Many thanks to Ashira, hulahips, Dr34ming, and of course, SocialxxHazard for reviewing! 3 Sorry this one took so long! I was away with no internet :( Enjoy!
I had woken from a very restless sleep in the cab of my truck the morning after crying myself to sleep, disoriented and almost scared. After a moment, I gathered my bearings, sat up and looked around. It was light, but only enough so that you could tell the sun had risen just before I had. I pulled my watch out of my bag and saw that it was quarter after six in the morning. Going back to sleep now wouldn't be an option. I opened my door, stepped out into the crisp morning air and stretched my limbs. There was at least another two days of driving ahead of me before I would be able to feel the comforts of a soft bed and a hot shower.
The second day of driving hadn't been as bad; there were more major cities, more landmarks to look at on my way to Florida. I wasn't particularly interested in seeing any of them, but at least after this trip I would have something to talk about.
I had driven to a city called Independence in Missouri and stopped there for the night. I couldn't find anywhere to camp out for the night in my car, so I resigned myself to spend some of the little money I had on a room for the night. I arrived at a Red Roof Inn at the same time as a large group of travelers, about half of them the same age as me, and in a moment of intelligence and stealth, was able to park my truck along with theirs without seeming inconspicuous. If I had simply pulled into the lot alone and not emerged from out of my truck, someone would have noticed.
As they took their luggage up to their rooms, I had curled up with my blanket and makeshift pillow and did my best to sleep. I was up early again the next morning, somewhat pleased with myself for holding it together the night before. Knowing I was closing in on my destination was causing adrenaline to pump through my veins, and I knew that the rest of the drive wouldn't be as bad as the first two days. However, I knew the drive back would likely be tortuous.
On my second day of driving, I had managed to push my old truck past 60 miles per hour and had made some good time. I figured I could do the same on the third day without my truck complaining too much and I made the last leg of the trip rather quickly. I relished being able to roll down my window as the weather got warmer as I went further south. The wind whipped through my hair and with my arm resting on the door, hand hanging out the truck, I savored the feeling of freedom I had at that moment. I was alone, in my own truck, making my own destiny, or sort of at least. I took a deep breath of the fresh air streaming into my truck and smiled for the first time in days.
My mom lived in an area called Neptune Beach along the coast of the Atlantic on Birch Court, a small street that contains about seven rather brightly colored houses. Hers is on the left-hand side of the court, a small bungalow with a pretty front yard and a beautiful white front porch. The beach is only a five or ten minute walk, depending on what route you take, and you can hear the ocean everywhere in the house. It wasn't home to me, but it would do for the time being.
It had been very late when I had arrived in Jacksonville; by the time I had reached the city centre, it had been well past midnight, making navigation in the suburban areas a bit more difficult. It took me a while to find my mom's house, driving on my own this time, as mom and Phil had picked me up from the airport the last time. But the key was where she had said she would leave it and as I slid it into the lock, I breathed a sigh of relief. Not for the reason that the key worked, but rather that I was somewhere that felt like home again – the humid air, the sound of the ocean at the beach… was comforting. I pushed open the door and slowly walked into the house still worried that mom would be there and wonder why I was in Jacksonville instead of Mexico.
I was met with silence and darkness. I slowly walked through the house, peeking my head into the master bedroom, half expecting to see mom and Phil sleeping quietly. But their bed was neatly made, everything in place. I sighed, half in relief that I was alone and hadn't been found out, and half in disappointment. It would have been nice to see my mom and Phil after all this time. I walked into the empty living room and flopped onto their cushy, pale yellow and white couch and looked around. I had only been down to Jacksonville once, shortly after my "accident" of falling down two flights of stairs and out a window. Mom had tried to get me to stay longer, but two days away from Edward had been too much. To think, how attached we had been at that point… and now half a year later, everything had changed.
I caught myself yawning and willed myself to move to the bedroom that had been claimed as mine, even though it remained permanently vacant. I walked to the front door and locked it carefully, taking the key and sliding it into my pocket, not having anywhere better to put it for the time being. My duffel bag was lying in the hallway with my blanket and the crumpled map that I had used as my navigation. I struggled to bend over and pick everything up, exhaustion finally creeping over me. I heaved my stuff into my arms and stumbled down the hallway, my exhaustion tipping off my clumsiness. I pushed the door open and threw my stuff on the floor in front of my bed and walked around the room to the window, looking out for a moment at the quiet street, and then shut the blinds tightly. I crawled under the warm covers, not bothering to take off the jeans and t-shirt I had been wearing since early this morning and curled up into a ball, ignoring the sense of loneliness that overcame me.
I never knew that missing him would feel like this.
A/N: Please note that all of her travels and the timing from place to place are indeed accurate (as much as possible without having made the trip myself!) :) The street that she lives on does exist in Jacksonville, in Neptune Beach, and it is indeed right near the ocean :)
I'm struggling with chapter 11 so that one may be a few days before I sort it out! My coworker read it and said it wasn't my best :( and you guys deserve my best writing so I'm going to rewrite it! There's some interesting stuff planned for the next few chapters! I'll get it to you asap:D