Versus
Chapter 2

“Love hurts!” What a blatant disregard for the truth. Love does not hurt! The absence of love hurts. Cruelty hurts. A broken leg, a torn muscle, the flu, these things hurt. Love heals. Love forgives. Love is kind. Love can cure or mend the most broken of all things. The heart! Growing up with a single mother, Emma thought that most people hadn’t a clue what love was. She knew…beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Emma’s mom, Macy, is a natural beauty that people tend to stare at. So full of boundless energy. Her presence creates a joy that can fill a room. Or in their case, a house.

She’s the kind of lady that will grab your hand, in passing, to join in a dance that she was doing alone. Because why not. Life is a dance. She found, like most people, that music energizes and encourages, sometimes even heals and she never missed the chance to enjoy it. If there was a moment to capture, to laugh at, she didn’t miss that either. And she shared that with everyone around her. She was fun! Such a simple phrase. But why did so many people miss out…on the fun? The laughter.

And her strength, Emma had seen it firsthand. She prevailed. She refused to give up. No matter what! She shared THAT with everyone too. Being good to people, when they aren’t always good to you…it can burn you. Make you feel hesitant to share anymore. Share yourself. Many become selfish. Likely so. It’s almost a defense mechanism. But Macy didn’t. She found “whatever” it took to rise above it. To be unselfish. Emma saw this and strived to mimic it. To be like her Mom.

Being a teenager hasn’t been all that bad for Emma. They did have a rough go of it when her father refused to pay any court-mandated child support. Emma never complained when her mom found secondhand clothing or had to say no to the extras at the grocery store. Money was tight. They both grew to be creatively thrifty. It wasn’t even all that hard after living this way for a while.

So, instead of trying to replace the state her father moved to, her mom did nothing. Emma remembered hearing her father bellow about the pain he would inflict on others if they didn’t do “whatever” he felt that person should do. Not Macy! She knew what he owed her and Emma. She knew she could get the money if she pursued it through the courts. She just decided it wasn’t worth it. He could hide all he wanted. Hide from taking care of his daughter. But Macy felt more like they had the hiding power now. Not taking his money, meant a brand-new life without worries. They would do the hiding.

So, they did.

Hiding isn’t really that hard. Because her father had never paid a dime of the child support, they didn’t have to report an address change for the payment.

And now, months from graduating, Emma had already completed all the required High School classes. She didn’t even have to physically attend to complete the two remaining online college courses, that she elected from the local community college. She could do that from anywhere. So, they decided to break away.

In her junior year of high school, she had received an invitation to visit a private college in the mountains of the Eastern United States. She and her mom were invited on a VIP tour for those with her “unique” educational goals. Within two weeks of their visit, she was offered a full scholarship. Her mom decided to move close to the college as well. A new start. No worries about the past.

Sure, she’d miss her friends. But most everyone goes their separate ways for college eventually. She did feel just a pinch of guilt when she lied about where she was going but she knew it was for the best. No one could accidentally say something that could get back to her father.

Not that he would want to know. That’s what she thought anyway. His need for control made him unstable. Unpredictable. He liked the control of hitting women or the control of fear in people and even the control of whether he paid what the judicial system said he had to pay. He got the last word. That’s why they told no one. The last word couldn’t be his if he had no idea where they were.

But he was the reason the university found her in the first place. That wasn’t his plan, of course. Again, Emma had thwarted his plans. Over the years, he grew more and more consumed with the idea of making things “right”. Fixing a mistake he had made. He was oblivious that his idea of “right” had instigated an entire force at work to stop him. He was stopped that day when his daughter was just a child. His vanity didn’t allow him to see it.

It really was quite exciting. They had lived in the same place since Emma was born. She had anticipated it being a bit intimidating, maybe even boring, to move from a large city to a college that was bigger than the surrounding town.

The town has just over eight hundred residents. This of course did not include the college. It had its own impressive population to add to its numbers.

The town barely contained the essentials to remain operational. But, that’s why they fell in love with it. Small town equals few people. Emma and Macy agreed…the smaller the better.

Moving day was easier than expected. The school offered guidance in replaceing Macy a place to rent near the University. The college required that all students live on campus. It “built unity,” they said. But she could go to her mom’s anytime she wanted. This could allow her mom, she hoped, some time to replace herself as well. Macy had always put being a mother as her primary focus. Emma was excited that her mom could experience a fresh start as well.

School hadn’t started yet. Emma left her dorm items in a spare bedroom and helped her mom make the new house a home. They hired three local men, after asking around, to help get the truck unloaded so the unpacking was a go.

It felt like home in just weeks. The house had enough bedrooms for Emma to still have a room of her own there. Macy told her daughter that this would always be the case. No matter where. No matter Emma’s age. Home is home.

They kept a low profile. Being a writer allowed her this necessity. Now staying close to Emma, she could continue to work, and they could continue to keep an eye on one another.

They spent a lot of their days exploring the town on bikes. It was quicker than walking and quicker than getting in and out of cars for such short distances. They enjoyed that time together. And…the locals didn’t even notice them. It seemed nearly everyone rode bikes around here. It was so quaint. But the truth is, the town is so small, it only made sense. And no one was going to take yours either. You could just prop it up against a wall, pop into a store, and come right back out. Your bike would be right there waiting for you. Every…single…time. What a needed change.