Chapter 23- A New Foundation

I threw my bags into the trunk of her car and slammed it closed. I walked over to Gayle and gave her a long hug. "Thank you so much for doing this Gayle. I love you so much and I'll definitely miss you. Tell Jake I said goodbye."

She held me tight, "I love you too Karly. You know you don't have to go right?"

I pulled back from her and gave her a soft smile, "I don't want to cause you anymore trouble."

She frowned, "Who said you would-"

"We have to go now Karly!" I heard my mom yell from the car. I squeezed Gayle's hands one last time before getting into my mom's car. As we sped off down the street, I saw Austin's car pulling into Gayle's driveway from the rear view mirror. Tears instantly sprung to my eyes as I whispered, "Goodbye Austin."

o~O~o

When I opened my eyes, we were just pulling into a motel. I glanced at the dashboard and it read, 2:14am. I turned and looked at my mom, "Where are we?"

"We're on the border of Pennsylvania," she sighed as she parked the car. "Get out."

I obeyed and opened the trunk to collect my things. I waited by the car while she got a room and then followed her when she motioned me over. She opened the door and we stepped inside. The room had two single beds, a small TV, a bathroom, and a stained couch in the corner of the room. I placed my bags onto the couch and took out my toothbrush. "I'm going to brush my teeth," I mumbled. She shrugged and I quickly shuffled into the bathroom. I made sure the door was locked before I sat on the toilet and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I had a couple of messages from Jake and a ton from Austin. I read Jakes first:

Wow…did you really leave without saying bye?

God, I knew I shouldn't have trusted you

Jeez Karly, I thought you were better than that…

I'm sorry…I just…I wish you said goodbye…I'm going to miss you:(

My vision became a little blurry and I blinked away the tears.

Goodbye Jake.

I texted him back. I then read through the messages from Austin:

Karly Bear! Where are you? I woke up and you weren't there!

Why did you go back without me?

Are you okay? What's happening now? What did she say?

Are you still afraid?

Should I come?

KARLYYYYYYYYY! ANSWER MEEEEEEEEEE

I'm really afraid now…im afraid that you're gonna leave without telling me…

I'm coming now!

…

You…you did leave

You left without telling me

You promised you wouldn't leave

Shit shit shit shit shit shit

Karly please tell me where you are…I'll come for you right now!

Karly Bear…

I don't want you to go…

I don't know what to do with myself right now! I'm going crazy

I hate you Karly! I hate you so much! I hate you for making me love you, I hate your for leaving without telling me, and I hate you for always thinking you're not enough!

I love you so much…please come back to me Karly bear…

That was the last message he sent. Once I finished reading all of them, my cheeks were damp with tears. My heart was aching so much that it was almost hard to breathe. I wanted to go back to him, I really did, but I still felt as though it was better for me to leave. Better for him…and better for me.

I'm sorry Austin…I love you too3

After I sent that final message, I turned off my phone and shoved it back into my pocket.

o~O~o

I climbed into one of the beds and pulled the blanket over my body. My mom shut off the light in the washroom and dropped her body onto the other bed. It was silent for a bit before she said, "Why did you dye your hair?"

"Why did you come back early?" I shot back. She widened her eyes,

"Come back early?"

"Yeah. Gayle told me you were going to Hawaii for a year…it's only been eight months."

She snorted, "You answer me first."

"I dyed it because I wanted to look different."

"But me and your dad don't have blonde hair."

"Exactly."

She snorted again, "I didn't actually go to Hawaiii."

I sat up in the bed, "What? Why are you always lying?!"

She narrowed her eyes at me and I slowly lowered my body onto the bed. "I didn't go to Hawaii, I went to Ohio."

I widened my eyes, "But…but that's where-"

"Yeah that's where your fathers locked up. I have an apartment there. I visit him at least once a week now that he has been granted visitations. I got a job and I'm trying to stabilize myself."

"…is that why you were able to send me that money?"

"Oh, you mean the one you never thanked me for you ungrateful girl?" she spat. I bit my lip and played with my fingers under the blanket. "But yes, that's why I was able to send you that money. I left you with Gayle because I wanted to get things settled in Ohio before you came."

I nodded and pulled the blankets tighter around me. "What am I going to do about school?"

"You'll go to the school close to our apartment. That's why I went to your school yesterday, to get your transcripts."

"Okay."

I turned around so that my back was facing her and squeezed my eyes shut. I didn't want her to see me crying. I didn't want her to see how hurt I actually was. It was hard to play tough. All I really wanted to do was go back to Austin but I knew I couldn't.

"He really wants to see you Karly," my mom started. There was a different tone in her voice…a tone I don't think I've ever heard her use before. "He's wanted to see you for a while now but I've been holding off until I could get things sorted out."

"What makes him think that I want to see him?" I asked her as my voice cracked. She didn't say anything for a long time and when I turned to look at her, she was already sleeping. I sighed and turned around before going to sleep myself.

o~O~o

I stuffed the remaining portion of my chicken wrap into my mouth and gulped down some water. My mom glanced at me from the corner of her eyes and shook her head. I wiped my mouth and slumped back into the seat of the car. She stopped at a light and turned to me. "Do you have to eat like such a pig Karly? Did you forget everything I've taught you?" she asked in disgust.

I placed my water bottle into the cup holder and looked out the window, "I'm sorry."

"Is that how you acted at Gayle's house too?" I turned to her and shrugged and she narrowed her eyes. My heart was slamming against my chest as she continued to glare at me. Acting tough wasn't as easy as it seemed. "What about her son? Did you sleep with him?"

I choked on nothing and patted my chest. I reached for the water and gulped down at least half of it. "No way!"

"How about any other boys? Did you sleep with any other boys?"

I was quiet for a bit before I said, "N-no way!" My denial wasn't as reassuring as my first response. She shook her head again before pulling away from the light. "A-are we almost there?" I asked to try and change the subject. It felt like we had been driving for hours since we left the motel this morning.

"Yes, we're almost at the prison."

I whipped around to her, "The prison?! I thought we were going to your apartment!"

She sighed in frustration, "I told you Karly that your dad wanted to see you. Do you not listen to anything I'm saying?"

"Do you ever listen to anything I'm saying?! I told you I didn't want to see him!" I began to panic at the thought. She tightened her grip around the steering wheel and bit her lip,

"Karly, you better calm down right now or so help me God. What is your problem?"

"What do you mean? That man tried to kill me!"

"That man is your father Karly! I know he made a lot of mistakes but-"

"Such as almost taking away my life…"

"Karly he has changed a lot since then! He got a lot of help in prison, he's a different man. He's sober now. Why else would he ask to see you?"

"So that he can finish what he started," I mumbled. She pulled the car to the side of the road and turned on the four way flasher. She turned to me in rage,

"I told you he has changed! I wouldn't let him see you if he didn't!"

"So then what about you?" I asked her as tears started falling down my cheeks. "Why haven't you changed? Why do you still treat me like trash?"

"I don't treat you like trash Karly, I-"

"Yes you do! You even told me that you should've let dad kill me so that you wouldn't have this problem to deal with now!"

Something flashed through her eyes and all tension left her body. She sat still for a long time before she turned away from me and looked out the window. "I…I was very angry Karly. Your dad…your dad was the only one with a stable income in our home. Even though he used to…he used to hurt me…and he used to hurt you, I didn't have a choice. I was in too much debt to leave him."

I almost forgot that he used to abuse her too.

"So I had to put up with that in order to survive so I guess…I guess it made me into a horrible person too," She blinked rapidly and took a deep breath. It was the first time in my life that I had ever seen her that way. "So when he hurt you real bad and the police took him away…I blamed you. I needed someone to blame. Everything was falling apart and I didn't know what else to do. So I was tough on you because…because I didn't want you to be as weak as I was."

I quickly wiped away the tears that had been falling and cleared my throat. I didn't want her to see me crying.

"I know…I know I was a horrible mom…and I know I'm still a horrible mom but please…please just do me this one favour and see your dad. It's all I'll ask of you Karly. If you want to go back to New Jersey afterwards…then I'll let you go I guess." She said the last part reluctantly. "So what do you say? Will you see him?" she asked as she turned towards me.

I sat very still for a second and thought it over. Sure I hated my mom for how she's treated me and sure I hated my dad for hurting me but…at the end of the day they're still my parents. Even if the thought of seeing him again made me anxious, I was willing to do it to try and put things behind us.

I turned to her and nodded my head slowly. She smiled widely as tears filled her eyes. My heart stopped and I felt the back of my eyes burn. It was the first time she had ever really smiled at me. For the first time…my mom actually smiled at me.

I quickly turned away from her and looked out the window. I didn't want to show the emotions I was feeling. She said a silent thank you and pulled back onto the road. We drove for a bit before she said, "Karly."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

o~O~o

I pushed my thumb into the ink pad and gently pressed it down against the sheet of paper. They took the paper and typed away at the computer before someone came around and ushered my mom and I inside. We sat at a glass window with a phone on the side of the booth. I turned to my mom, "Is he…is he g-going to come through there?" I pointed to the other side of the glass wall. She nodded and I swallowed hard. "S-s-so we're not g-going to be in direct contact with him?" I asked. She shook her head and I sighed in relief. That was one thing I felt a bit better about, there was no way he could touch me.

There was a loud buzzing sound that came from the other side of the glass and my heart rate quickened. I clenched and unclenched my fists as I waited for his arrival. I couldn't breathe. It was as if I forgot how to do it. I felt my mom rest her hand against my left fist and squeeze. I glanced up at her and she nodded encouragingly.

A black door swung open and a prison guard walked out, followed by a skinny man in an orange suit. His hands were cuffed and he was walking with a slight limp. His hair slightly grazed the top of his ears and his eyes were a steel gray. When I finally looked at him in the face, my heart stopped beating instantly. He stood there, tears falling down his face. He smiled slightly and I watched as he mouthed, "Karly."

I looked directly at him and replied, "Dad."

A/N: Okay phew, what a quick update huh? I thought I owed it to you guys. You guys have been awesome for keeping out so long. What did you guys think? I was actually so sad as I was writing this chapter…*sigh*. So leave a review guys and tell me what you think!

Sweet Kisses,

CandaayLover^^