Chapter Four
Bright and early on Sunday, May 31, Michael, Mom, Sam and I began loading Mom's car with all of our things. It was about seven in the morning; the sun was high in the sky and already beating down on us relentlessly, and I wanted nothing more than to sit in Mom's car and let the cold air hit my face. We had the AC on for about ten minutes as it was getting close to the time for us to leave, and you learn quickly to make sure you have that car nice and cool before going anywhere. I could see a figure on a bike making their way up our street, and I could tell that they were still wearing their pajamas as they got closer. The mop of long brown hair gave away who it was almost automatically.
"Did you really think I was going to let you guys leave without telling me goodbye?" Vanessa hopped of her bike, letting it rest in the grass as she made her way over. Her wrinkled Dukes of Hazzard t-shirt and pajama pants—with no shoes, which is brave on her end as I knew the concrete had to burn—indicated she had quite literally rushed out of the house to come down the street to see us off.
"I'unno. Maybe." Sam teased as he loaded his last box into the car. Mom gave Vanessa a hug as Vanessa began tearing up slightly. Nanook went over to her, sniffing her leg as this went on, his tail slightly wagging from side to side. Michael put his bike in the trailer, using the tarp to cover up the rest of the belongings we couldn't fit. I walked over to Vanessa, who hugged me tightly.
"Don't cry. You'll see us again here in a month or so." I rubbed her back, looking over at Sam who had Nanook get into the car to get ready to go. "Besides, you get to go to the Bahamas for two weeks. We get to move and do hard labor." I joked.
"And of course, you know you are more than welcome anytime." Mom smiled softly, wiping away one of Vanessa's tears.
"I know," Vanessa nodded, pulling away from the hug. "It's just gonna suck next year."
"I know," Mom got Vanessa's hair out of her face as Sam walked up. A rare moment between the two as Vanessa hugged him tightly and then pulled away.
"Don't get used to that." She teased him.
"That's fine, I don't usually hug nerds anyway." Sam teased back, causing Vanessa to punch him in the arm. He started laughing, rubbing his arm where he got punched. Before I could open my mouth to say something else, I heard what seemed to be a sportscar drive up. An ungodly shade of yellow Corvette pulled up, stopping beside our home. I watched Mom's body language go from relaxed to annoyed as she crossed her arms loosely across her chest and leaned on the hood of her Toyota. I never had seen this new car before in my life, and while the style was quite nice as I loved the way it looked, the color was just disgustingly hideous. I heard the engine shut off and the driver's side door opened. A man in a charcoal gray suit stepped out and faced us. Immediately the four of us kids looked at one another as Mom remained as calm as she could be, though I could tell by the look on her face she was absolutely fuming.
Jason Emerson made his way over to us, looking smugly at our mother.
A great deal older than Mom—ten years to be exact—our father was what Michael would have looked like if he didn't have curly hair and was a prick. Where Sam and I took from our mother's side, Michael looked like the Emersons through and through.
"Well, now, Lucy. Don't look so upset. I just swung by to say goodbye on my way to work." Jason fixed his sleeve.
"If you wanted to say goodbye, why didn't you do it earlier?" Sam snapped. "Instead of waiting until the last minute."
"Sam," Mom looked over at him, her voice gentle.
"It's true." My brother argued.
"Samuel." Mom's tone hardened slightly.
Sam shook his head angrily, making his way into the car and slamming the door shut. Michael took a look at Jason, nodding his head as he opened the door.
"Michael, you don't have to go you know. You could easily work where I work and stay here in phoenix with Carly." Jason said to his eldest son. "Of course, you would have to cut that mop of hair on your head."
"Carly and I broke up." Michael retorted, starting to get into the car again.
"The company would pay you a great salary if you wished to pursue it. You're nineteen, you can do whatever you wish. You don't have to move and uproot your life." Jason took off his sunglasses, and the same shade of blue that Michael and I shared was seen.
"I know." Michael said simply. "But any where's better than here, and any job is better than working with you. Besides, I love Mom more than you." The growl Michael had in his tone at the end showed he meant business, and he closed the door and sat behind Sam in the back. Mom looked back at Michael, the stern "Don't You Say That" look so prominent on her face. Michael simply shrugged and Sam nodded his head in agreement.
"I see you've at least turned the boys against me." My father shook his head. Mom shook her head.
"No, Jason. I haven't." Her tone was hard. "In fact, I have done nothing but try to speak as highly of you as I can to the kids. It just so happens that this is what they think, and I can't fault them or punish them for having their own thoughts and emotions. They're people too."
"Well, you certainly didn't try hard enough I see. With the three of them all wanting to move to Santa Carla with you to live with your father. It's going to be quite crowded." The condescending tone in Jason's voice made my blood boil and I could see Vanessa crossing her arms and shaking her head out of the corner of my eye. She was beginning to sway on her feet, and I could tell she was getting pissed.
