Belong
Gabriella Montez has been abandoned by her mother, and after going through many homes, she's finally settled on one, the absolute perfect family, put into a new world, one she's never experienced, full of love and she's stuck between moving on but hanging on, accepting love and giving love. Will her new parents, and the sweet boy next door, finally reach out, and show her that she belongs? Rated M for future chapters.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, but original characters. And I give credit to Sarah Dessen on her book Lock and Key for inspiring me to write this story.
A/N: So, I'm not done with Forever. Nnowhere near, but I just wanted to throw this story out there, you know? And you tell me if you rather want Forever or this story. I got my muse for this andmy muse for writing in general, after I read a few Sarah Dessen books. She is absolutely amazing. And I recommend her books, they're absolutely wonderful.
Chapter One
Sent
My mother was the embodiment of abandoment. She would leave constantly, until she came back a few days, sometimes weeks, later. Leaving me in our small, run down house. One time, I went days without electricity or heat. And when my mother came home, she stared at me on the floor, shrivled up into a ball and for a second I thought she'd actually care for once and bend down, taking me in her arms and craddling me softly. But no, she stared down at me with those cold, icy blue eyes, burning a hole through mine until I had no choice but to turn my head away, tears glistening on my eyelashes. Then she walked away, her heels clicking, clicking on the shabby floorboards.
And then a week later, she headed off again.
And I never saw her again.
With loud, creaking sounds, the weather was trying hard to claw itself inside. It pressed firmly against the glass, challenging the frame's physical integrity. Its heavy winds wheezed through the minute gaps around the chipped pane. It breathed fog around the foundations, and licked condensation along the edges of the glass. The roof slates rattled and shook, clinking together, as if frustrated by the resilient storm. Something about this place amplified everything. Exasperated, the sky heaved a net of spearing raindrops over the house. But still, the house stood unwavering, much to my surprise.
I watched all of this with dry, scratchy eyes on my bed. Waiting, hoping that the one person that I had left in my life would come barging in through the door, a smile for once on her face as she congradulated my thirteenth birthday. But why celebrate when no one, not even myself, was anticipating a celebration for the day I was born? It was a complete waste of time.
But still.
My heart was numb in my hollow chest, my throat was swollen and tears stung the corners of my eyes. But still, I wanted to see her smile for once. At me. Care about me.
I don't know how long I waited for my mother. It could have been minutes, or even hours. But by the time my body grew sore and my stomach was growling at me, demanding I feed it something, anything, I stood.
"Mom?" I called out. The faucet dripping, tapping against the rusty sink, answered me. Maybe she was in the kitchen. The wood moaned beneath my feet as I strode across it. "Mom," I said again as I entered the kitchen, but she wasn't there. Nothing was, like always and a lonely feeling swept over me. A lump formed in my throat and I turned, and walked up the stairs. I took my time, on the tips of my small toes, afraid that the room would be void of my mother. "Mom," I whispered, and this time, as I said it, the voice was foreign. I sounded like a hopeless, lost little girl. Scared, calling out for someone. For anyone.
The room was empty when I entered. I fell to my knees beside her bed, tucking my legs beneath me, and pulled open a door under her nightstand. A few bugs scattered out and I didn't even flinch, or move. Her money was gone, the jar she had been saving tipped over and rolling around, taunting me. My stomach churned and I began to feel sick.
I shut the door, bang, and scrambled to my feet, walking quickly over to her closet and pulling it open. Empty. My heart burned. Please no, I thought. Please.
She couldn't be gone, could she? She wouldn't leave me here alone, on my birthday… She couldn't. My heart began to stumble and skip erratically as I forced myself to close the closet. I ran down the stairs and checked in all the rooms, although I knew this game of 'hide and seek; was entirely pointless. She was gone and I knew that. Or at least part of me did.
I just didn't understand why.
And I still don't.
I walked up the stairs, letting the tears freely fall, tired of holding my emotions in. There was no one here to see this weakness anyway. I crammed myself into my closet, full of scattered, dirty clothes ridden with rodents and bugs. But my body was disoriented right now, so the bugs scattering across my skin was a faint, a distant disturbance to my body. I was more worried about my mother coming back for me. Would she? She had never got up and left with everything. Sure, she took some money out of the emergency jar, and packed a few clothes, from what I saw, but never the whole lot.
