-.-.-.-.-.- "WHAT?!" "This is a joke, right?" "Unbelievable!" "Just move in with me!" "Where are you guys going?" "What an asshole!" "I'm gonna cry!" "This is crazy!"
Her friends all talked over each other, and for once Lola let them. She was tired, ready to just move somewhere and get all the stressing out over with.
Finally, after a few minutes, they stopped talking. "Are you okay?" Charlie asked. They all looked sympathetic, and Jane was already pulling her into a light, yet meaningful hug.
"Yeah, it's just surreal. I don't think it's really hit me yet. Maybe we'll stay in Empire City?" Lola shrugged sadly.
"Nah, your mom doesn't make enough money. Even the apartments here are way to expensive." Bella said bluntly, and Allison nodded.
Charlie smacked Bella, rolling her eyes. "Rude! Even if you do move, we can still call all the time and visit each other!" She was trying to be optimistic, at least.
Lola nodded, trying to give her friends a genuine smile. "Right, this'll work out."
There was a long pause. "Have you told your boyfriend?" Allison asked.
"Steven?" Lola corrected. "Of course, I called him first."
Jane smirked. "You're totally falling for him."
"Yeah... you called him, someone you've only seen in person once, for a very short amount of time might I add, before you called your best friends." Bella shook her head softly, a small smile on her face. "You're totally in love."
"What? No I'm not!" Lola yelled. She stood up, grabbing her phone. "He's just my friend."
Charlie coughed. "Boyfriend."
-.-.-.-.-.- Lolas father was in the process of moving out, to go live with Lindsay. Lola shuddered at the thought of him getting married, starting a family, doing things her, her mother, and him used to do... with someone else.
She tried to completely ignore him, but ended up helping him pack his things, and hugging him goodbye. He was still her father, even though...
Whatever.
"Goodbye Lola." Her father said sadly. "I... I really am sorry about all of this."
Lola shook her head and stepped back inside. "It's fine. Bye, dad."
Her mother was waiting for her inside, scrolling through her phone on the couch. "Hey kid, how'd it go?"
"Fine." Lola said quietly. She was ready to trudge up to her room and tell Steven about what was going on, but her mother stopped her.
"So... you know we have to move out of Empire City, right? I-I just don't have the money to keep affording this place, or any other place in this godforsaken city really." Her mother said sadly. "I know how hard this is, but we'll figure it out."
Lola bit her lip. "Do you have a place in mind?"
Her mother picked up a post-it note off of the coffee table. "A few. Mostly cheap enough ones that have good jobs in the area. Look a few up, see if you find anything you like." Lola nodded, taking the post-it note hesitantly. Her mother ran a hand through her hair. "This... this is really out of my hands. We just-I don't want to be here anymore. So, the sooner we leave the better."
Her mother always had a tendency to be blunt with her. Sometimes it made Lola upset, but she mostly enjoyed it. It had always made her feel like an adult, like she was special. Her father sugarcoated things, trying to make it seem better than it actually was.
This situation sucked ass.
And her mother made sure Lola knew it.
Lola skimmed the list of the seven towns for anything remotely familiar. They were all in Delmarva, except the random one in Kansas. Which was a definite 'no' from Lola.
Charm City Wilmingmore Aqua Town Bayburg Dodge City Ocean Town Beach City
"Oh my stars." Lola whispered. Her eyes widened, seeing her best friends hometown on the list. She whipped her head up to look at her mother. "Mom! I know where we should move!"
