Chapter 2 Two.

My name is Isla Carter and this is where my story begins.

"Breakfast is ready, honey" My mother's voice drew from the kitchen but i was already done with my backpack across my shoulders. I whisked behind her, allowing her to steal a kiss before i sat behind the table. My mother was all i had since my father left when i young.

And it was basically us against the world for the next few years that came until she met Brad. Then it was Isla, Alyssa and Brad. A hand snatched my sandwich from my plate and i looked up to see him with a brazen expression.

"Give me back!" I kicked him in the foot, mounting the chair to snatch it back from his hands. And he shared a chuckle with my mother before placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

I rolled my eyes and took a bite of my breakfast.

He wasn't anything like my step father but Brad just stayed around and i saw how happy it made my mum so i let him. He wasn't a terrible person, it was quite the contrary. He was always full of life and very entertaining-the kind to always put a smile on your face.

My mother deserved that after so many unhappy years.

He achieved that either through his terrific guitar songs or his manic dancing. There was never a dull moment with Brad and i'm pretty sure i could have loved him more if i was normal. Ever since i was eight, i started having the nightmares which only progressively got worse.

We'd been to a gazillion doctors who swore everything was fine from the scans they ran and so there was no diagnosis and the only person that believed and understood me was my mum. I'm pretty sure at some point, even Brad was fed up.

I was fed up.

I hated school because i was often called the freak which made me get bullied. I'd often spend the rest of the days hiding in the bathroom stall where i would eat and eventually throw up. I was a senior and it was supposed to be my last year but it didn't feel that way. These nightmares haunted me even in the day and sometimes i was sure i was hallucinating.

It was hard to tell what was real and what was not.

More times i'd love to admit, maybe i did think i was a freak myself. And no amount of kind words my mum would tell me was enough to convince me otherwise. "You're just special" Alyssa would say before Brad would sing a song he'd make up in his mind in that second.

And he would have this smile across his face like everything was okay.

The truth is i may not have been a freak but i knew i had a problem.

With the sandwich between my teeth, i could feel the two pairs of eyes above me burn into my skull. I placed the bread to the table, folding my arms to return the gaze. "What is it?" I asked dryly and my mother found the seat in front of me. Her hands reached to touch the tenderness beneath my eyes that were the black fluffy circles from my insomnia.

And she tilted her head with a sigh.

"I should give you something for these" She said. Great, i muttered in my mind-another round of tablets to add to my endless useless prescriptions. I found myself rolling my eyes but somehow catching her lips grow agape, like she wanted to tell me something.

"You want to ask me something" I said to Alyssa before looking back to Brad. There was a guitar whose strap had suddenly appeared across his shoulders. I looked back to my mother and watched her countenance fall.

"What is it?" I asked with genuine worry in my voice.

"I spoke with your father" Alyssa broke the news and there was a sharp breath that fled my lips. "How is he?" I asked with haste and she watched as my eyes brightened at the thought of him.

My father wasn't a terrible person as well.

He and my mother just decided they weren't good for each other and separated a really long time ago. They decided that Alyssa kept me while he moved away to pursue a sheriff career in Michigan where he grew up. Marquette was unlike any bustling city-from the pictures he took, it seemed to be a rural town.

The kind where most of the land were filled with forests and trees and caves and the weather was always gloomy and dark. I had come to fall in love with the aesthetics but nothing could seal the hole in my heart that dug deep from not having Tom around.

"Tom is okay, Isla" Her voice wasn't resonating well with me especially as Brad decided to sit right next to her. Alyssa took her my tender hands and a sigh escaped her lips.

"I told him that the nightmares were getting worse"

"How could you?" I instantly withdrew from her hands and she flipped.

"Well they are, Isla. And i'm out of options here-i literally do not know what else to do. I want to be able to protect you but seeing you so shaken up every night and afraid, i feel like i'm failing at the one thing i am supposed to do. So i asked Tom." She replied and tears began to form at the corners of her eyes.

"I didn't ask the therapist or the doctor, i asked your father. And he thinks it's best you come stay with him for some time, Isla" Alyssa's words forced my eyes to open and i looked to Brad. "Was this his idea?" I wasn't so thrilled with having him around in that moment that i struck a finger in his face.

"Are you trying to get rid of me so you two can enjoy whatever tour he has planned? Are you choosing him, mum?" I raised my voice irrationally.

"Enough!" She snapped and there was a silence that was only interrupted by her sobs a minute later. Alyssa cupped her chin into her hands and i pushed a hard lump down my throat. "Are you giving up on me?" My voice had a vicious crack in it and she lifted her gaze to face me again.

"Never" My mum said.

"Never would i give up on you. It just breaks my heart seeing you this way. And i know you've not been to any of your classes because your teacher called and she told us about the bullying. She told us about your failed grades, Isla. You moving to Michigan was a conscious decision that i made with your father alone" She reached for my hands again and i allowed her take them. My eyes welled with as much tears as hers and Brad struck a playful sting on his guitar.

"You could use a fresh start, Isla" He added, meeting my eyes. And i pretended to give it a thought even though i knew it wasn't much of a choice. I could also understand from their own perspective because i indeed was failing my classes and the nightmares had gotten much worse.

We'd tried everything but this, so maybe moving in with Tom in Michigan could actually help me. I'd suffered enough to not want to give this a try.

And even though it might take some time to adjust without Alyssa being around nor Brad's eccentric guitar and private concerts, i really was willing to give a shot at the opportunity to help me become a better version of myself.

"Marquette, it is." I nodded with a grimace across my lips.

The next few days were a blur since most of my time was spent at home trying to pack as many things. It was just meant to be for a session, after which i would decide whether or not i wanted to come back. The day we were to leave finally came and i stood by the open car doors, throwing one last look at the house i grew up in and thinking i was ready.

Ready for this new adventure.

Alas, what i didn't know was that the very moment i sat in that backseat with the last of my luggages was the exact one my life changed forever.

WELCOME TO MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN.