Full Moon by W.J. May Page A

sure they’d be better able to concentrate out in the
peaceful wilderness. “It’ll be a fresh start for all of us,” my
mother assured me just after my bad breakup with my boyfriend, “a
very healthy experience all around.”
    I wasn’t sure, though, if I could so easily
adjust to the simple life after living in New York City, but once
we got there, I loved the place. It was a far cry different, going
from honking taxicabs and towering buildings to honking geese and
towering trees, but I knew my mother was right; it would be the
perfect spot to forget about my depressing love life.
    I had two brothers and one sister, but they
had already moved out of the house, so now I was virtually an only
child, with the two most wonderful parents. We were a loving,
close-knit family, and I couldn’t have been more thankful for
that.
    It was only June when we moved in, so I had
almost the whole summer to get used to California and my new home
before school started. I carried in the last heavy box to my
cluttered room; everything was a mess. I bit my lip hard as I
looked around at all the boxes and bags, knowing there was no way
I’d get everything unpacked and put in its place in one night.
    My mother pushed through the maze of boxes,
toppling them everywhere. “Pizza’s here.”
    It was past lunchtime, and my stomach
rumbled. My German shepherd pranced around in a circle and
barked.
    “Mom,” I said, “Max needs to be walked
first.”
    She brushed her hair behind her ear and
smiled. “Go ahead and take him out, then, but don’t wander off too
far.”
    I kissed her cheek. “Of course not.”
    She pointed to my eyes. “What’s with the
dark circles?”
    “Uh…I’m sure it’s just makeup, or maybe just
because I’ve been getting absolutely no sleep?”
    “It’s your makeup,” she said, smiling. “You
look like a raccoon.”
    “See? I’ll fit right in with the wildlife
out here.”
    My mom laughed. “Well, maybe the raccoons
can adopt you. They’re nocturnal too.”
    “I just can’t sleep at night. I can’t help
it.”
    She wrapped her arm around me. “Is this
about the breakup with Sean? Honey, it’s been six months. Remember
what we talked about? We’re here for a new beginning, a fresh
start.”
    “I know,” I said, wincing because the whole
thing still hurt.
    Sean had dumped me out of the blue, and
getting dumped sucked, no matter the reason. I had given him my
heart, and he had trampled all over it. The breakup absolutely
blinded me, and I didn’t see it coming when he called me and said,
“Taylor, this just isn’t working for me anymore.”
    I knew it was time for me to move on with my
life, with whatever grace and dignity I could muster. We’d both
made mistakes in the relationship, and neither one of us were
perfect by a long run. Still, I refused to let that relationship
define who I was. Just because we didn’t work out and clearly
weren’t meant for each other, that didn’t mean things wouldn’t work
out with someone else in the future. My friends set me up on stupid
dates that never worked out, and I wondered if I’d ever find the
“spark” again. For the time being, I decided I was done with guys.
I was just going to enjoy my fresh start and focus on my passion,
painting. The yard was overrun with weeds and vegetation, but my
dad had hired someone to fix it up, and when he was finished, it
would be the perfect place for me to pursue my art.
    I threw my black, curly hair into a messy
ponytail, then slid my feet into my white tennis shoes. I wore a
white t-shirt and my favorite pair of skinny jeans that hugged my
curves so tight they felt like a second skin. I’d washed them so
many times that they were faded and super soft, form-fitting in all
the right places. The right knee had a large rip in it, but that
only gave them originality. Silver and leather bracelets dangled
from each of my wrists, and silver rings adorned my fingers. I
looked into the mirror and wiped the smeared