It felt like a dreadful car ride with her mother. She wanted to go back to Michigan to be with her father but their constant fights and her father always being drunk made it difficult to be around either of them. Arianna was well aware of her parents being separated since her mother let it be known that they would be moving to a new state once she filed divorce papers. Arianna tried to plead with her mother to let her finish out schooling with her friends that she grew up with but her mother wasn't dealing with the fighting and her husband being drunk daily because of how their life wasn't good enough for him. Also what tore her most was the fact he kept cheating on her mother with women younger than her and it made it much worse when the women would gloat about how good he treated them. Arianna wanted nothing more than to hide when they came around while her mother was at work.
"Mom, why couldn't you just stay with Dad long enough for me to graduate with my friends?" Arianna asked, watching cars and the trees out the window.
"Sweetheart, it isn't that I didn't want you to stay with your friends but you needed a better life than listening to me and your father fight constantly plus I believe this move would be a lot better for us both." Lisa explained with a small smile across her face.
"Would I still be able to visit Dad?" Arianna couldn't help asking.
"No, I am not allowing that since I will have full custody of you until you turn legal age." Lisa replied sternly.
"Mom, I need Dad in my life too. This isn't right. I can't believe we are going out of state from Dad." Arianna complained in a whiney voice.
"Would you rather me die in the hands of your father? Because he has come close each fight we had and he would do it if you weren't around. I love you but you have to let me get us away from him." Lisa replied with a tear running down her face.
"No, no, no Mom please don't cry. I am sorry I didn't know Dad was that bad of a person since I heard the fights but never really heard the actual abuse." Arianna felt tears threatening to come out of her eyes as she regretted wanting to go back to her Dad.
Arianna wanted to ask her Mom about where they were headed because they hadn't made it out of Ohio quite yet and it is still a long drive. She figured they may stop in Pennsylvania somewhere for the night before making it to their location.
"Mom, not to intrude but where are we headed?" Arianna asked.
"Baltimore, Maryland. I found a nice home right beside a church and the pastor also has a daughter your age. I don't think he is married though." Lisa replied.
"Is he your new boyfriend or something? And ain't Baltimore filled with black people?" Arianna asked more curiously.
"They are called African American not black people, and have more respect. No, he isn't my boyfriend or anything, I just met him to see if we could figure out a way to get a home in his little area since their wasn't anyone living next door to him and the house is a nice one." Lisa pointed out and had a smile on her face.
"You weren't kidding about living near these people. Mom, you know how much I will be harassed for being near a church and a preacher's daughter that is probably stuck up?" Arianna complained.
"This is for our safety young lady and I will not have you be racist because of not knowing this young lady either. She could become your best friend." Lisa explained.
"I have a best friend, remember Haylee and her mom is your best friend." Arianna replied with a smile.
"Haylee is a sweet girl and yes, her mom is the reason we are moving. She encouraged me to move us out of state and away from your father because she hated what he was doing to me. Haylee even piped in a few times, understanding that her best friend needed a better life and that you two would make your ways back to each other some day." Lisa took it in pride knowing that her own best friend took her seriously about her soon to be ex-husband.
Arianna felt that in respect of her mom not to bring up anything else involving Michigan. All it felt to her was another life change moving forward. She had to accept what was to come in the next few days because she will be in a new school with new people including this girl that she will be living next to. Arianna grabbed her notebook from her book bag that was in the front seat with her and decided to draw her friend Haylee that she would miss so much since she couldn't exactly contact her being so far away.
"Are we going to be stopping for the night, Mom?" Arianna asked after nearly finishing her drawing.
"I don't plan on stopping. I want us to be in our new home soon and we will be there soon enough. I need this drive to clear my head. Do you need to stop for the bathroom or anything?" Lisa asked in return.
"Can we stop to stretch our legs? It has been a long trip and we haven't made it to Maryland yet. Arianna pleaded with her legs hurting sitting in the car for so long.
"We sure can. I saw a rest stop a little ways back, we can get snacks and drinks from the vending machines and also use the bathrooms. I was also thinking we cut through parts of West Virginia to see the Mountains before heading into Maryland. It would be a good side trip along the way." Lisa mentioned with a small smile.
"If it makes you happy mom, we will go wherever you want to go. Another day on the road shouldn't be so bad." Arianna replied with a sleepy smile.
Once they got through the pit stop and got back on the road. Lisa decided to pull off at another pit stop to rest her eyes knowing that her daughter was already asleep but she felt safer knowing that her soon to be ex-husband couldn't hurt Arianna and that they would have a new life in the most Christianity of safety. It would help Arianna to get out of her Rebel stage to move forward with being a young girl who can fall in love with a man and marry him with kids that would be her whole world.