"We'll manage." Mom's gaze never left his, and she matched his energy, her tone hanging on the edge of frustration. "We managed when you left, and we did just fine."
"If you call having to move in with your father "just fine" then yes, you are."
Mom's arms got tighter across her chest, and she took in a deep breath, doing her best to keep herself calm.
"We were doing fantastic until you kicked us out." I snapped. "I don't know why you did, but I'm just glad I'll be more than a two hour drive away from you." I crossed my arms. "I know you had to have gotten up extremely early to make sure we were going to be out of your hair since you drove all this way to make sure." I went and stood next to Mom, who seemed to be no longer frustrated but angry. "Well don't you worry. You and that bimbo can have this house. I hate it anyway."
"Casey." Mom snapped at me. I shrugged.
"Sorry but only bimbos sleep and get knocked up by married men." I made my way over to the car as Michael scooted over to make room for me.
"Well, I'll call the moving company soon. It'll be nice to shave some time off of my drive to work now." Jason made his way back over to his car.
"Fuck you," I muttered, rolling my eyes.
"Nice surprise to see you, Veronica." Jason nodded to Vanessa, who rolled her eyes.
"Vanessa." She corrected him as the engine started back up. "Dumbass."
Mom waited at the front of the car as the hideous yellow Corvette made it's way down the street. When it was out of her sight, she went over to Vanessa and gave her another quick hug. "Come and see us sometime, okay?" she said kindly.
"Oh, I will." Vanessa nodded. I went and gave her another hug.
"You call me. Mom can't afford long distance." I joked. Vanessa started laughing as we pulled away. "I'll see you later."
"Okay." Vanessa smiled softly as I made my way into the car. Mom did the same, and Vanessa waved at us as we began to drive off. Sam and Michael gave brief waves as we did so, and we were off to Santa Carla.
{}{}{}{}
We made it in a day's drive. The first couple of hours of the car ride there, Mom, Sam, Michael and I were still fuming from the audacity of Jason Emerson showing up. We stopped at a McDonalds along the way, and though the four of us still had some anger about the situation, Mom was able to change the tone we had regarding everything. As we ate in the car, she talked about the beaches in Santa Carla and how the boardwalk was a lot of fun and how we were going to enjoy it. She told some stories about her father and mother; some we had heard and some we had not. It lifted our spirits quickly, and soon we did not forget about our father's rude interruption but simply put it into the back of our minds. We hit Santa Carla at about five thirty, with the windows down as it wasn't that bad of a day. We started going through some radio station channels, landing on one with easy listening. Sam and I grimacing at one another.
"Keep going." Sam made a face.
"Hey, I like that song." Mom retorted. She changed the channel again, this time landing on a Spanish one, with a man speaking in rapid Spanish. Sam made another face.
"Keep going, Mom."
Mom changed the channel again, landing on a classical music station.
"Oh, how about this?" Mom's face lit up.
"Hang on," Michael leaned forward, changing the station before sitting back down.
"I don't see any bogeyman or nasty guys—" a man's voice came through on the radio.
"Oh, that's a winning station." I rolled my eyes, causing Sam to laugh. Mom changed it again, this time landing on a country station. Michael raised his eyebrows.
"Pretty cool, Mom, you know. You wanna switch the dial?" he shook his head, making me snort. Mom changed the station again, and blues music began to play through the speakers.
"Oh, this jams." Sam made another face.
"Quite right." Michael nodded.
"Totally cool." I rolled my eyes.
"Gosh, you guys are rough." Mom shook her head, changing it again.
"His pain, discomfort, manipulation—"
Sam grimaced. "No, no."
Mom changed the channel again, landing on Groovin' by The Rascals, her face breaking out in an instant smile.
"No." Michael made a face.
"Oh!" Mom kept grinning.
"Keep going." The three of us kids said in unison.
"Oh, wait, wait, wait. That's from my era." Mom smiled, singing along to the song and snapping her fingers as Sam, Michael and I looked at each other.
"Keep going." We said again, and Mom finally relented.
"Keep going, okay." She changed the channel again. Finally, it landed on something good as the cover of People Are Strange by Echo and the Bunnymen began to play. We saw the Santa Carla sign just up a ways, and a strange pit settled into my stomach.
New home. No matter what Mom said, no matter how great she made it out to seem to be, I could not get myself excited for it for the life of me. Just this weird feeling I had that would never leave.
"Hey, we're almost there." Mom had her smile still on her face. Sam made a face.
"Mom, what's that smell?"
Mom took in a deep breath. "Ah, that's the ocean air."
"It smells like someone died."
"Aw, honey. Look, guys, I know the last year hasn't been easy, but I think you're really gonna like living in Santa Carla," Mom repeated herself again as we passed by the welcome sign. Behind it in red spray paint and in all capital letters, someone had graffitied MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. It was something both Michael and I caught, and the two of us looked at each other for a moment as we kept going down the road.