I was young then, as this happened. Just thirteen. A small, thriteen year old, the very age that my mother became pregnant with me, and was pushed away and neglected by her own parents. I guess neglection runs in the family, huh?
It didn't take long for the landlords to come and find me, just a few days later. Mrs. Lotter came at least once every two weeks, to check and make sure everything was okay. After hearing her constant knocking, the sound ringing in my ears, I finally slipped out of my bed, and trudged down the steps. She was in mid-knock when I jerked the door open.
Mrs. Lotter was a tall women. Her skin was pale, her lips bowed and red, and her eyes were a deep brown, almost as if they were black. I secretly thought she was a vampire, because of these features. The only thing missing was the luminescent twinkling glow of her skin as the sun beamed down on her. I laughed at this. I guess since I read the book four times, Twilight is seeping into my head.
But, despite how creepy she looked, she was still a nice woman. Her smile was bright. And while she didn't exactly sparkle, her teeth did. I'm pretty sure she had it whitened.
"Hello, Gabi," she said to me. I never really said she could call me that. And it's stupid because Gabriella isn't really a long name, is it? There's no reason to abreviate it. But I didn't want to come off rude, so I just smiled politely and nodded. "Hi, Mrs. Lotter."
"Is the heat alright?" she checked. I nodded. "What about the electricity? Any problems with that?" I shook my head and hoped that would be the last of it. If she asked for my mom…. "Good. Now, where is your mother? I need to clarify some things with her."
"My mom." The words rolled off my tongue slowly, as if foreign to me. Mrs. Lotter nodded, her brows creasding just the tiniest bit. "She's… at a friend's house."
"Oh?" Mrs. Lotter's forehead wrinkled. I nodded. "It's an old friend from college. She'll be back soon."
"Okay, um, well―oh, goodness!" Mrs. Lotter jumped aside as two overgrown rats hurried out of the threshold. "Rodents?" she sqeaked.
"It's not really a problem," I tried to explain, but Mrs. Lotter shook her head. Holding up a well-manicured hand.
"God, why didn't your mother say anything about this? These rats could be carrying some kind of disease or creating some sort of colony. We usually call an exterminator when this happens. When your mother gets home, please tell her to give us a call."
"But―"
"Gabi," Mrs. Lotter said, her voice firm. "This stuff is serious. We can't let rodents run around these house, alright?" My shoulders fell as I decided that arguing would be pointless. I nodded gently and Mrs. Lotter smiled. "Okay, good. Don't forget to tell your mom, okay?"
"Okay," I replied and Mrs. Lotter trotted away. I stepped outside and sat on the dilapidated steps, because of their ragged state, my back was angled awkwardly. But that was the least of my worries right now.
I waited out there for hours, looking into the distance, a small part of me hoping that my mother would pull up in her station wagon and tell me to get inside the with that gravelly voice of hers, as she followed me in. But, one can only wish, and wishes never came true.
The sun was down, finally. My body was stiff and my stomach was rumbling. But I didn't move. I didn't want to. I knew that Mrs. Lotter strolled the neighborhood at night, making sure there's no drug dealers or homeless people making the place look bad, but still, with that in mind, I stayed where I was, my elbows propped up on my knobby knees and chin resting against my dirty palms. Mrs. Lotter called my name a few times before she strode over to me. "Gabi?" I blinked, and suddenly I could feel the familiar burn in my eyes and itch in my throat. My chest heaved with grief and although I couldn't see her, I knew Mrs. Lotter was pressing on her stress lines again as she saw my emotional state. "Gabriella? Gabriella, honey, what's wrong?"
I didn't answer. And I didn't have to, because it clicked in her mind. "Gabriella," she said slowly. "Where is your mom?"
And I shook my head. "I don't know," I said to the ground. "I don't know where she is." Mrs. Lotter was shocked. She helped me up, her hands shaking as she lead me towards her car. "Come on," she soothed. "It's okay. Everything will be okay."
But that's a lie.
Nothing will be okay, it never is.
So, yes, that's it. Review, please? I'd love to hear feedback. And if you read Lock and Key and think I've stolen too much of her idea, tell em and I'll stop. I know not updating for months put a dent in my number of reviews, but I hope you'll all eventually come back, or I see some new usernames pop up. I really think Ii'm excelling as a writer and I really need feedback tosee what I can change, or what I did right.
Oh, and Chapter Two will be out maybe tomorrow. I have it done already.
Thanks!-Brittany
