- - - | Settling In | - - - 

"How much longer~?" I complained for the hundredth time in the past hour. 

"Darling, we are moving cities. It's going to take much longer than two hours at most, and don't forget that we have to unpack a bit as well." 

"Why couldn't we have done this earlier~?" I complained again. 

"Reasons but now that we'll never see him again, we can finally breathe." At that, I regained my composer. 

"D-did he do something?" 

"Just a small condition for the divorce but it's nothing to worry about now. I have saved the evidence on my laptop, sent them to your phone as well and when we'll get to our new apartment, I'll make a few extra copies. If he thinks of showing up again, 911 is on speed dial and next time, we'll win."  I have never seen my mother planning something this much ahead. 

On one hand, this move is annoying and very sudden with a lot of questions that have gone unanswered. On the other hand, I am glad that my strong mother had somehow returned. 

"Well, at least now you are back on the market." I giggled. 

"Darling, I need a break." She laughed as she brushed my fallen hairs away. "-I can't look at any man right now without the suspicion that one of them might be a fucking serial killer." 

I laughed. "Ok." I knew that it's going to take a while for her to even consider beginning a relationship with someone else. 

"But that doesn't stop you from finding a boy, Ok? Don't let situations like these bring you down. Not all men are psychotic brainless pedophiles." 

I rolled my eyes. "I'll keep that in mind." Mother laughed before kissing my forehead. 

"My sweet sweet little girl... If your mind would have been as developed as your body..." 

I gasped, faking hurt. "Mom! I am only but a child! My brain had not fully developed yet!" 

"Darling, one thing I learned in life; Work smarter, not harder." 

"What does that have to do with anything?" 

"Marry a rich man, love." 

"Mom!" We both laughed. 

"No, seriously." She pinched my cheeks so painfully strong that her fingers imprinted themselves on my cheeks. 

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." I rubbed my burning cheeks. "And when will you stop stretching my cheeks to China?!" 

"Never. Your squirrelly cheeks deserve a lot of love." I couldn't help but roll my eyes again. 

- - - | - - - 

"Baby, wake up. We are here." A gentle hand gripped my shoulder, shaking me awake. 

I yawned, stretching my arms and legs so much that my entire body shook in a release. I slumped back onto the seat then yawned again, almost falling asleep once more.

"Darling, come on." Mother pinched my cheek. 

"Mom!" I rubbed the red skin. "That hurt!" 

"I love you too, baby. Now come on, we have a lot of boxes to get inside." I climbed off the truck. When my feet stepped on the concrete, my body felt very relieved and happy. 

It was nighttime already and most of the houses had their lights off. We were making so much noise that some people woke up to watch us through their windows.

Nosey neighbors- check. 

"Here." Mother threw a few boxes at my feet. "-These are yours. This place is pretty big for the two of us so you can pick whichever room you like." I nodded. 

Realizing that I didn't have a look at my new house, I raised my eyes when my jaw dropped. 

"Mom... mom..." 

"Yes?" She stopped mid-step. 

"I- I think that we got the wrong address." She laughed then wiped a tear off her cheek.

"No, darling. This is it." 

"This... This... looks like a mini-mansion. What the fuck, mom! How can you afford this?!"

"Let's say... that I had conditions of my own." 

"What?" 

"One day, I'll teach you how to make the best of negotiations." She winked then walked off with a few of her boxes. 

"You have got to be shitting me." I grabbed two boxes at a time since they were so heavy, I couldn't carry more, unlike my mother who seemed like she had done some Sumo training and Heavy Lifting as she carried three to four boxes per run.

She is a monster...

"I am not a monster, baby. I am just your mother." She ruffled my hair before picking up another set of three boxes then walking up inside. 

Was that supposed to be a compliment or... "Hey!" Her laugh echoed to the very front steps of the house. 

She never gets tired of finding ways to insult me. 

Finally making it inside with the boxes in my arms, I drop them on the floor. I had to choose where to sleep and I am not going to walk with these around everywhere.

Noticing that there's also a second floor, I made my way up there. The wooden stairs were making some squicky noises once in a while but so far so good. 

On the second floor, I noticed four doors and so my curiosity was picked. I decided to look into every single one. 

On the very left end of the corridor, let's make it door number 1, was a room. It was bigger than the one I had and needed quite a bit of renovation done on the walls and ceiling but other than that it looks great to me. 

The walls were a faded yellow banana color. The fading was probably not part of the design which means that this place is not as new as it looks from the outside. 

The ceiling was the typical white, in the middle of the room was a 1 1\2 sized bed. The only thing on top was a semi-clean mattress. Two small bedside tables on either side of the bed- made entirely of wood. 

At the wall across the bed, on the right corner fitted a wardrobe that was also made of cheap-looking wood. The color of it was not the strong brown anymore, and it was broken and cracked in a few places. 

On the wall next to the closet were two enormous windows that opened into a big balcony. Curtains were not in sight. 

Since there weren't any other doors here except for the one that I entered from, I assumed that the bathroom and shower were in one or two of the doors along the hall. 

When I looked through every nook and cranny possible in this room, I finally decided to leave and make my way to the next door, and as I thought, the bathroom was huge. A toilet, a large sink, and a white clean bathtub at the corner- left a lot of space in the middle to maneuver around and make a few changes. 

The next-door consisted of a very big open shower. Neither glass door, nor curtains existed to cover anything. This seemed like a very advanced item with advanced technology installed in it that the previous family who lived here couldn't take with. 

Maybe this is the only modern item among very few in this house. 

After looking at the three silver showerheads, and a big one in the middle, I took notice of yet another large sink with many drawers underneath, and a big mirror above it, and of course the toilet next to it. 

One thing that did make me question the design here; What is the purpose of having such a big shower, that could easily fit 5 people in it if only one person would be using it at a time? 

Am I thinking like a poor person? 

Maybe the family had a few... 'friends' over... That could be a logical explanation. 

Making my way out of the showers, I finally arrived at the last door of the second floor. It was yet another room, built entirely the same as the other room. The arrangement was a bit different and there wasn't a balcony. 

That made my decision final. 

The room at the very left end of the hallway is now mine. 

I quickly picked up all the boxes and dragged them inside the room with a rather high level of difficulty. 

After making at least five more rounds, I finally got all the boxes inside. 

Looking around it again, I was glad for all the space it had to offer but all that space had to be renovated and most items had to be replaced. 

Until I get that settled with my mom, I am gonna have to wait with unpacking. 

That makes our settling-in official.