Life after that night seemed to go on as normal except for the fact that my step-dad never came home anymore. Mom said that she had gotten a restraining order against him, and he wasn’t allowed to come back to the house. I was happy and sad all at the same time. I was sad because I missed him, but happy because I knew if he wasn’t home there would be no fighting.
Over the next couple of months I started to notice small changes. At first I didn’t really think much of it, but then I started to feel like something big was coming. My mom seemed to be on the phone with my grandma more than usual. I began to wonder if my grandma was coming for a visit or something because mom always seemed to want privacy when she was on the phone with grandma. I thought maybe she was trying to surprise us with a visit. Boy was I wrong!
One day mom sat me down and said she needed to talk to me about something. I was so excited to hear the good news. I thought she was going to tell me that grandma was coming for a visit or that my stepdad was moving back in. I had been taking ballet for over a year, and it was just a few days until my Nutcracker performance. I was so excited for this, and thought maybe grandma was coming to watch my show. The next words she spoke shocked me and rocked my whole world. Mom told me that we were moving. Not only were we moving, but my step dad wasn’t joining us. As if that wasn’t bad enough, we were leaving in three days. She told me that I couldn’t tell anyone about the move. As I sat on that couch with tears streaming down my cheeks, a piece of my heart broke right then and there.
We were moving on the day of my ballet performance. I remember being so sad and upset with my mom. I wondered how she could do this when she knew how hard I had worked to get a part in the ballet. She knew it meant the world to me. I was so excited that so many people coming to watch me perform. Since I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone we were moving, I couldn’t tell my teachers, friends, or even the people coming to watch me perform. They would all just show up that night, and I wouldn’t be there. It was devastating to me, and my whole world felt like it had come crashing down. The next few days were a whirlwind of mom selling all of our belongings and trying to pack my whole life into one small suitcase. Follow my journey to see how this story takes a temporary, happy turn.