Love Hates

By Betta Morgan and Kris Morgan

Reality is harsh. Its the fine line that makes up how the rules go for us in life. There are not always easy rules that you can slide with or fun rules that you can twist and make your own. There are however some ways that reality can be just too much for one human to handle and thats when a human gets lost in a world called FANTASY!

Fantasy is not harsh. Fantasy is easy, its simple, and it can make life a game: it can turn almost anything into a playground. Its the place where I met a guy, the guy that makes a big change in my life and turns my life from real life into fantasy. He shows me how to make the the fine line clear enough so that I could walk the line without falling. But if I do fall I know that he will catch me.

So what is my Fantasy? It all started with my family vacation one summer. The vacation I will not soon forget and the boy that will forever change my life. My name is Ellen Smith. My story is unlike anything I could have imagined. The ending seems to never come. The grave is only a dream. Is it a dream or a nightmare? Is it fantasy or reality? I am not really sure, so lets start at the beginning.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 6, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456714314

Betta Morgan

Retta Morgan was 14 years old when she completed this book. She is currently living in Alabama with her mother, Step-father, two sisters, and brother. She also has two dogs and a few cats. In her spare time she likes to write stories, watch movies, and play with her pets.

Book preview

Contents

Introduction

Love Hates - The Beginning

Day 1

The Beginning

Day 2

1000 Miles Later

Day 3

Freedom At Last

The Dance

Day 4

Time With Ethan

The Apology

Day 5

The Picnic

Day 6

Meet The Parents

Day 7

Got To Go

Day 8

Going Home

Day 9

Finding My Place

Day 10

Time With Paw-Paw

Day 11

Shopping For School

Day 12

Cleaning My Room

Day 13

Letter From Ethan

Day 14

Meet The Teachers

Day 15

School Supplies

Day 16

Rest

Day 17

First Day Of School

The Next Couple Of Weeks

Surprise Guest

Final Enrollment

The Harvest Dance

Love Hates - The Change Book 2

Introduction

Love Hates - The Beginning

Reality is harsh. It’s the fine line that makes up how the rules go for us in life. There are not always easy rules that you can slide with or fun rules that you can twist and make your own. There are however some ways that reality can be just too much for one human to handle and that’s when a human gets lost in a world called FANTASY!

Fantasy is not harsh. Fantasy is easy, it’s simple, and it can make life a game; it can turn almost anything into a playground. It’s the place where I met a guy, the guy that makes a big change in my life and turns my mind from real life into fantasy. He shows me how to make the fine line clear enough so that I could walk the line without falling. But if I do fall I know that he will catch me.

So what is my Fantasy? It all started with my family vacation one summer. The vacation I will not soon forget and the boy that will forever change my life. My name is Ellen Smith. My story is unlike anything I could have imagined. The ending seems to never come. The grave is only a dream. Is it a dream or a nightmare? Is it fantasy or reality? I am not really sure, so let’s start at the beginning.

Day 1

The Beginning

I rode in the back seat of dad’s rental car that he just picked up from the rental agency. Pressing my head up to the window, I saw my mother walk out of the convenient store with a plastic bag full of snacks. She walked slowly at first and then started skipping like a teenager with a secret. My dad on the other hand rubbed one of his eyes as he pumped gas into the car. The numbers on the pump spinning so fast, my eyes could not follow until they finally stopped at $34.62. Dad rounded the numbers to an even $35.00 and removed his credit card from his wallet. I looked at mom in the rearview mirror and gave a heavy sigh; she was fixing her lipstick and playing with her hair for the thousandth time, not paying attention to me at all.

She is a vain woman, who is only concerned with her looks and style. She would not settle for the good stuff in life, only wanted the best and didn’t care about the cost at all. I rolled my eyes and watched as dad swiped his credit card and punched in the pin number. Stuffing the card back into his wallet with obvious impatience, he slid his wallet back into his hip pocket. Mom opened the bag of goodies, tossed a bag of chips at me. EAT UP she said, smiling at me and then glanced at dad as he sat down in the driver seat.

