"C'mon, Cait! We're going to be late!" Nicole called and Caitlin sighed. Trust her godmother to be punctual down to the last second. She took one more look at her empty bedroom before walking out and quietly shutting the door, willing herself to not cry. She made her way down the stairs and into their kitchen, watching Nicole as she gathered up the last bit of their odds and ends.
"Tell me again why I have to move from London back to Central City?" Caitlin asked for the umpteenth time. She knew the answer of course, she just wanted to make her godmother say it again so she could realize how truly awful she was being by making her do this.
"Cait, you know why. I got a job offer with my old company that pays better than my current one," Nicole replied.
"So why can't you go and I stay? I've lived in London since I was five. I love it here," Caitlin emphasized her point by actually stomping her foot.
"One, I promised your parents when you were born that if anything happened to them, I'd take you in. Two, you're not eighteen yet, so you're still under my care," Nicole said calmly, ignoring the temper tantrum that was surely about to come spewing out of Caitlin.
"Nicole, I turn eighteen in two months. Why can't you move then so I can stay here?" Caitlin demanded as she folded her arms across her chest. She knew she was fighting a long-lost battle but she'd be damned if she didn't try one last time.
"Cait, don't push me on this. You know you're not going to win," Nicole laughed and Caitlin rolled her eyes. She did know that. Still, it didn't make her any less stubborn.
"How am I supposed to visit Ronnie now?" Caitlin inquired and then winced, wishing that after five long months, the wound still wasn't so raw. Her boyfriend had died in a car crash five months ago and she spent every evening after school talking to his grave. It made her feel better; to think that he was still there, helping her.
Nicole sighed as she placed a motherly hand on Caitlin's shoulder.
"It's unfair that your life has seen so much tragedy. I think that getting away from it all for a while will be good for you. You can still come back when it's time for college," Nicole reminded her and Caitlin sighed, before eventually nodding.
"Alright, let's get to the stupid airport so I can begin the process of "getting away from it all"," she grumbled and Nicole laughed softly.
"That's the spirit!" Nicole enthused and the two made their way out of their flat and towards the cab that was waiting outside for them, ready to take them to the airport.
Caitlin pressed her head against the window of the cab and watched as her home, her life, was pulled further and further away from her. She couldn't help it as a couple of tears escaped but she wiped them away roughly. She would be strong for this. A year was nothing in the grand scheme of things and then she'd be back to where she belonged. Sighing, she settled in for the long journey, not knowing that what would come would change her life forever.