How the Mockingbird Learned to Fly

Chapter 1: Bethany

AUGUST 13TH, 2018

The day that it happened, it started out as an average day, I forced myself out of bed, showered, brushed my teeth, slipped into some clothes and did my hair, made some breakfast, went to work, suffered through work, forced myself to suffer, and then finally, went home.

That's where my day started to turn, my mom, Layla, had invited me to "Harry's Pizzeria!" to "chat". My mom and I definitely didn't have a normal relationship, basically, when I was born my parents would get into constant arguments about everything, and on the day before my 2nd birthday, my dad packed up and left.

My mom was so depressed after that, but she tried to stay strong for me, now being a single mom. A couple years later, she started going on dates with all sorts of guys, abusive guys, weird guys, kind guys, annoying guys, selfish guys, rude guys, abusive guys, boring guys, and actually kind of cool guys. Basically, any kind of guy you can name. It was a constant cycle, dating a guy for a while, break up, be sad, and then find a new guy and repeat, and it was slowly getting more and more annoying.

So, at the age of 16 while my mom was at work, I took a car that a guy had left once at our house and never got it back, and drove to my biological dad's house. I knew where he lived since I went there for summer break, and he was only an hour away. My dad later that day called my mom to let her know, and they argued for a while, but eventually, my mom decided to let me live at my dad's.

I also started going to school there, and it was mid-sophomore year, which is also when I met my best friends, but we'll get to that later. Anyways, my mom invited me, and I sighed and debated what I should do. It was the first time we would meet in 8 years. 8. I decided to say yes. It was time for a change.

When I opened the door to the pizzeria,I spotted my mom in the corner in the room, nervously looking around. I walked over and slid into the booth, and my mom suddenly turned to me and smiled. "Hi, Bethany. I'm glad you decided to meet me today." Why did my mom say that so professionally? Last time I lived with my mom, she was the opposite of professional. "Well I didn't really want to, just so you know, but I'm 24 so I decided to not be childish."

My mom tried to ignore the comment, though her smile did fade away a little bit, and she stared at the ground for a while before looking back at saying "Wow, 24. The years really pass by, don't they?" "Well, maybe you should've paid more attention and stopped dating so many men." I snapped, and her face turned a bright red. I know it was rude, but she did kind of deserve it in a way.

Suddenly, all the TVs near the bar all stopped at the same time, and some words flashed across the screen. "Breaking news, woman was found dead in her own home, no evidence so far, police say." and almost everybody turned. But what really got me shocked was what they said next as a couple of houses were shown. "Sabrina Clarkson was a 24-year old woman-" but I didn't pay attention to the next word/s they said, because I was still stuck at the first two.

Sabrina Clarkson.