I opened my eyes to the bright sunlight streaming through my bedroom window. The sky was bright blue with white puffy clouds, like something out of a travel magazine. Only I wasn't on vacation. I lived with my parents in Los Angeles and I planned on staying in Cali for the rest of my life. Unfortunately for me, my parents had other plans.
"Aurora! Are you STILL sleeping?" my mother yelled from the bottom of the staircase. "Good. Let her pack everything by herself", I thought bitterly. Reaching onto my nightstand, I grabbed my Ipod and my Skullcandy headphones and put on my newest playlist. Rolling over, I pulled the blankets over my head and disappeared into my own little world. Eventually my mother would come barging into my room and make me get up and help her. But for now, I'd enjoy what little time I had left in this room. Hell, in this state, even.
When my parents sat me down and told me they were getting divorced, I wasn't surprised in the least. For the past two months, all they did was argue. Argue about bills, argue about my dad working so late, and argue about me and all the trouble I'd been getting in. And once, late at night when they thought I was sleeping, I heard them fighting in angry whispers. My mother accused my father of sleeping with his secretary. I didn't hear him deny it. Then, for weeks afterwards, I'd hear my mother crying herself to sleep as my father worked later and later.
So no, the divorce wasn't a surprise… but my parents' selling the house was. At first I didn't believe them. Did they have any idea how much this house meant to me? I mean, I'd lived here all 15 years of my life! I couldn't let strangers live here. But then, as if things couldn't get any worse, my mom dropped the bomb on me. We weren't just selling the house, we were moving far away from the beautiful west coast and all the way to Lima, Ohio to live with my grandmother. Tears were coming threateningly close to spilling from my eyes just thinking about it. I took my headphones off and heard banging on my bedroom door.
"Aurora! Open this door right now! I know you're upset with me but you know I can't afford to live here anymore. Your grandmother… she's been nice enough to let us stay with her until I can get on my feet again. I'm just trying to do what's best. Now please, finish packing your things."
I lay there without saying a word. I pulled a strand of golden brown hair out of my face and tucked it safely behind my ear. I waited until I heard the sounds of her receding footsteps down the stairs before I got up. I let a single tear slide down my cheek and didn't even bother wiping it away. Reality sunk in at that very moment and I realized that tomorrow morning I would be in Lima, weather I liked it or not.