AN: Beta story.
It felt so strange to leave everything you once knew behind. The hustle and bustle of the city. The large crowds of people going about their day. The loud honking of car horns in traffic. It was all Luz could think about as she sat in the passenger seat of her mother's car, staring out the window as they headed out of the city towards their new home. Luz still couldn't believe that her mother, Camilla, had taken a new job offer at a different hospital. She would've thought she liked her old nursing position. But perhaps there was an ulterior motive behind her mother wanting to move. Perhaps her new job paid better, or Luz's new school had a better curriculum. Maybe her mother wanted a quieter life in a new town.
But Luz knew the real reason for the sudden move. Due to recent events, events that she'd rather not think about, Luz's mother wanted to have a fresh start for the both of them. Begin again and try to forget everything that's happened a month prior to their move. Maybe it was for her benefit, or maybe Camilla just wanted Luz to take the time to recover. But the sudden decision to pack up everything they own and leave right after Luz's school year had ended seemed a bit extreme to Luz. Not that she minded it at all, but it just felt rather fast. Then again, it wasn't like she was going to miss her old life that much.
She had no other family to speak of except her mom. And Luz's social life was virtually non-existent. In school, she never had a single friend. Luz was more of a social outcast. But Luz knew it was no fault but her own. She used to be a little eccentric and found herself with her head in the clouds at time. She was a nerd, no denying it. But it was due to that and her weird personality that the other kids would avoid her or bully her. Luz used to always hope that someone would just accept her, but she knew it would never happen. It would've never stopped her from trying though. Luz used to be a very optimistic girl. Used to being the operative word. After everything that's happened, Luz's personality took a complete one eighty and the once carefree and optimistic girl became a timid and somewhat fearful girl. Now with this move to a new town, Luz's worry and fear was starting to go into overdrive, though she wouldn't let her mother see.
Camilla looked to her daughter as they continued along. A sense of worry and sadness flooded her mind. Camilla always wanted Luz to be happy and enjoy her life. But now, seeing her daughter become a scared and timid young girl, it broke Camilla's heart. She had hoped that the news of their moving to a new, quieter town would give Luz something to look forward to. But Camilla could tell that Luz wasn't taking the move very well. Sure, Luz sounded like she supported the move, but Camilla could tell when Luz felt uncomfortable with an idea. Still, they continued on with moving everything to their new home. Camilla had resigned from her nursing position and applied to a new hospital. She was lucky enough to find a hospital in a nice town in the next state over. She even took the time to look up the town and find a house for her and Luz to live in before setting everything in motion.
Within a matter of two weeks, the two Noceda's had now packed up their entire life into their car and a small moving truck and had now arrived at their new home: Bonesboro. Seeing the welcome sign brought a smile to Camilla's face.
"Look, mija. We're here. Our new home." Said Camilla, happily.
Luz snapped out of her thoughts and looked out the front windshield of the car. The small town came into view, giving Luz a chance to take everything in. The town itself looked like a typical town. The buildings looked to have stayed the same since the fifties, giving it a certain charm that Luz found nice. She then looked at the small diner down the road and right across the street was a park with a large fountain. Luz then took notice to a small building just a few blocks away, one with a sign with a large owl hanging in front. It went by a bit too quick for her to read the name of the place, but Luz figured she could find it again at some point. Soon enough, Luz's eyes were now focused on the houses in the neighborhood. The mix of ranch style to colonial houses gave the area a sense of variety. Not long after, Luz felt the car start to slow.
"There it is. Our new house. Oh, I can't wait to get everything moved in." said Camilla, excitedly.
As the car came to a stop, Luz began to look at her new house. It was a two-story white house with blue shutters and a wooden porch on the front, and a small garage on the side. It was what Luz would call 'cozy'. The moving truck pulled up behind Camilla's car, and the movers began to get to work. Camilla opened the car door and looked at Luz.
"Ready to get moved in?" asked Camilla.
Luz looked to her mother, but she didn't respond. The sense of uneasiness washed over Luz and she looked back at the house. Camilla could tell Luz was still apprehensive about the move. She could only sigh. Camilla placed her hand on Luz's shoulder.
"Still feel a little nervous, cariño?" asked Camilla.
Luz looked to mother and could only nod in response. To say she was nervous was an understatement.
Camilla gave Luz a comforting rub on her shoulder.
"I understand Luz. Moving to a new place does feel a bit frightening. I'm a little frightened myself, if I'm completely honest. But I promise, it'll get better over time. Just try to give this place a chance. I'm sure you'll come to love it soon enough." Said Camilla.
Luz wanted to believe her, but her thoughts kept brining negative scenarios to her mind.
