Worn

Chapter 2

//FLASHBACK//

"Little sis....Where are you?" My sister, Carmen, called to me.

Through the crack in the counter door I saw my older sister slowly turning around our kitchen dragging her feet. Every so often she would whip her head round at the slightest noise, her white blond ringlets swishing around her waist. 

"I give upppp..." Carmen moaned as I giggled from my hiding place.

"Ok, I'm bored now, come out!!" She yelled I grinned and stuffed my hand in my mouth to stop laughing at my sisters failed attempts to get out of my hide-away under the kitchen counter. 

We looked nothing alike. She was tan and had thick, white blond hair which fell in tight curls around her waist, bright blue eyes which sparkled with ambition and love. She was perfect, curvy in the right places, clear skin and none of my freckles. I never tanned. In a way I hated her for her perfection, she always had boyfriends and was in the popular group at school. While I was the loner with no friends, long straight brown hair, brown eyes, tall, skinny, and freckly. I was never bothered at such a young age about these differences as we loved each other all the same, but growing up knowing everyone would expect me to follow in her cheerleading, straight A footsteps was annoying. What I never realised until it was too late was she was always jealous of me. I always loved music and singing, and could play piano and guitar, i just enjoyed it... she was annoyed because she couldn't. Funny how things work out...

 Suddenly there was a loud boom juggering the ground and making my sister gasp, I inwardly groaned. I thought we had called a ceasefire?! 

The bombs had been falling over my home town for months now, but the troups had called a cease fire to try and stop the mass loss of life we were experiencing. Then the bomb hit. 

I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed to God that it was just next door, the road or our small garden... But as I slowly opened my eyes I saw the light falling on floating dust, rubble and ash drifting from a car fire across the road. My house was blown apart. And my Sister, Parents, Grandparents... a tear slid down my cheek, leaving a trail from all the dust and dirt in my face as I realised... My entire family was gone.

//FLASHBACK OVER//

"Gabrielle Hamid?" a tired, gravelly voice came from behind the door. The smell of alchol hit me in a giant wave  as she spoke I almost keeled over from the stench.

"Yes?" I mumbled in return.

"You phoned.. didn't you.. It was about the flat... I think.." My new landlord muttered.

"Um.. Yeah. I should be staying for 6 months, is that ok?"  I almost whispered in return.

"Yeah, sure its up the stairs.." The women said vaguely taking the bolt of the door so I could go into the tiny house. 

She pressed a key into my hand and wandered back through to what i could only guess was her part of the flat, a chink of beer bottles drifted through to were i was standing a bleak hallway, which was evidently stuck in the 1960's. The staircase was narrow and led up to a single tatty door, which was to become my new residence.

I ran up the stairs 2 at a time and quickly opened the door. I stopped in my tracks and looked around. A single bulb flickered in the center of the room, a cooker which was a fire risk to itself stood next to a tiny counter and fridge. There was a moth eaten sofa which doubled as my bed in the corner of the room and a little door in the wall which led to the smallest bathroom I had ever seen. It was only just big enough to sqeeze a bath/shower, a toilet and sink in. I sighed and dumped my bag on the counter I doubted this place was even safe to live in but it was the best I could do until I got a job.

I started unpacking my bag and layed out my only belongings bar what I had on already. A shirt, pair of jeans, comb, bar of soap, my camera I got for my birthday when I was 14 and my ipod shuffle. I only had the ipod shuffle because I found it on the tube on the way here, I had looked around to see who could possibly have owned it, didn't find anyone so pocketed it. I am not normally a thief, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I figured if I ran out of money I could sell it.

I went into the bathroom to tame the birdsnest that my hair had grown into. I glanced into the mirror. Straight brown hair which reached my chin, grey beanie, and dark brown eyes, freckles and pale skin. Nothing special. I could look okay of I tried but I had so many freckles I looked about 2 years younger than what I actually was. 

I decided I should head out and find a job, so I grabbed my camera, bag and my newly acquired ipod, quickly locked the door and went back out of the door and back onto the street to check the local newsagents and job shop.