Craven Cove Royalty (Craven Cove)

Gia told me she had a spare room that I would be calling home from now on. Her mom and dad made me feel welcome, too, even though I wasn't sure how they’d feel about it at first. I knew they paid for Gia’s place while her only job was to get perfect grades—which she did. When I got here they hugged me and told me they were happy to have me home and they felt better that Gia had someone to stay with her.

Gia’s family offered love and caring better than my own family. I missed them almost as much as I missed Gia when she moved. I was broken up inside when they moved to Chicago. I spent so many nights at their home as a child wishing my family was more like theirs.

“See? It’s not so bad out,” I tell Elvis after our fourth dog pickup this morning. He dodges puddles as if they’re landmines. When he does get a little water on his paws he prances until they are dry again.

It’s been hard getting used to holding so many leashes at once without tangling them together, but I’ve started to get the hang of it and I love it.

I sigh when the dog park is in sight. The dogs start to get excited when they see it too.

I step into the fenced-in area, letting them off their leashes to run and play. I sit down on the empty bench with Elvis because he doesn't join the other dogs. Instead he makes me help him up on the bench to lie next to me. He lays his head on my lap and I know he likely felt my mood shift when I was thinking about my family. I pull out my phone to play with it while the dogs roam around. I pet Elvis so he knows I’m fine and I glance over to see his eyes close.

An email dings, and when I see it’s from my father's assistant I don’t click it. I simply file it away with the others and then click on my Kindle app. I go back to the book I was reading last night before I passed out.

I may not be where I thought I was going to be this time last year, but I know one thing’s for sure, I might be sad and a little lost, but I know I’m where I’m supposed to be. I have no plans to ever go back and I won't let myself be sucked back into the life my parents wanted me to have. I’m happier sitting on this bench where my plans consist of petting Elvis and picking up dog crap. It’s a million times better than living a life for someone else.

* * *