I wasn't looking forward to moving to the sunny city of Yuma, Arizona. I hated hot weather almost as much as I hated the idea of moving away from my home in Cincinnati. Which also includes leaving all my friends and all my relatives. Thank God I'm 17 in two weeks. Only a year until I can officially move back. There is no way I can leave my friends back home for that long. I know that a year is already way too long to be away from my best friend, Amber, and my boyfriend, James. Me and Amber swore to Skype every Friday night for the next year. Leaving her will be the hardest thing I've ever done. I know I should be thinking more about my boyfriend, but we've only been dating for a couple months and I'm not even sure if we would have lasted in the first place. That sounds horrible, I'm sure, but before we even started dating he was screwing around with multiple girls and talking to me at the same time. I hated it and it really kept me from being able to trust him. He promised he'd gain my trust and so far so good, but I just wasn't sure.

The more I thought about moving the less and less I wanted to go. The thought of moving in with my Aunt was growing into a very good idea until my mother totally ruined it by saying there was no way she was letting me stay. Sometimes I wish I didn't have a mother. Is that normal?

"Don't forget me, okay?" I heard Amber say in a pathetic voice. It was obvious that she'd been crying. You know how your voice gets after you cry for hours? That what she sounded like. "Amber, don't think, even for a second, that I could ever forget you. And even if I could, I wouldn't. Twelve years of friendship is too much to forget. If we continue to talk, there's no way we could slip. In a year I'll be back and it'll be as if I never left." I said reassuringly. She sniffed, "You better be right. I'm going to miss you so much! You gotta swear you'll be back."

I smiled and opened my mouth to reply, but she cut me off before I even started. "And I know James'll miss you too! I know it. Are you guys gonna last? You gotta!" She shouted.

"Okay, okay. We gotta. I mean, I hope we do, but there's no way to tell you for sure. We're gonna try.. the thing is, I'm not sure if I trust him. Will you keep an eye on him for me, please? I know that sounds crazy, but I want us to work and I don't know if I can make it without some way of knowing he isn't messing around behind my back. You know how he was before." I said hurriedly.

"Yeah, I completely understand where you're comin' from. I'll keep a close eye on him. You can count on me." She said.

"Thank you so much, girl. You have no clue how much that means to me." I said with a sigh. Sadness crept through me in waves, threatening to make me cry. But I refused to let it show. If no one else was going to be strong, I had to be. The last thing I wanted was to make her cry again. "Hey, Mary Jane?" Amber hesitated.

"Yes?"

"I was just wondering.. what if you find someone. I mean, you don't trust James, but what if you do to him exactly what you're afraid of him doing to you?" She asked.

It was my turn to hesitate.".. that wont happen. And if it does.. I'll tell him directly. I would never cheat." I stated confidently, or I hoped it sounded confident.

"Well, I hope that never happens. You two are too cute for your own good." She said with a giggle. I smiled sadly. We were.. but would we still be cute in a few months? The distance was going to douse our chemistry. I could feel it. "Mary Jane, it almost time. You have to turn your phone off before you get on the plane." My mother called over her shoulder. I huffed. "Sometimes I think my mom wants me to be unhappy." I said, more to myself than to Amber.

I could see her now, frowning. "Surely not. She loves you." She said.

I snorted, "Hardly."

There was a long silence. It scared me. Leaving her behind for a year, what if we start to drift apart? I don't want a new best friend. I want her to be my best friend. We've lasted this long. How could we possibly let the distance get in the way of our friendship. "Its not to late. Sneak away. Come back. Come back, Mary Jane." She said, sounding desperate. I heard a softy sobbing noise and knew she was crying again. "Oh, Amber.. I wish I could, but we both know I can't.. It'll only be a year. Nothing final, I swear to you."

"That's what we say now, until a few months from now and we start only talking like, twice a month. I don't want that! This is going to rip us apart and you can't even see it!" She cried. I felt my bottom lip quiver. I knew it. I knew it better than she ever could. I've had months to think about this. Think about how everything would change. "Trust me.. I see it." I said softly.

"Mary Jane Books. What did I just tell you?" My mother snapped.

"I have to go, Amber."

"Jane," Amber said.

"I'm sorry, my mom's making me get off. I'm sorry. We'll talk again as soon as I land. Will you stay up?" I asked quickly. "I'll try, but I don't know if I can. I'll try, though." She said.

"Okay.. I love you. Talk to you in no time." I said.

"Be safe, Jane. I love you!" She said. We hung up. I closed my eyes, pushing back the tears.

"Are you off?" My mom asked again, sounding annoyed. I turned to her with eyes blazing with hatred. "Yes." I said through clenched teeth. Me and mother have never got along. I'm a daddies girl and proud. My mom thinks I should be just like her. Perfect in every way. Not. I hate her. Stupid woman. "Don't look at me like that young lady, I will-"

"Honey." My father warned, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder and shooting me an apologetical look. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Boarding flight 32, south wing." a man said over the intercom. My mother smiled to herself. She was the only one happy about this move. I didn't even see why we were moving. So what if her stupid mother lived in Yuma. Her side of the family was all the same. Stuck up perfectionists. Ew.

People started getting their tickets checked. I made my way forward in the line, ready to be away from my family. I refused to sit anywhere near them. If my father wanted to be with that God awful woman after she left us both all those years ago then fine, but I would have nothing to do with her. I got a seat all the way in the back and gazed out the window. "Come sit with us." she said as her and my dad got to their seats. I snorted, "No way in hell."

"Mary Jane." She said.

"Sharron." I said back. She narrowed her eyes at me and turned to dad, "Shawn."

He grimaced, "Honey, let her be."

That earned him a narrow eyed glare from her. I grinned. Good. Maybe she'll leave again.

They sat down and chatted amongst themselves. That's fine. As long as they left me be. I was beginning to sound like a brat, even to myself. But I simply couldn't stand her and to be honest, I hated seeing my dad with her. My dad's the most amazing dad ever and I wouldn't trade him for the world, but for some reason he chose to be with HER and started to spend less and less time with me and more time with her. How did that even happen? Why did she come back? She obviously doesn't want anything to do with me, because she pushes my buttons every time she can. I just want her to leave and for me and dad to be happy again. I wanted my buddy back. The dad I knew before would never have left Cincinnati.

I stuck my ear buds in my ears and blared my music, sounding out everything and everyone. Time to sleep this nightmare away.