Chapter 1- Lost and Alone

Amber Blake had just turned 25 years old and was trying to find what it was exactly she wanted to do with her life. She had been in a terrible, abusive relationship and had finally found a way out, but now she had no idea what exactly she was going to do next. She had made the decision to move to Chico, California, but what she was going to when she got there she hadn't quite figured out. Her friends Anabeth and Marley had moved there to go to college and had loved it so much they had decided to stay. The 3 girls had been best friends in high school and Amber had been heart broken when her two best friends had decided to go and she couldn't. Now she was overjoyed and filled with excitement that she was on her way to join them.

In recent months she hadn't been able to talk to them as often. Her boyfriend Kyle had told her they were a bad influence and that she shouldn't be talking to them. Kyle had seemed like such a wonderful guy at first. He had taken Amber out on beautiful dates to nice restaurants and on exciting new adventures. He had seemed like a dream come true. He was on his way to becoming a lawyer and had talked with her about all the incredible things in their future and how he couldn't wait to lavish her with all the things she deserved. The first 3 years had been incredible. However, in the last year he had started to change.

Kyle started becoming very possessive. He didn't want her wearing any dresses that were above her knees or tight fitting clothes like leggings. He didn't like it when she got too dressed up for any event. He complained when she went out without him and recently he had even started to follow her places. Kyle was very manipulative in his control of Amber. He never framed any of his demands as rules but rather made Amber feel like she was being a bad girlfriend if she did any of them. He would say things like "Amber I love you so much and I love how you only like to show off your body here at home with me. That's why you never wear those mini dresses in public right? Because of how much you love me " or

"I know you want to go to dinner with your friends but I love being with you, don't you love being with me ? I wish you wouldn't go and just stay here with me" It had taken Amber some time to really come to terms with how bad things had gotten. Sadly, it all had come to a head one night when Kyle had followed her to a work dinner and threatened a male coworker who was simply trying to help her carry a few items to the car. She had broken up with Kyle right then and there. She had gone back to their apartment to pack up her stuff and stayed at a hotel. Now just a week later she had made the decision to move to Chico to begin this new chapter in her life.

It was 6am, Amber didn't even have to check the clock. She knew it because she always woke up at this time. She sat up in bed and looked around at the small hotel room she had been staying in for the last week. She couldn't wait to leave it. It smelled like like mothballs and mystery. She got up showered, packed up her things, and got in the car. As she drove out of the small town that had always been her home part of her was sad for the memories she was leaving behind, but another part of her was excited for the new adventure and opportunities that lie ahead.

She could help but have this gut feeling that her life was about to change in ways she couldn't imagine. If she only had known how right she was..