before quickly shuffling out of the room. With my cheeks flushed, I ran into the room across the hall. I then knew for a fact that this was my room. It was painted a soft yellow and had a queen sized bed in the corner of the room. The dressers were empty and the walls were clear. Looking back I should have known it was his room after seeing all those posters on the wall.

I placed my bags on the small chair in the corner and sat on the edge of the bed. That was beyond embarrassing; what a great first impression. I shook my head in shame and then realized that I hadn't gone back down stairs since I brought my things up. Was my mom even still here? It had probably been a couple of hours since I'd last seen her.

I scrambled off of the bed and sprinted down the stairs. By the time I was in the living room I was out of breath. Gayle was sitting on the couch reading a magazine and she had a bewildered expression on her face. I didn't blame her; I probably looked like a wild beast.

"Karly are you okay?" she questioned me while slowly easing herself off of the couch.

"My…mom…is she…still here?" I asked in between gasps of air. I really wasn't an athletic person if I was out of breath from that little jog down the stairs. Gayle frowned and placed her magazine on the coffee table. Her small blues eyes were filled with sympathy.

"I'm sorry Karly, she had to catch her flight and she didn't want to wake you," Gayle explained in a soft voice. I furrowed my brows at her in confusion.

"Her flight? Why would she take a plane to Pennsylvania? She said that she was going to take a coach bus," I told her, panic evident in my voice.

"She didn't tell you Karly? She's going to Hawaii for a year."

"H-h-hawaii? For a year? She told me she was going to Pennsylvania for a month!" I yelled completely outraged. How could she lie to me like that? She expected me to live with complete strangers for a whole year? Was she completely insane? Did she want to get away from me for that long? Did she hate me that much?

"Karly, calm down hun," Gayle whispered. I shook my head and began pacing the living room.

"I knew she didn't want me. She had to go all the way to Hawaii to officially get rid of me. She's going to have a new family and she's going to forget all about me."

"I'm sure she's-"

"And she calls herself a mother?" I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Please, she was barely a friend. Whatever, I don't even care. She can stay in Hawaii forever if she wants to; I don't need her," I stated as a tear fell down my cheek, completely contradicting my words. If I didn't need her then why was I crying?

I turned around to Gayle and she wrapped her arms around me. I couldn't help but release all the tears that had built up in my system for the past week since my mom announced she was leaving. "Your mom is going through some things right now, she'll come around," Gayle whispered as she rubbed my back. It was funny how I felt more comfort with a stranger than I had ever felt with my own mother.

"G-Gayle, what's wrong with me? Why doesn't she want me?" I mumbled as I wiped away the tears that wouldn't stop falling. Gayle didn't say anything though; she just continued to rub small circles in the center of my back. I wasn't expecting an answer though, how could she possibly answer that?

I pulled away from her and offered her a weak smile. "Thank you."

"For what?" she asked surprised at my choice of words.

"For this," I simply stated and I quickly shuffled up the stairs. It was a little embarrassing crying in front of a complete stranger but I shoved those thoughts to the back of my mind. Gayle was only trying to help and it did a lot more than if I were to sit in my room and cry alone. Thankfully it was Friday night so I had a couple of days to get settled before I started school on Monday. I hadn't been a new student since I was in the third grade and now I had to complete my last year of high school as a new student.

It wasn't as if I had many friends back home but I was extremely close to having a boyfriend. There was this extremely cute guy in my science class named Zane and I was sure he was going to ask me out. He continuously complimented me and recklessly flirted with me. My best friend Olive thought he was going to ask me to the dance next week but I will never know if he was. Just like that I was picked up and dropped off in New Jersey; oh the joy.

I pushed open the door to my room but jumped back when I noticed that someone was sitting on my bed. He half smiled at my reaction but as quick as it came it was gone. His light blonde hair was tussled from sleeping on it and I felt as if his bright green eyes were piercing a hole into my soul. He had small black studs in each ear and his lips were full but not too full that it resembled a female's lips.

"Uh…hi. I'm K-Karly," I said as I did an awkward wave. He leaned off of the bed and he stood right in front of me.

"I know who you are," he said simply in a low voice. The sound of his voice traveled through my ears and to my feet making them feel extremely heavy.

"Oh alright. You must be Jake, it's nice to meet you," I smiled and offered him my hand. He glanced down at it and took it into his own. He pulled me forward so that I was pressed against his chest.

"You smell really good," he whispered into my ear. A shiver ran through out my body and he noticed it. "Why were you sleeping in my bed?"

"I..uh," I started. My throat had gone completely dry and I squeezed my eyes shut. "I didn't know it was your room, I swear. I got the rooms mixed up and then I fell asleep. I'm so sorry, I'll change the sheets if you want me to," I rambled and mentally slapped myself at how stupid I sounded.

A chuckle erupted from him and he released me so that I could stand up straight. "It's not that serious, I was only joking," he smiled and a set of straight white teeth appeared. I slightly smiled and rubbed my arm awkwardly.

"You scared me; I thought you were going to rape me or something." He laughed at this and my cheeks burned. "W-why didn't you wake me up then?"

He shrugged and pushed his hands into the pockets of his sweat pants. "You looked so peaceful, I didn't want to disturb you," he smiled again.

We stood there awkwardly for a couple more seconds before he broke the silence. "I guess I'll leave you to settle in."

He began to walk out but I stopped him. "Hey, I'm going to your school right?"

His smile instantly dropped and he quickly nodded before walking out of the room. What was that? Did he have a problem with me going to his school? I wasn't that much of a loser was I?

I sighed and scratched the back of my head. Thus place was going to be my new home for a whole year. I already really like Gayle but I still have mixed feelings about Jake. Thank you mom for leaving me with strangers; it was going to be a beautiful year.

A/N: So this is my first story on Fiction Press! I hope you guys like it so far. Please review so I know if I should continue writing this or if it's a lost cause.

Thank yah!