Chapter 2: The Trip

Kara POV

We pulled out of the driveway. We are both in tears. I had spent the last five years in that house. I had a few friends at the end of the street. Mother had made a few friends of her own while we lived in that house. However, I know it's going to be an adventure. One that I looked forward to. We stopped at the local pit stop.

" Go pay $30 in gas to top off the tank."

" OK, I'll be back,"

I went inside and asked the attendant to put $30 on pump 2. I then looked around the store for a snack and a drink. I got myself a Pepsi and some Doritos. Then I also grab my mother a Coke and the peanuts she likes. As I was walking out of the gas station, I ran into my old teacher, Mr. Miles.

" I heard you are moving,"

"Yes, we are."

It's not like he really cared. While I was in high school, he kissed me one time after school. I was initially uncomfortable about it, but then I realized I liked it. After that, he was always finding a reason to keep me after school. We started having an affair. But it ended two weeks after it began. I was in shock. His wife had discovered it. She had threatened to call the police on him for having sex with a minor.

At the time, I was only 17. So, in a way, yes, it was illegal, but I was encouraging his behavior. I wanted to be with older men. The boys my age did not interest me. I want someone with experience.

"I'm sorry you are moving."

"Thank you, I hope you have a nice life,"

I had complicated feelings towards him since he had gotten me into trouble in high school. I then walked out to the car. My mother had already filled up the car and was waiting for me.

" Wasn't that the teacher who got in trouble for having sex with his students?"

" Yeah, probably,"

The fact was well known. He had gotten caught with one of the cheerleaders. She swore that they weren't doing anything, and he backed up her story. But I knew differently. The next day at school, the principal called several girls, including me, into the office to ask us questions. I denied it, of course. I had sex with him a couple of times. However, I was not going to admit to it.

At that point, I just wanted to graduate. I tried to move on with my life. I had a boyfriend at the time as well. I didn't want to ruin that either. But my mother ruined that relationship for me.

We're headed to Boston now. This was going to be a long trip. The moving truck was ahead of us. Mother put one of her radio stations on. I made sure before we left that I had plugged my charging cord into the cigarette lighter. I turned on Pandora on my phone and plugged in my headphones. I did not want to listen to her music.

We have way different tastes in music. Let's face it, we had different tastes for many things. I liked tight shirts and leggings. Of course, I only weighed about 110 pounds. Had black hair with blue eyes. I'm about 5 feet and 5 inches. My breasts are 38C. My mother, on the other hand, is 5 feet tall. She weighs about 150 pounds and has red curly hair. She likes to wear business suits. Today she is wearing jeans and a baggy t-shirt.

She has a beautiful figure. But I think that my father constantly puts her down. I think she lost all her confidence. She is a lovely woman. I understood she wanted to set an example for me. But I'm considered an adult by law. I never brought that up to her. I do respect my mother, and I know she's trying to protect me.

We left at nine that morning and drove until about 10 that night before my mother got tired and stopped at a motel. I was ready to get out and stretch. We drove for 13 hours. We still had 17 more hours to go, which put us there sometime in a day or two. It depended on how much my mother wanted to drive. I walked around a little bit after we got settled in our room. We stopped at a roadside taco stand for dinner early in the evening.

But I was hungry. I went to the vending machine. The only thing it had was some chips and a candy bar. That will have to do until we get breakfast in the morning. I put the quarters in the machine, and the damn machine ate my quarters. I could wait. I was too tired to deal with the machine. As I headed back to our room, a gentleman was sitting at one of the tables.

I assumed he worked at the motel because he was wearing a uniform. He was a few years older than me. He was handsome, and I would have dated him if we were not just passing through here on our way to Seattle.

" Do you work here?"

" Yes, I do. How can I help you?"

" The vending machine ate my quarters. You might want to have someone look at it."

" I will do that,"

" How much did you spend?"

"I put $2.50 in the machine."

He got up and went to the counter. He hit a button and the drawer opened. He pulled out $2.50 and gave it to me. I smiled at him. If I weren't ready to take a shower and go to bed, I would have flirted with him. But at this point, I was prepared to go to bed. I walked into our room, and my mother was getting out of the shower.

"Did you get a snack?"

"I tried, but the machine ate my quarters."

"I'm sorry, sweetie."

I went and took a shower. I did my nighttime routine and lay down on the bed. It was so uncomfortable. The mattress was as hard as a rock. The room also left much to be desired. It had green curtains. The air conditioner squealed when my mother turned it on. The sheets on the beds were that dingy white color. The comforters had a diamond shape, and it was a nasty color. I could already tell I wasn't going to get any sleep.

I decided to turn Netflix on my phone and watch a movie. While I settled down, I picked a movie with some martial arts in it. I was watching it when I got a text message. It was from Trisha. She was asking how the trip was going. I responded that it was as dull as hell. She sent "lol". I told her I was watching a movie. I then fell into a restless sleep. I was sore from traveling, and we still had a long way to go.