"But… what if things don't work out here? What if things get worse?" said Luz, nervously.
Camilla brought her daughter over to her and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"It'll be ok, cariño. I just have a feeling that everything will be fine, if not better. Just give Bonesboro a chance to change your opinion. You have all summer to explore the town and possibly meet new people. Who knows, you might even meet some of your new classmates before the school year starts." Said Camilla.
"But… what if they're just like the kids from my old school? I don't want to get bullied again." Said Luz, sadly.
The sudden thought of Luz being bullied never crossed Camilla's mind when they moved. The fact that the other kids in the last school treated her so horribly and the school did nothing about it didn't help quell Camilla's thoughts. However, Hexside was a new school, and with that, came a chance of something positive happening. Camilla had to be optimistic, especially for Luz.
"Don't worry Luz. I'm sure that things will be better at your new school. Just think positively. Now, how about we go and show the movers where to put everything, hmm?" said Camilla.
As much as Luz wanted to believe her mother, her negative thoughts still plagued her mind. Still, they came all this way and were already at their new house. Might as well make the most of it.
Luz nodded in response to Camilla and the elder Noceda smiled at her daughter before exiting the car. She made her way around to Luz's side and she opened the rear passenger door of the car. Luz then opened her door and waited for her mother. Shortly after Camilla had unfolded a wheelchair and placed it in front of Luz. Making sure the wheels were locked, Camilla gently helped Luz into the wheelchair and moved aside to Luz could make her way towards the house. Camilla began to follow her daughter after closing both car doors.
By the time the movers had completely put everything inside their new house, it was late into the evening. Fortunately, Camilla had planned for this and had managed to make dinner before moving just in case the move took longer. While they ate, Camilla began researching Bonesboro on her computer while at the same time, looking for contractors to make alterations to their house to make things more accommodating for Luz. Camilla found it surprising how much history was in Bonesboro. The more she read, the more she was starting to love the town. As she continued to read on, she found many things she hoped would excite Luz, and she imparted that information.
"Oh, listen to this Luz. Bonesboro has a carnival every year at the end of summer. From what I can see, it's a very impressive event. They pretty much shut down the entire town to hold it. We should check it out when it comes around. What do you think?" said Camilla.
Luz wasn't really paying attention to what Camilla was saying. All she could think about was how the other kids in the town would treat her. She was also worried about the upcoming school year at her new school. The worry just kept flooding her mind. Camilla could clearly tell by Luz's expression that she was lost in her thoughts. Camilla sighed silently to herself. She knew Luz was still worried about how things will be in the near future. Camilla would be lying if she said she wasn't worried either. Given how things were in her last school, coupled with the events of last month, she was worried Luz would retreat further into herself. Still, Camilla had to hope that things would be better. It's all she could pray for.
Later that night, Camilla had finished getting Luz into her bed and tucked her in for the night. After giving her daughter a kiss goodnight and turning the lights off, Camilla left the room, shutting the door behind her. Luz looked straight up at the ceiling of her new bedroom and sighed. It all felt so strange, being somewhere so unfamiliar with so much uncertainty. Luz could only sigh. She could already feel her stress levels get higher with each passing second. The feeling of queasiness soon crept it's way into Luz's stomach. She placed her hand on her stomach to try and make the feeling go away, but it did little to help. Then, subconsciously, her hand started to move upward slightly, and came to a stop just to the center of her body. She could feel it just under her shirt. The almost perfect circle that sat right in the middle of her torso. It was starting to bring back the memories she wanted to forget. It only got worse as she started to picture the slightly larger circle on her back, right in the middle of her spine. Luz could feel her hand start to tremble as the memory of those circles started to form in her mind. The tears started to form in her eyes, and her breathing started to quicken.
Luz knew what was about to happen. She knew it was only a matter of time before she would lose control again and she would be screaming for her mother to come back into the room. But Luz knew she's been through this too many times before. Too many times of waking her mom up in the middle of the night to deal with this. She had to take charge of this. Luz needed to handle this herself. With every ounce of her strength, she tried to repress the memory and calm herself down. She took long slow deep breaths and she blinked away her tears. If felt like an eternity for Luz to regain her composure, but eventually, she managed to calm herself down. Luz wished she didn't have these panic attacks. She wished those traumatic memories would just disappear from her mind. She just wants to move on. But Luz knew they wouldn't leave. It wouldn't be so simple to just forget.
The only thing she could think to do was to take her mother's advice and just give Bonesboro a chance. Give the people here a chance. Who knows, maybe things could get better for her. After all, it's not like things could get much worse, could it?