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Chapter 1 - Kindly Kicked Out
(PART ONE)

【 2006 words 】

{Your POV}

[EDITED - 07/30/2021]

     I fluttered open my [E/c] eyes as I was pulled away from my peaceful dreamland.  Pausing and thinking back to my dream, I can't exactly remember what I was dreaming about in the first place... I sit up with a big yawn, a groan escaping my lips as I do a couple stretches whilst taking a glance at my alarm clock.

     '6:30 p.m... Oh Irene..  I slept for that long?'

     As I finished doing my morning stretches, I got out of the mess of sheets and pillows, standing up and wincing upon my feet hitting the cold wooden flooring of my room.  A long sigh left my lips as I moved out of the room and down the hall towards the staircase, nearly stumbling on a random book that was left on the lower part of the stairs.  I create a small hiss noise as my elbow hit the hard railing.

     'Stupid book. Nearly making me fall..'

     I winced in pain as I rubbed my elbow, my eyebrows furrowing. Bending down into a crouching position, I picked up the rather large book.

     'Why does mom always have to leave her stuff everywhere?'

     I gently placed the book somewhere safe where no one could hurt themselves (unlike me) and continued on my walk downstairs, and that's when I noticed my mom on the phone with someone. By the time I touched the cold tile floor at the bottom of the stairs, she had already hung up the device.

     My mother gracefully turned around and finally noticed me, her daughter, standing at the foot of the stairs.  "...Oh!  Hi, honey!" she greeted, giving me a warm, motherly smile.

     I return the sweet smile as I walked over into the kitchen to grab something to snack on for breakfast (even though it's late), but as I did so, my mother approached me with an uneasy look on her usually content face.  "Um... honey," she mumbled hesitantly, seeming as if she was going to say something to me.

     I reached up for my favourite coffee cup. "What is it?" I asked, not sparing her a glance, and wincing once again when my arm moved the wrong way.

     "Well, um," she started, exhaling.  She closed her eyes for a moment, collecting herself as if she was about to make an important speech in front of hundreds of people.  "So, you're eightteen, and you've lived here for all of those awesome, great, memory-filled years...," she paused, giving herself another moment to collect her emotions.

     'What is she going on about?'

     Her words downed on me, making me worry and finally look at my emotional mother behind me.  "...And now, I-I think it's time for you to, um... m-move out?"  I winced at the evident crack in her voice.  She sounded so unsure....  I could tell she was uncomfortable with this already.

     "Move... out?" I repeated to myself and thought about this for a few minutes before giving her an answer. "...okay." I smiled at her uncertain expression, this whole thing bringing some form of understanding to me. As you know the saying goes, the bird must leave its nest.  "Mom, I'll miss you, and I promise to call you every two days!" I promised as I carefully poured myself a glass of water.

     'She always reminded me when I was younger; to call her every two days when I move out. To think I still remembered..'

     "...Hey, how about calling me only once every week?" she softly suggested, smiling a bit.

     My face turned to one of shock and my mouth dropped and hung open, gaping at her.  "Wh-what?" I blinked, taken aback.  "I-I thought you told me when I was younger that, when I move out, to always call you every two days!"  I exclaimed, a little upset at her. But at the same time, I was relieved.

     'Now I won't have to pay big bills because of calling her so often. Not that I mind though.'

     "Well, I'm guessing you're shocked—"

     I cut her off with a smile on my lips, saying,  "Mom, honestly... thanks."

     I couldn't help but giggle as she smiled back at me, and for the first time ever, I actually felt like a real adult. "I know that you are very protective and cautious when it comes to me being alone, but,"  I said, exhaling,  "I'll be okay. I love you, and you know that.  You're the most loving, caring, kind, and awesomest mom ever! I'll miss you." I never expected this for a long while.  All of this was so sudden that I felt like I was about to tear up at any moment.

     I'm so emotional.

     My mother brought her arms around me in a warm embrace that only a loving mother could give.  And after what felt like a really long hugging session, she gave me piece of paper with something written on it.

     "What is this?" I question with furrowed brows, confused.

     "Oh, this? Well, this is your roomies address!" she exclaimed with a cheerful smile.  I'm glad she's happy again, it brought me pain to see her look so emotional.

     But hearing those words, my whole body froze.

     'R-Roomie?! Are you actually kidding me?! She KNOWS that I never liked being around strangers– people I don't know!  Or even worse... LIVING WITH THEM?!'

     She seen my face and let out a laugh, amused. "Honey, you're probably thinking, 'why would mom make me live with some stranger??', and sweetie, it's for your own good,"  she answered with a sigh, and placed a hand on her hip.  "I really don't like leaving you alone in your own house, so I went and paired you with someone nice!  I don't know who she is, but I hope you don't mind...?" she asked, looking at me nervously.

