been normal about where I grew up, how I grew up, and how I ended up out here in Kansas City. I loved this city. I loved the Midwest. It was different than the west coast. There were different values here, and sometimes I didn’t like them, but it felt simpler at times, too.
Things were calmer for me, for my head, and that was my biggest relationship in my life. But actually seeing Cut, having Cut see me, talk to me, and what else that happened, I was shook. For real. Shook.
I didn’t want to say that I followed Cut out here after college, but when an opportunity came to move here, I jumped at the chance.
Cut had already been here.
He left Silvard after the first year, taking Chad with him so I had a whole three more years stepbrother-free, but also Cut-free and I hadn’t enjoyed that last part. It was probably for the best. I concentrated harder on my head, on my schooling, and being able to open up Come Our Way had been one of those benefits.
But Cut was connected to other people from my life, and it was those that were giving me the bigger headache.
Cut was connected to Chad.
Chad was connected to Natalie and her new husband.
They were all connected to Hunter, Koala Boy.
Koala Boy was connected to Deek.
Deek and Hunter were connected to me, but Koala Boy more than Deek.
Everyone had moved here. Not all at the same time, but the migration was connected in some ways.
Cut came first. Chad went with him.
Three years later, I came. No one knew I was here.
Then two years ago, Natalie’s new husband got a job transfer here. I knew this because I liked to cyberstalk my little brother. And a year ago, Deek came because Hunter was here.
So, everyone left Pine Valley except (from what else my cyberstalking had uncovered) Cut’s family. They remained back in Oregon.
I didn’t have thoughts or feelings about Natalie, Deek, or Chad. I truly didn’t, but Hunter. My little brother was a different story. The problem was Natalie. Well, the problem was all of them, but mostly Natalie. She never approved of Donna, and that cloud of judgment extended to me.
Once my head got clear, I thought long and hard about when I lived with them, and after Donna died. It took a bit to understand it, but it was hard to explain it. Sasha got it. She met Chad, who ditched her after finding out that I was her roommate. I was the one who had to break that to her, and it hadn’t been pretty. She was hurting because of him, but she also wanted to rip his head off because of me. I loved my girl, but back to the whole shitbag of Natalie and Deek.
It was when I was trying to explain it to Melanie one night that I was starting to piece it together myself.
“Melanie. I lived on the streets.”
She’d been tipsy that night. It was martini night and she swung her martini to the left, her eyes rolling to the right. “So?”
“So.” We were talking about our families and she didn’t understand how I couldn’t have one.
Because I didn’t.
Donna told me her parents were dead. She had no siblings. She never talked about aunts or uncles. And well, with Deek…
“Your dad just abandoned you? He brought you in and then what? Paid for your college and you never talked to him again? That makes no sense.”
“Well.” From Sasha.
Melanie lifted her pinkie finger at her. “Don’t start with the one-word explanations. I’ve had way too many martinis to even start thinking that game is fun.”
“Fine.”
“Thank you.”
And Melanie swung her head back to me. “Your dad’s rich. Why aren’t you rolling in dough yourself?”
Because that would make sense to Melanie, who came from a family where everyone shared everything. She moved to Kansas for school and fell in love with the city. She stayed so we got Melanie, but she lost her family life. They all lived in Texas, though they came up six times a year.
We were heading into winter so the next time they’d come up would be end of spring.
Their family was Italian so when her family visited, there were carbs. Lots and lots of carbs, and my stomach was shifting, growling, because apparently I needed some carbs today.
But I kept digressing and that was a normal thing for me, because well; because it’s me.
It’s how I’m programmed.
But back to Melanie who didn’t understand that