Chapter Text
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
Or whatever Nietzsche said.
It’s been six months since she died—six long, torturous months of bouncing between homes before ending up in the middle-of-nowhere Oregon. It sucks moving to lonely Oregon, but it sucks even more moving in with someone you’re supposed to know and love. My dad. Do I even call him dad? Does he deserve it?
His name is Jeremy. I haven’t seen Jeremy in years—not since I was three years old. He and my mom split when I was three, then he moved across the country and paid not a single dollar in child support.
His house is alright. It’s one-floored and small, but it’s generally tidy, which I didn’t expect. The wooden floors are creaky and the bathroom door doesn’t lock—but other than that, the house is fine.
It’s my circumstance that makes it suck.
Maybe moving to middle-of-nowhere Oregon would be alright if I didn’t have to live with my absent-now-here father. Maybe moving to middle-of-nowhere Oregon would be alright if I didn’t only come here because my mom is dead.
But those are the reasons I'm here.
For the last day, I’ve spent my precious time staring at the wall or watching TV if I feel like getting up.
I still haven’t unpacked my stuff. I will eventually, but unpacking feels final; it makes my situation real. Like, if I keep it in the suitcases and boxes forever, it changes the fact that I’m stuck here.
I’m stuck here until I’m 18.
I hear a knock on my door.
“Hey, Shauna.”
Great—Jeremy. Does he not have a job? Does he avoid that, too?
“What?”
He opens the door, peeking his head in.
“Need anything?”
No, Jeremy.
“No.”
“I’m gonna head out. I’ll be back tonight; I left money for pizza.”
“Okay,” I respond.
When I hear his footsteps fade away, I flop back down on the bed.
Maybe at some point I’ll get used to this.