I stood there, looking at his cold, dead body. Laying peacfuly in a coffin was my father. Dead. A shot to the chest in a drive-by. I guess that's just life in Southern California, huh?
Things hadnt been going smoothly before, either. Not in the slightest. My boyfriends of 9 months had broken up with me a week before. Now he acted as if I didnt exist. As if we never were together.
My mom wasn't taking the love of her life's death nicely, as expected. All of our things were packed up in a moving truck waiting to be driven to La Push, Washington, where my grandfather lived. We were moving in with him, much to my protest. My mom said that living with him would be better. That she would have an adult to talk to about everything. This was her excuse. But I knew the truth. California reminded her too much of him. Of my father.
My granfather said it would be fun there. It was near a beach, and there were loads of teens there. But I couldn't think of fun at a time like this. I was only 15. This was too much.
Two days later, I was in the moving truck, staring out the window. There wasn't much too look at. Weeds, dirt, and an occasional cactus or two.
I was an only child. My mother's name was Karina. Karina Bearclaw Martinez. She was Quillette. As was I. Well, half. The other half was Mexican, from my father.
And my name? Kat Martinez.
I sighed. This was just another thing life threw at me. I wasn't really looking forward to La Push. From what I've heard, it was cold. Cold and rainy. It sounded kinda gloomy.
I would miss my friends. But I would miss one person most of all, my niece, MJ. Maria Josephine Martinez. My little angel. I was practically her mother. She was just 4 years old. My baby, and I was leaving her.
I sighed again. I turned to look out the window. The dark caught me by suprise. Was I really daydreaming that long?
"How many more hours?"
"About 8," Karina yawned.
"You should get some sleep," I said, concerned.
"Mhmm. We're stopping at the next rest stop. There aren't any motels around here. Theres some blankets in the back seat," she said, her eyes drooping a little. Blankets? Why did we need blankets? It was then when I realized that it was cold. Very cold... well, very cold, for my standards.
We stopped, and my mother, being the freak she is, locked all the doors, shut and covered all the windows and made sure that not even a speck of dust could get in. When she was satisfied, she pulled the blankets from the back seat, recliened her chair, muttered a quick 'night', and went to bed.
I yawned and snuggled against the blankets. My eyes closed and I slept.
I was awoken by a bright light. A bright light called the sun. I groaned, and sat up.
"You hungry? There's some sandwiches in the cooler." My mom said.
"Nah, I'm good," I yawned, "When'd you get up?'
"Around 6,"
"Oh," I glanced at the clock. 10:42. "Three hours and 18 minutes to go."
"Mhmm,"
"Hey, Mom."
"Yea?"
"What's La Push like?" She smiled when I said this.
"Its wonderful. The woods, the beach, everything. Everything's so full of nature and life. Its the most beutiful place on Earth," she said, "Sure, its a little cold, but you learn to live with it."
I smiled when she mentioned the cold. It wasn't a bad thing, but it wasn't a good thing either. And yes, eventually, I would learn to live with it.
An hour to go. Geez, this was taking forever.
