I woke up the next morning, dreading what was going to happen today and wished I could wake up from this nightmare. I looked at the clock and it was six in the morning and I was leaving for New York at ten. That meant I had four hours to do everything. Miranda and Gordo were still sound asleep so I decided to do a bit of last minute packing.
By nine o'clock, I had fully finished packing and was sitting on the couch with Miranda and Gordo, and trying to make this last hour together as memorable as possible. I know this probably wasn't the last time I was ever going to see them, but it felt like it.
"So, are you ready to go?" Gordo asked.
"No. I don't think I'll ever be ready Gordo. I just...I just feel so scared you know? I mean, I know my dad is going to be making a lot of money and we are going to have a really cool house, but it's gonna be so lonely up there. I'm going to have no friends to hang out with and I'm dreading starting school there." I said.
"C'mon Lizzie, I'm sure you'll be fine. You'll make some really great friends there, I know you will. And you can't forget about us!" Miranda said as she let out a small laugh.
"As if that's ever going to happen." I smiled. "You guys are the best of friends in the whole entire world, how could I ever forget about you?"
We spent the last of our days together looking through our scrap book we had made over the years and just talking about our favourite memories. One was when we first met, and I knew I would never forget that one.
When the clock struck ten, I knew it was time for our final goodbyes. Gordo and Miranda's parents arrived at our house to wish us luck for the future and to say goodbye. They told me that if I ever came to visit, I was always welcome to stay at their place. That made me feel a lot better and it felt like I was closer to Miranda and Gordo's parents than mine. For most people, saying goodbye to some of your family members would be the hardest part of a separation, but as far as I was concerned Isabella and my mom didn't feel like they were family anymore, especially after the way they treated me.
I watched my dad as he put me and Matt's things in the car. Our flight was in about an hour so we had no time to mess about. I turned to Miranda and Gordo and couldn't hold in my tears in as I gave them the biggest hug I could possibly give.
"I'll miss both of you." I sniffed and wiped away the tears streaming down my face. Miranda had started crying too, which made me feel worse. "I'll call you guys when I get there." I turned to Gordo, who wasn't crying but was having trouble looking at me in the eye.
"Gordo?" I said and he looked up at me. I could tell he was trying his best not to burst out crying like Miranda and I were. "I'm sorry I have to go. I love you." I said softly and gave him a peck on the lips. He was little taken back at first and then said he would always love me. I said goodbye to Miranda and Gordo's parents and went to get into the car, but my dad stopped me.
"Aren't you forgetting something Lizzie?" He asked me as he raised his eyebrows.
"Um...I don't think so...I'm sure I packed everything." I said uncertainly. I had also trouble talking because I was crying so much.
"I don't mean that. You didn't say goodbye to your mother and sister." He finally said. I looked at him and hoped he'd let me get away with it. I didn't want to say goodbye to them. He gestured for me to go and I sighed and began to walk over to them.
I stood in front of my mom and stared at her for a moment.
"Take care of yourself Lizzie; you know this is for the best, right?" She asked me. I didn't answer her and just stared at the ground. "I will always love you and I'll miss you too." She added and hugged me tightly. I didn't want to hug her back but thought I would get in trouble for it, so I wrapped my arms slowly around her too. After she let go of me, I walked over to Isabella who was standing about a metre away from my mother and was paying no attention to me what so ever. I stood right in front of her and waited for her to look up.
"You better keep your promise, because if you don't, I swear you'll regret it." I whispered fiercely to her. She raised her eyebrows at me and said goodbye. I glared at her one more time and turned to walk back to the car. I hoped this was the last time I was ever going to see her again.
By eleven thirty, we were on the plane. It was going to take about an hour to get there. I was sitting next to Matt on the window seat and was feeling incredibly sick. Not because of the plane, but because I was scared that Isabella wasn't going to keep her promise. She was the last person I would ever trust in my life and if Gordo found out about what I did, then he would never speak to me again.
Since Isabella had read my diary, I ripped all the pages out, put them through the paper shredder and disposed of them carefully. I didn't want anyone to read it again, including myself; otherwise it might lead to more trouble. And that was the last thing I needed.
