The day of the move was emotional and bittersweet. We’d be moving on from the pain of bad memories but at the same time missing our home. We managed to get rid of what we didn’t need anymore through charities. I took most of the sentimental things and all my furniture for the room that Sara had offered me to stay in. Max didn’t need to take a lot apart from some of his drawers and a little bedside table . But most of it it was his clothes that he packed in a huge case along with some photographs. ‘Blimey, Max!’ I giggled. ‘It’s almost as big as me’. He preferred that I took most of it, as he knew I would keep it safe.
The removal men were so kind and compassionate about our situation. They made sure we had everything we needed to take with us as we had to leave in such a hurry. While they loaded up the van, we closed and locked up the flat for the final time and I placed the keys in an envelope to post back to the council. I turned to look at Max and we both tried hold back the tears from our eyes. ‘This is it then..I’ll really miss you, Max’. He then gave me a huge brotherly hug. ‘I’ll miss you too, Kate. I’ll come down and see you, we’ll sort something out very soon’. We said goodbye to our neighbours and parted ways. Max left with some men who he hired a small van from to help take him to Norfolk, and I left with the removal men who kindly offered to give me a lift to Veronica’s house.
They were very quick and helped me carry the rest of the boxes to the room. By the end of it I was exhausted. Veronica was working until late, so it gave me a bit of time to start unpacking my things. After a while, I took a break and came downstairs to ask Sara and Veronica’s dad, Graham, if there was any rules I needed to be aware of since it seemed I was going to be living here for a period of time. ‘Coffee and tea, you can help yourself but obviously everything else such as food etc you need to pay and do yourself’. ‘That’s fine..’, I said nodding in agreement. ‘What about rent?’ I then asked. Sara looks at Graham with slight hesitation and then Graham says, ‘We’ll come to a decision and sort that out another time’ he said very quietly. ‘ Okay’, I replied. He was a very quiet man. It seemed that Sara was always the one in charge making the decisions but in this instance, he was the decision maker.
I made myself a coffee and went back upstairs to relax for a bit. I called my friends to try and distract myself from the tension and awkwardness to come later when Veronica returned home. She sounded in a very bad mood and I could hear Sara trying to calm her down. It sounded like it was work – related and I heard my name mentioned. So it seemed she was quite reluctant to be civil to me at work. We even worked on the same department which didn’t help at all, and it was very unlikely I would not bump into her during my shift.
So as usual, I went into work and did my late night shift. She then approached me halfway through to give me some items to throw out. There was tension. Very awkward tension between us. She started moaning about why I couldn’t make up with her. ‘Why do I think that is?’ I snapped. ‘Veronica,’ I began, trying to stop myself from getting angry. ‘You don’t seem to grasp any of this and I really don’t know why. But after everything you have said and you were blatantly honest about how you felt, how I was becoming a nuisance. That my poor mum is dead and you can’t bear the fact that your mum was being kind and helping me out during the most difficult time of my life. How can you expect me to forgive you after this?’ You’ve hurt me way too much. I don’t know you at all.. you’re really selfish’.
‘I make the wrong choices and say the wrong things’ she stammered. But as she began talking, slowly things she was saying sounded really childish. ‘I really want you to make up with me or you can’t live in my house’ she then threatened. I looked at her with deep annoyance. I turned my head , ignored her and she then walked off across the other end of the store in a huff.
‘Pathetic!‘ I thought. Later on during my break, I texted Sara to explain that she threatened me to leave. She seemed very taken back by it and said she’ll have a chat with all of us when we’re both back. They shouldn’t have had to deal with this but she was making things so difficult. It had to be stopped.
I finished work before her and kept to myself for a while until she came back. I heard a bang. She came home in a huff and slammed the door. I was already in the kitchen making a coffee when she stormed in the living room and started shouting the odds at her parents. I walked over to see what was going on. Graham tried calming her down but she wasn’t listening. ‘Stop shouting and just tell me what’s going on’, he said firmly.
‘I don’t want Katie living here! I’ve had enough!’ She was blurting out. She was getting really agitated and was pacing up and down the living room. Sara then stepped in.
‘Veronica, shut up! Leave Katie alone and stop behaving like a child. You’re 26 years old!’ Veronica then gave me a piercing stare. Her facial expression filled with what looked like deep jealousy and resentment. Why would she seem jealous? This isn’t right I thought. ‘I don’t care. I want her out’. She snarled. Sara went to grab her arm and sat her down. You listen to me’ Sara warned her. ‘You’ve been so nasty to Katie, you should think about moving out because I can’t deal with your behaviour. You need to think about your actions. I’m so ashamed of you’. She said with disgust. ‘Katie isn’t going anywhere’.
Suddenly Veronica got up from the sofa. There was a side to her that I’d never seen before. It was dark and I didn’t want to say this, but it was evil. She threatened me again only this time, it was violent. ‘I’m going to get a knife from the kitchen and kill you! Or you can just get run over by a car. I don’t care. You can die like your dead mum..’
I am beyond words.
Veronica!’ Sara gasped in shock. ‘Stop this right now!
What the hell!’ I cried out feeling absolutely horrified and scared. Who knows what she was now capable of. ‘You’re sick in the head you need help! I yelled at her. I wasn’t safe in this house. She was unstable. I heard her mum say to Graham she was going to take her out of the house and drive her somewhere to avoid anything else from happening. Why would she do that? Veronica should be the one leaving that house. It’s utter madness.
I ran upstairs, shut the bedroom door and bawled my eyes out. There was more to come. It hadn’t finished there.
I had to think of an idea how to get out of this.
And fast…
Butterflies and Rainbows - Katie's Journey 