Cottage

Presley had become a Freelance Copywriter that’d been working remotely for the same company for the last three years. She’d left everything behind when she began traveling. She’d not told anyone, her dad included, that she even had the job. Theo hadn’t been taking care of himself. Not like he needed to be. She’d come to hate living with him. She hated living in the town she’d grown up in far more. There wasn’t anything there for her anymore. 

The restaurant she’d been a Dishwasher at had shut down out of nowhere. She’d saved enough money while working there to be able to move thirty minutes away where Theo, along with nearly everyone else she knew, thought she was a Dishwasher at one of the many restaurants near the studio she was renting. She’d been a Copywriter the entire time instead. She’d no longer tried telling anyone what she saw and experienced with Theo. Nobody had bothered to genuinely listen. People began seeing everything a few months after she’d moved out though. 

She’d packed everything she’d planned on leaving with in the event she left Florida entirely. She’d planned on moving, or at least traveling, when the lease was up in May. She knew she’d have more than enough money saved by then. She’d been doing well so far. She’d kept getting more assignments as time went on. She’d mentioned to everyone that she’d gotten a job as a Freelance Copywriter. That she’d had the job for a while. She’d chosen not to say anything for good reason. She didn’t want to jinx anything. She’d been met with people being happy she was doing so well with it. Except for Theo. He wanted to know why she’d not told him before moving. It wasn’t something she thought about telling him being her only response.

She’d gone no contact with them after an argument over not telling him. She’d shamed him for comments he’d made. That Maggie would’ve shamed him as well for his response. Her death twenty years prior had changed her more than anyone knew or understood. He hadn’t asked so she hadn’t said anything. He’d automatically thought she’d find something at one of the many restaurants or in the mall. He’d not considered she might try finding something in the writing field. She’d had no luck as far as he knew. He’d thought she’d given up on it for good even though she’d recently graduated with her B.A. degree in the writing field. 

She’d moved to the cottage near the beach in the Boynton Beach area six months later after her lease was up. She’d found herself while roaming around the area. It was a quaint cottage within walking distance to the beach. She’d fallen in love with it while roaming around her first full day there. She’d seen the “for rent” sign on the lawn. She called the number and set up a viewing for the next day. She’d signed the lease and got the keys during the viewing. She’d used not even half of her savings for the deposit. She’d asked and been able to pay the first few months rent at the same time. She’d left most of her stuff there over the next week. She’d kept the bare essentials with her in the hotel room until it was time for her to check out. She’d gotten a hotel room for two weeks. She’d been four days into her stay when she’d found the cottage. She’d put her own touch around the cottage before she’d moved in. It’d become her safe haven after moving in. She’d begun roaming around the South Florida area over the next few months. She’d fallen in love with the area the more she roamed around. She was far happier than she’d ever been.