The trip was from my small home town in Alabama all the way to California, which according to my dad is over two thousand miles. He loved going on his lap top at home and obviously had done the MapQuest thing to figure out how many miles it is to Western California. I was surprised that he did not bring his computer with him. I cannot believe I am going to be stuck in this little bitty car all day long. Did I remember to bring my IPod? Good, there it is, in my bag. What am I going to listen to now? I so don’t want to listen to that old stuff my mom and dad have blaring from the car speakers! I wonder what Renee’ put on my IPod, so far some seventies and eighties music, come on girl, what were you thinking? O.K. this is better, something with a beat.

While mom and dad are jamming to their music in the front seat, I curled up in my seat to listen to my music. I start to think of how much I would rather be hanging with my friends back home and I am so going to miss them over the next two weeks during this vacation. I wonder what they will do while I am gone, do I dare think of such things? I drift off to sleep thinking about my friends and what I would rather be doing.

WOW, this trip is a long one. We are only half way there and I am bored out of my mind. We just pulled into a hotel parking lot just outside Amarillo where we are going to stay tonight and I am starving. I sure hope that we are going to get something to eat soon, mom and dad are checking in so I am going to go look around. Just then my mom calls to me Ellen, don’t go too far! We still have to bring in the bags and get something to eat. I rolled my eyes and started to walk down a hallway to the left, wishing I was still at home in my own bed watching television. Why am I stuck here in the middle of nowhere with no one to talk to but my parents. Obviously not too thrilled at this idea, my attitude was at best, not good! Could my life get any worse? I did not think so, but I could be wrong. At least my parents seemed to be getting along for a change. I was still having a hard time believing that we were only half way,

I heard my mom call me to go get the luggage from the car. I wondered if she was going to help or let everyone else take care of things like she normally does. Well, I did not have to wonder long because when I got to the car, the only one there was dad. Figures I said under my breath. Dad, did we at least get a big room?

Dad said, with a touch of sarcasm, Of course Ellen, do you think your mom accept anything less? We are in the biggest suite on the top floor.

He was right, everything always had to be the best for her, in order to have a little peace in the house dad agreed to get only the best for her. After we moved two carts of luggage up to the room, I wondered why mom needed all her baggage out of the car for only one night. I know better than to try to figure out why mom does what she does, I guess she thinks others are impressed by her material things. It was late, so the only thing open was a local mom and pop type diner called ‘Kim’s Diner’. Mom was not happy with this choice, and started to mope as she scanned the tattered menu that was about to fall apart due to so many people flipping the pages over the years. I ordered a grilled chicken salad, dad picked a steak dinner (the biggest one they had), and mom settled for a grilled fish platter with mixed vegetables of the day. Everything was prepared fresh and was very good considering the place was a small café that was still open twenty-four hours a day. Dad made comment to the chef for the food being hot and fresh and gave a five dollar bill tip to him. Mom looked displeased of course because that was five dollars that she could have used to get some more lipstick or some other frivolous item that cost too much as usual.

The waitress was a young girl just a little older than me; her brown hair was braided and then rolled into a tight bun on the top of her head. Her nametag had Clare on it and she could have past for a librarian with her red rimmed glasses had she been a few years older. I imagined that she was working here to help pay for college. Clare cleared the dishes off the table with ease and asked if we would like some sort of dessert. Dad ordered a piece of pecan pie and a cup of coffee, I knew dessert for mom and I was not going to happen because of this stupid diet that my mom insisted that I stay on.

