Chapter 41:Ahliyah

We spent hours on the road and we stopped at my mothers house first. We dropped off some of our boxes and drove to our new apartment. We walked in dropping off the rest of the boxes inside. " What's the apartment for?" Carter asked.

I smiled. " This is our safe space at least on of them. In those boxes are things like journals and pencils to write down anything you want."

" So, your mothers house is our home?" He asked happily.

I nodded my head trying not to cry. My mother left the house for me if I decided I wanted to come back. She knew I would come back when I was ready. We went back on the road and half a mile from the house there was a lake and a small cabin for us.

" What's this?" Carter asked.

I seen the excitement in his eyes and it made me happy. I grabbed his hand and we walked closer to get a better look.

" My moms friend use to own this but gave it to her to relax at when she was sick. This is ours too. This is our second safe space. I figured if we were going to start over we needed something to remind of us of Florida." I smiled.

He didn't say anything he just stood there looking at everything. Then he grabbed me and spun me around laughing and smiling. He spun me around and we fell in the grass laughing at ourselves.

" We have our safe haven. We have a place just for us to run away for awhile." He smiled.

" I thought maybe when your fears made you scared you had places to run to."

We laid there and I kissed him. His lips moved slowly against mine and my hands ran through his hair. My heart raced, he pulled away. Our noses touched and we smiled.

" I love you." He said.

" I love you too."

I smiled to myself because our new beginning and journey were just beginning. I couldn't wait to see what was next for us.

We went home and Carter made dinner for us. We ate dinner watching a movie with a blanket draped over us.

" Are you happy with everything?" I asked.

" I love it. I think being here is going to be good for us. We deserve it, right?"

We did deserve it and so much more. Carter fell asleep and I snuck upstairs to call Mercedes.

" You're in Texas? Oh my gosh, you have to come by." She said happily.

" I will soon. How's everything going with you?" I asked.

While we packed and prepared for our move to Texas, Mercedes called me and kept me up to date with her paintings and art. She was starting to open up about this new boy she was seeing but she still hasn't give me a name yet.

" Things are the same. I've been really busy and it seems like I can't get enough sleep. When you come over, bring snacks and your pajamas," she laughed. She cleared her throat and her tone changed when she started to talk about Carter. " How's he doing?"

" He's doing fine. He has some places he can go if he needs to. "

We said our goodbyes and promised each other we would see each other soon. When I went back downstairs, Carter wasn't on the couch. He was in the backyard sitting in the grass looking at the trees and everything beyond.

" It's freeing being out in this large space. I mean I can think clearly and I feel unstoppable when I'm out here." He said.

" I'm glad you like it. Have you called Leticia yet?" I asked.

He looked at the sky and sighed. " Not yet, she was a little sad when we left. I told her she could come visit us." He smiled.

Before we left, Mrs. Martinez pulled me aside giving me a big hug and sighed. " Take care of my boy for me, he may not be my biological son but I love his like he was my own. Show him the right way, please." She told me.

She loved Carter and although it pained her to seem go. There was hope in her eyes that he was going to be okay and better because when he came back, she could look forward in enjoying his light just like I did.

" I used to run around in this backyard for hours. My dad would take me to the gas station behind the house and we would go get ice cream and talk about school." I smiled.

" What else did you do back here?" He asked.

I sat next to him with my knees clutched to my chest. " We used to do a lot. During the summer time we would eat outside and watch the stars all night long," I giggled. " I slept out here once because the stars were so beautiful."

We sat out in the backyard and I could see me and my dad spending our time out her and laughing. As I thought about the good memories, the bad ones quickly resurfaced. I smiled choking on the sob that crawled up my throat.

" Yeah, those were the good times. " I smiled sadly.

We sat out in the backyard until it got dark and the stars shined in the sky. Carter held my waist pointing at the stars. They were beautiful shining in the sky and claiming the spot that belonged to them. The sadness went away and I clung on to Carter and watched the stars.

" So, where are we going to hang out pictures?" Carter asked.

I placed my hands on my hips looking at the walls that were still covered with pictures of my mother and I. I took the my mothers pictures off the wall and placing them on the couch.

" On the wall above the tv and on the tv stand." I smiled.

Carter put the pictures on the wall and I put my mothers pictures in the box. I put the box in the closet down the hall. As we redecorated our new home, I place all my mothers belongings in the closet.

I sat on the couch with my hands in my face. I looked up smiling at the wall with our pictures on it. I grabbed one picture of my mother from the box in the closet and hung it up on the wall.

" This was her house too. Her picture should be on the wall." I smiled.

We sat on the couch staring at the wall with happiness. " She would be proud of you." He said.

I smiled and nodded. She would be proud.