1 Chapter One

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Mom, dad, you can't be serious!" I stared at my parents in shock. "We can't move!" I'm starting to get a giant hole in my stomach and starting to feel sick.

"Annie darling. We don't want to move but your behavior lately has forced us to make some changes." My mom said to me. I felt my mouth drop. "I am not moving because I got into a little bit of trouble!" I all but shrieked.

Somewhere in my mind though, I knew that I would be moving. "Annie, I think we all know that getting arrested and having charges pressed against you isn't little." My father said with such a practiced tone of voice that I felt even more sick to my stomach.

I tried for one more rally. "I am not moving." I told them crossing my arms. I looked from my mom to my dad and back. My shock evaporated into hatred and I cracked.

"I am not moving to a place in the middle of fucking nowhere! My life is here, my friends are here!" I got up and clenched my fist. I glared at my parents. "You can't ruin my life! All you two ever do is ruin things! You ruin my fun and chase away my friends!" I whirled around and stormed out of the house. "I hate you both!" I yelled as I slammed our front door shut behind me.

Fury filled me as I took out my cellphone and called the one person I could talk to. The line rang for a couple of seconds before Felix picked up. "Hello?" Just the sound of his voice calmed me down immensely. "Felix I need you to meet me at the park."

Felix didn't question, he never did. He was the older brother I never had. My parents of course didn't mind him. I listened to him more than I ever did them. I crossed the street and cut through the Deviots yard.

The park was just on the other side of their house. I sat down on a bench and waited. I was staring at a spot on the ground when I felt Felix sit down beside me. "So what's up?" He asked.

I just looked at him for a long time. "They're making me move." I finally said. Felix whistled. "What did you do this time? It must have been pretty bad for them to have you move."

I punched him in the arm. "I guess all I've done is get arrested, have charges pressed against me, and hang out with my friends." Felix studied me for a long time. "Annie, I think deep down inside you know that you can't do the things you've been doing. You also know that you parents love you and that's why you're moving."

I glared at him. "I don't think I said you could call my parents on the way over here." He shrugged. "I don't do things I think you'll approve of Ann. I do thing's I feel is right."

I rolled my eyes. "I honestly don't know how I tolerate you." He did a dramatic sigh. "You do because you love your big brother way too much." He rolled out the word love.

I laughed then sobered. "You'll visit me though won't you?" I asked. Felix looked guilty so I slapped him on the arm. "I'm sorry Annie but I'm going to Europe for a while."

I felt like crying so I turned my face away from him. "I'll call. I promise." He said. I just shook my head. "It's whatever." I said as I got up and walked away.

My life was falling apart. I didn't know what to do or how to handle it. I went back to the house and grabbed my journal and headed out again. The tears didn't start to fall until I was on the path to my tree house. I grabbed the old ladder and climbed up.

The tree house had always been my place of security. Now it will no longer be my spot.I don't want to leave. My whole life turned upside down by a decision. How fucking unlucky my life is.

"Jace wait up!" I sighed and stopped so that Alice Carter could catch up to me. I looked down at her. She reminds me of a pixie. Petite with short brown hair that spiked out.

"What do you want?" I asked. Alice wasn't afraid to talk to me or call me out when I was being an ass. "Ouch, what's with the gloomy attitude?" She asked.

I just raised my eyebrows. She laughed. "You know you never seem to change, you know that?" She sighed theatrically. "Sometimes I feel like you are a complete waste of my time."

I raised my eyebrows again. "If you feel that way then why do you continuously hang around me?" I replied. Alice rolled her eyes. "I hang around you because I could really care less. you're a puzzle and I would love to figure you out."

I coughed in embarrassment. "That sounded really weird Alice." I said. She just shrugged and simply said. "I know."

She then turned and pranced away to join the throng of students heading into their classes. I waited a minute then followed her. Alice was one of those people whom you could never really question their weirdness because that was just who they were. I made it to class just as the late bell rang.

It was English and we were finishing studying Romeo and Juliet. I sat at my desk and looked at my teacher Mr. Birchwood like I was paying attention. The bell finally rang and I gathered my book bag. As I was heading out the door Mr. Birchwood thought it was a perfect time to have a little "chat".

"Mr. Montgomery can I have a word?" He said to me. I stopped and took a deep breath. I turned and Mr. Birchwood motioned for me to sit. I sat with a sigh.

"Now I know that things have been tough since your father passed." He began. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and say no shit. He continued talking. "I know you hate people to talk discuss him, but I need you to know that you're failing my class."

He studied me for a moment and all I wanted to do was laugh. I looked around the classroom. I wanted to ignore the whole thing and just leave. Finally I looked at him. "Mr. Birchwood I understand that you needed to let me know that I am failing your class. Honestly though, I don't care that I am failing your class. I don't care if I get a bad grade, I don't care if I graduate. These things are no longer of any importance to me."

Done with what I had to say to my English teacher I sat there and stared at him. Mr. Birchwood stood with his mouth open. Satisfied I took the opportunity to leave. No doubt my uncle would be hearing of this. I didn't care though.

I would never care for things that used to be of importance to me before my father died. I still have trouble believing he's gone. I mean who wouldn't? Two days before he had died my father had gone hunting. He went hunting a lot when it was the right season.

It was normal for him to be gone for more than one day. On the second day that he was gone a police officer had knocked on our door. He told me my dad had been killed by a bear. From the details I had gotten later it was evident that he had been slaughtered. I still keep expecting him to come up the driveway boasting about how much meat he had gotten.

My goal in life was to find the bear and kill it. Get revenge for my father's death. My father was the best and didn't deserve to die. My psychiatrist told me that a lot of people in the world don't deserve to die but die anyways. That didn't change my feelings towards my father's death at all. It didn't make me alter my plans either.