I had to watch what I ate because she was concerned about my weight. I only weigh about 110 pounds and she would always say I am not going to have a fat cheerleader in my home. She had a point but I could still carry a few more pounds and not look fat, it did not make me happy to be deprived of a dessert every now and then. I also wanted to go to the food court with my friends on weekends to have ice cream and socialize. That too was out of the question because she wanted me to run 4 days a week, at least five miles a day and be perfect in her little self centered world to impress her friends. I wanted to quit, to have more time for my friends, mom often stated that winners never quit, and quitters never win, so this was my fate. Work, work, work, and more work. When was there going to be time to do what I wanted, time to just be me and enjoy being a teenager?

Finally it was time to go back to the hotel and get some sleep before we headed out on the road again. Thoughts of being cooped up in the car for yet another thousand plus miles seemed to be the worst punishment with the end result of two weeks of misery in some hotel. When would it end? Hopefully, tomorrow night I would be free from my parents for two whole weeks. Freedom ringing in my ears, I finally fell asleep listening to my IPod.

The next morning we were up before the sun and packed all our baggage into the trunk and back seat of the car. The sun started to come up as we finished a quick continental breakfast of fruit and juice, obediently adhering to our diet, as dad swigged down coffee and a some pastries, we were on the road yet again. As the miles were starting to crawl, I could not help but notice the silence that seemed to envelope the front seat. I wish they would say something, the silence was deafening. I almost bounced off the roof of the car when my phone vibrated in my pocket. It was my boyfriend Mike, so I answered the call. He said that he is missing me and was hoping I was having a good day. I mentioned that I was tired and bored so I was going to get a nap and would talk to him later. He said alright without much protest so I ended the call. I fluffed up my pillow and propped my head on it against the window. As I watched the scenery slide past my window in a dizzying blur, it appeared that we were flying very low and really fast. I will be so glad when this part of the trip is over and I can work on a much needed tan.

My thoughts started to fill with all the possibilities of things to do and see because I had never been to the Pacific Ocean, my ears started to listen to the hum of the tires on the pavement and the occasional thump from the cracks in the road, I finally drifted off to sleep. A semi-truck passing us woke me from my slumber, I did not open my eyes because I could hear mom speaking to dad in hushed tones, careful not to wake me, I could hear them discussing what they want to do on this vacation. My dad was trying to tell her that he wanted to work things out and all mom talked about was that he could do better in the way that he provided for her and the way he treated her.

I could not understand how dad could do any better by her financially because everything was paid for including our house on twenty acres of land. I just wish they could meet in the middle and get along like they did when I was little. If only life were that simple, yet another fantasy as I drift back to dreamland.

Day 2

1000 Miles Later

The next thing I know, mom is shaking my arm, Wake up sleepy head, we are almost there and you have been asleep most of the trip. As I stirred around the best I could to wake up, I looked out the window. The scenery had changed drastically and was not at all what I expected, now that we had just reached the California State line and only a few hours to our destination. I received another text message from my boyfriend that said that he loved me and that he was at the skating rink. I grunted as I thought how much I would rather be there instead of on a road trip with my parents. I texted him back saying that we would be at the hotel in the next several hours and I would talk to him later.

You know, my dad began, looking at me through the rearview mirror with a grin on his face, There is a beach near the cabin and a big dance hall where a lot of young teens hang out.

I grumbled a reply What cabin? I thought we were staying at yet another hotel.

Dad did not answer me back and I wondered if he had even heard me, or he was avoiding the question.

We arrived at the small town around 10 pm and went straight to our cabin, which was set back away from the road, very rustic with tall windows and in dire need of some paint. The owners had a few acres of land with a small farmhouse, they are Mexican and here legally dad assured me. Dad was also pleased to inform me that their teenage son works there as well. I do not know why dad mentioned the boy, but sometimes I just don’t understand why parents say things they do.

Dad was unpacking his suitcase in a bedroom that was large enough for a couple. Instead of sleeping in the room with dad, my mom used the excuse that his snoring kept her up all night and had decided that she would sleep in the room next door to him. Since there were three bedrooms, that was not a problem.

Dad