     I sighed and grabbed my cup, "I suppose it's fine...."

     My mother let out a happy giggle, as if she won an award, and smiled brightly in my direction.  "Yay!  Also, you're moving out today! So you better go and get ready.  I love you!"  And with that being said, she walked away casually, leaving me with my mouth hung agape.

     'I was not prepared for this.. not in the slightest.'

     I shook my head and decided to actually do some packing as I'll be leaving pretty soon. 

     I made my way back upstairs and put a bunch (more like the whole closet) of clothes and outfits into a suitcase and another big bag.

—

     An hour had soon passed by and I stood in the hallway, already done with packing all my clothes and my few personal belongings. I didn't have very many pictures of friends, nor did I have plenty of items to take along with me. All I had packed was my whole closet (which didn't have much in it anyways) and a couple of childhood pictures I had hung along the walls.

     I struggled a bit but nonetheless got downstairs with no help, whilst dragging my suitcase, a big bag on my shoulder, and a purse with my phone and some other small stuff in it.

     "And.. I think I'm ready." I gazed back up the top of the staircase, frowning a bit when my mom wasn't there to say goodbye to me. I sighed quietly and pushed that aside, proceeding to the front door, but not without yelling a loud "bye mom!" into the silent atmosphere of the house.

     After stepping outside and locking the door behind me with my spare key, I threw my bags in the back of my silver car, leaving my purse up front with me on the passenger seat. As I started up the engine, I spared one last glance at my childhood home, a sad smile making its way onto my face, but I quickly pulled out of the driveway and hit the road to my new home... and unbeknownst to me, it's a place where my life would start to change.

     'What made mom want to do this exactly?  Maybe one of her friends were talking about "growing up" or something around her, making her do this to me.  Great, now I have to live with a total stranger.  I'll have to get use to this.'

     After a bit of driving and loud singing to my playlist, I finally got in the driveway of my new home.  I turned off the engine and stepped out of the vehicle, taking a good look at the house.

     'Whoa!! This place looks cool! I wonder what it looks like inside...'

     I shut the door to the drivers seat and walked up the driveway to the front door of the house. My knuckles hit the door with loud knocks, checking to see if someone was possibly home. "...Hello?  Helloooooo?"  I called, hoping the girl mom was talking about earlier would answer the door.

     After a few minutes of yelling endlessly, I stepped back from the door because no one happened to be home at the moment.  Some thinking was done, and I shrugged, finally making a decision and took out a silver key out of the right pocket of my jeans; the key my mom gave me when she spoke of the unknown girl, "my roomie" she calls her.

     I inserted the key into the lock in the doorknob, twisting it until I heard a small but noticeable click from inside. I turned the knob and the door opened to the inside of the house, and I just walked right in, not a second thought going through my head.

     After self-touring the house, I went back outside to my car and took my belongings straight upstairs to what seems like my room, as it was pretty empty and had plain sheets on the bed, and started unpacking with a little bit of excitement.

—

     I had lots of spare time as the girl hadn't arrived home yet.  I was laying on my bed, which had my own sheets from back home. Time was passing by like a leaf would in the autumn wind, my eyes closed and mind blank as I tried to squeeze in some sleep before the girl, whose name I still don't know, would get home.

     Then, as unexpected as it was, the comfortable silence I had was ruined when I heard a door creak open with a loud shut from downstairs. Hearing that sound made me suddenly overcome with panic, and I quickly jumped off of my bed, my head feeling dizzy from the sudden motion. My feet hit the floor, creating a small thump noise which made me freeze in my spot.

     Everything fell awfully quiet, so quiet that it hurt my ears to hear nothing but it.

     'Maybe she thinks I'm a robber... No! Don't think that! She probably knows that I'm here... right?'

     My loud thoughts were laced with unsureness and some fear of her getting the wrong idea.  But something in me said it wasn't who I thought it was... which left me confused. 

     My thoughts were, of course, snapped in half when I heard footsteps coming slowly up the stairs.  And with my heart pounding wildly with panic and fear, I didn't think of what to do and just hid behind the door, and it was a stupid idea I must say.

     'Oh, my Irene! What am I doing?!'

     The footsteps came closer...

     'Legs, move, please! WHY AM I HIDING!'

     Then they stopped right in front of my door.

     'Oh, Irene!!  She's probably gonna murder me if she thinks I'm an intruder.  How stupider could this get?!'

     The door I stood behind like my life depended on it, opened quickly, making me jump slightly in fright.

     That voice in the back of my head warned me millions of times, repeating that I was in danger, get away, hide...  I didn't know what to do in this situation, my legs wouldn't budge.  I shut my eyes tightly, fearing the worse.

     "You, what are you doing in my house?"

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