"Are you gonna miss Hillridge?" Matt asked me all of a sudden.
"The only part I'm going to miss about it Matt is Miranda and Gordo. And my school. But one things for sure, I'm not going to miss Isabella at all! I dunno about mom though, she didn't exactly treat me like a proper daughter at all. But what I do miss is being her daughter when Isabella wasn't there. Before that all happened, she was the best mom in the world. What about you Matt?" I asked. I looked over at my dad to check that he was asleep; I didn't want him hearing any of this.
"I'm gonna miss Melina and Lanny. And my room and my school too. It's so unfair that we had to go to New York! Just because Isabella is mom's favourite..." He said miserably.
"Isabella seemed so nice when we met in Rome, and she still was when I came back to America. We adopted her because we felt sorry for her and didn't want her to have a miserable life, but it looks like we're the ones with the miserable life." I said dully, and Matt nodded in agreement. "I wonder what would have happened to her if we didn't adopt her."
"She'd probably live in the dump, where she belongs!" Matt joked. I laughed and for once in my life, I was glad that he was my little brother. I knew I use to think he was just an annoying rat, but now, he was the only thing I had close enough to be a friend.
I fell asleep for the rest of the flight since I didn't get much sleep that night and woke up just as the plane was about to land. I looked out side the window and saw buildings of New York City and began to feel nervous.
"I know you guys must be nervous about moving here, but don't worry. All you have to do is give it some time and you'll learn to love it, I promise!" My dad said certainly.
"I don't think we'll get use to this place dad." Matt said.
"Why's that son?"
"Because we were forced to move to this place! It's not like we came here willingly!" Matt insisted.
"Matt, you know that was not the reason..." My dad began.
"So mom just happened pick Isabella to stay with her, and not us? Dad, it's so unfair! Lizzie and I were living there first, so we should get a say in it. But no, we didn't!"
"You know how hard things have been for Isabella since her parents died, and your mother just wants to make her feel comfortable. She's moved around a lot and we just want to let her settle in."
"But dad, you're just spoiling her! She just makes everyone feel sorry for her so she can get what she wants! But you don't even know the real her, don't you? I'm the one having to put up with her torments and I'm the one getting blackmailed all the time! But of course you wouldn't know because you don't believe me! None of you do!" I butted in. I was beginning to get really angry again and people began to stare at us. My dad was stunned and just stared at me. I sighed and slumped in my chair as I felt the plane land on the ground. I felt like sleeping and never waking up again. I didn't want to face the world anymore, I just felt like dying.
As we waited until the plane stopped, we just sat there in complete silence. Every time I brought this subject up, my dad would make up all this stuff about Isabella having a hard time and when he knew I was right, he would just stared at me and fall silent. I wish there was someone I could talk to, who would believe me and talk some sense into my parents. But now I was in New York, and I didn't know anyone so I had no one to talk to. I knew I could always call Miranda and Gordo, but it wasn't the same. And it's not like they could do anything to fix my problem.
We finally arrived at our new apartment, and unfortunately, we lived at the top level. I was happy that there was a lift; otherwise I would have dropped dead. I was so tired and could hardly open my eyes.
"Dad, I thought you said we lived in a huge house. And this is an apartment." I said as we entered the glass doors into the air-conditioned building.
"It is huge Lizzie. It's just that it's an apartment, not a house." He answered. I sighed as we walked into the lift and traveled to the top floor. When we arrived and walked out into a fancy hall. We walked down until we reached door number 535 and my dad opened it. It was huge. It was a bit smaller than our old house but it was much more modern and had a huge glass wall that over-looked New York City.
"So, what do you think?" My dad asked. I had to admit; I was impressed and fell in love with the place straight away. I just wish I could move this house back to Hillridge and get rid of Isabella, then everything would be perfect.
"Pretty cool..." I said as I inspected the house more carefully.
"Yeah, not bad dad!" Matt said as he ran off to find his room.
"Why don't you go and find a room for yourself Lizzie?" My dad asked. I nodded and followed Matt down the hall. I reached a door and opened it and the room was double the size of my old one. Well, the one Isabella invaded. I looked around and thought that this room was perfect. Maybe staying in New York wasn't going to be so bad afterall.