As I pulled into the parking lot, I felt relief. Finally, I was on my own. I didn't have to answer to anyone's rules anymore, and I didn't have to take all of the bullshit that my parents had inflicted on me throughout the years. I was away from them and their influence. I, Kimberley Connweller, was living on my own. Fully supporting myself, and making my own decisions. I had just moved from Monterey, California to La Push, Washington. I know, it seems like a stupid idea to move from sunny Cali to rainy Washington. But I needed to get away from California; to me, it wasn't the happy, sunny, beautiful place that everyone else regarded it as. So I moved up to La Push, where my Aunt Kenna and Uncle Rob lived. My family was of Quileute descent, so it was no problem for me to move up to La Push. Kenna and Rob offered to let me use their guest room, but I didn't want to live under anyone else's roof again. I wanted to be my own person for once, and not have to answer to anyone else. After doing a bit of online research and with help from Kenna, I was able to rent a small one bedroom apartment that was on the edge of town. The best part of the place was that it faced the ocean; that was one part of Monterey that I did not want to give up. The owner told my Aunt that the apartment was quiet; there were only five other buildings in the place, and all of the other tenants were well behaved. I wired Kenna the money for the first month's rent and the deposit, and within a few days, the place was mine. All I had to do was tell my parents that I was moving, pack my belongings into my Ford Escape, and leave for La Push. Even though I grew up in Monterey, I didn't have a lot of friends there. Most of my high school friends moved away to go to college, which they had been at for a year now. I did a year of community college, and decided that there was something more for me out there. I was not going to be tied down and forever a Monterey citizen; I needed to see some new scenery.
And that's how I got to where I am today. Pulling into the parking lot of Summit Pines, my new apartment complex. I was supposed to meet my landlord at 4, pick up the keys, and then start moving in to my new apartment. As I parked my car, I noticed an older lady walking towards me. I got out of my car as she walked up to me.
"You must be Kimberley," she said, extending her hand. I shook her hand and nodded.
"Yes, I am!" I answered, smiling.
"Oh, good," she replied, "Well, I'm Marian, your landlord. How was the drive?"
"Pretty good," I replied, "I'm definitely glad to be here, though."
"I bet," she said, "Let me show you your apartment so you can start unpacking." I followed her to apartment #5, which was on the end.
"As you can see," Marian said, "These apartments are all built separately, not in one long line. I know people prefer these types of apartments, since you're not sharing walls with anyone else."
"I saw the layout online," I answered, "But I do really like how they're separate."
"Yes, people do seem to like these more than the others," She took a key out of her pocket, opened the front door, and led me inside.
"Oh, it's so cute!" I squealed. Marian laughed.
"I'm glad you like it," she said, "I know it's a little small, but luckily you're the only one here. The guy over in #4 seems to always have people staying at his house…"
"Don't worry, I love it. I cannot wait to start unpacking!" I told her.
"Well, let me just get out of your hair then. I'm giving you two keys, and there are mailboxes out front. Just make sure to swing by the post office and get your name registered. Other than that, rent is due by the first of each month."
"Thank you," I replied.
"No problem, sweetie. Oh! There's also a path right over there," she pointed at a spot between two pine trees, "That goes down to the beach. It's for public use, so don't freak out if you see random people on the path."
"That shouldn't be a problem," I said. We shook hands again and Marian left, wishing me luck. Before I brought my stuff inside, I walked around my empty apartment, drinking it in. It was so perfect. The ceiling and walls were made of wooden planks, and the floor was this deep green carpet. You walked directly into the living room, with a small kitchen on the right side and the door to the bedroom directly in front of me. The bedroom was small, but I loved the way it was built. There was a shelf on one wall, and a built in closet on the same side as the door. In the right corner was the door to the bathroom.
I walked outside and called my aunt, and she told me that she would be over in a few minutes to help me unpack. When she showed up, I ran to her and hugged her.
"Aunt Kenna, I missed you so much," I said, trying not to cry.
"Kimberley," she said, rubbing my back, "I missed you too. I'm so glad you're here." I always liked my Aunt Kenna, sometimes more than I liked my mom. My mom was always more judgmental and rude than Kenna.
"How's Leann?" Kenna asked.
"Mom's good," I said.
"Still fighting with Mike?"
"As always," I replied, "Does anything between them ever change?"
"Nope," Kenna replied, "They were nicer when you were born but then they just went back to their old ways. Believe me, I can see why you left." I nodded. I always talked to Kenna whenever things between my mom and I got bad.
"Okay, enough of the heavy," Kenna said, "Let's get you moved in!" We spent the next few hours unpacking all of my stuff, which didn't fill up much of the apartment. The only furniture that I was able to bring was a bed, which didn't even have a frame. When we had unloaded my car, Kenna looked around disapprovingly.
"Honey, your parents didn't give you anything to bring, furniture-wise?" I shook my head.
"Nope. They barely even said goodbye to me." Kenna shook her head.
"Alright. Well, your uncle should be home from work soon. I should probably go home and get him, then we'll come back and get you more settled."
"Kenna, don't worry about it," I said, "I can take care of myself tonight."
"We'll see," Kenna replied. I hugged her goodbye and went into my apartment. Suddenly, I felt lonely. I had never been alone before…not like this. Not in the middle of the forest, surrounded by nothing but trees. I looked at my cell phone and saw that it was almost seven at night. I knew I needed food, but I didn't want to go out and find some. So I decided to unpack my box of books, and set them up on the shelf in the room. I had put about four books on the shelf when I heard a knock at the door. I went to open the door and saw Kenna standing there, smiling.
"So, I know that we already unpacked your house," she said, "But that was just the beginning. Now, the real moving in begins!" She pointed towards her truck, and I saw that it was loaded with furniture.
"Aunt Kenna," I started,
"Nope, Kim," she replied, "This is something that I'm doing for you. And Rob is on his way with some more stuff, and dinner. And do not give me any crap about it." I nodded and started crying. "Oh, sweetie," she said, rubbing my back. I was so happy to have someone that actually cared about me. A few minutes later, Rob showed up, and we got everything else moved in. I now had a couch, an armchair, a bedframe, a desk, and a bookcase. My apartment officially looked like a home. We all sat in the living room and ate the dinner that Aunt Kenna brought, which was chicken, potatoes, and a salad.
"Aunt Kenna, that was delicious," I said.
"Thank you, Kim," Kenna said, "But we should probably be going, since it's almost 10."
"Of course," I said. I walked them out to their car and said goodnight to them. As they drove away, I noticed a few cars pull into the parking lot. A bunch of guys (hot guys, I might add,) got out of the cars and walked up to the apartment next to mine. As I walked back to my apartment, I could feel them looking at me.
"Who's that?" one of them asked.
"No idea," another guy answered, "I think she just moved in." I ignored them and walked into my house. I put all of my books onto my bookcase, and started putting my clothes in the closet. Later, I heard a knock at the door. I looked through the window and recognized one of the guys from earlier. I opened the door, and was amazed by how tall he was.
"Hey," he said, smiling, "I'm Paul,"
"I'm Kim," I replied, shaking his hand, "I just moved in this afternoon."
"Ahh, I thought I hadn't seen you before," he said, "I think I'd remember a face like yours." I blushed.
"Can I help you with anything, Paul?"
"Actually, yes," Paul replied, "My friend, actually, your neighbor, Jared, is having a party next door. I wanted to let you know…you can come over if you want. Just please don't be annoyedby the noise. I mean, we shouldn't be too loud but still."
"Oh, of course," I said, "I've thrown quite a few parties in my day…I would never complain about yours."
"Thank you," Paul said, "And remember, stop by if you want. It was nice meeting you." I waved goodbye and went back inside. I fidgeted around my house for a few minutes, before deciding to go over to the party. I'm not a timid girl, I can be very outspoken at times. I went into my room and went through my closet, trying to find something appropriate for the party. Since it was pretty cold and starting to rain, I chose a pair of black skinny jeans and a dark red sweater. I paired it with a black scarf and brown boots, and walked over to the neighbor's house. I knocked on the door and a guy answered the door.
"Hey, I'm Kim," I said, looking at him in the eyes. When our eyes met, his eyes widened.
"I-I'm….Jared…" he said, looking shocked.