Cold Heart

Chapter 2: Could things get any worse?

"Ah, you must be Rae!" The man voiced. I stare at him, my mouth open in shock. What's just happened in the last five minutes? I don't even know what to say. He sits next to my mum, in front of me. I take the time to analyse him. He looks like he's in his forties, older than my mum. He is neither ugly or handsome. He is neither skinny or fat. He seems quite tall compared to my mum. He has dark hair with bits of grey showing and dark eyes, practically black, a dull, horrible black. I don't like him. No, I am not judging him by his appearance. There is just something about him I don't like. He's looking at me, smiling. It just looks fake. My mum looks at me, worried. Whatever my face is showing it obviously isn't a good expression.

"So sweetheart, this is Bill!" she announces. Her face is flushed. She looks happy. Truly happy. Although I have a bad feeling about this guy, I don't want to ruin it for her. I take a deep breath and paint on my most happiest smile, just as fake as his.

"It's nice to meet you Bill. My mums told me a lot about you" I say. Without removing my eye contact, we shake hands. His hand is firm and hard, mirroring mine I suppose.

"Well, who's hungry?" my mum shouts. She ushers over the waiter and we order our food.

Well, there you go. What a perfect birthday. This is why I hate birthdays. From a young age you expect your birthday to be perfect, and when it isn't, it is ruined. I suppose you could say my birthday was perfect until that moment. I know what you're thinking reader, why not be happy for your mum? You don't even know this guy. Yes, you're totally right. But it's been two years since I've known this man, and let me tell you, a woman should always trust her instincts...

ONE YEAR LATER...

{yawn} I am absolutely shattered. I've left school now. I am seventeen years old. I work at a little café a couple of miles outside my house. The hours aren't perfect but I love it. It gets me away from home and the owner is this elderly women called Mrs Berry. I suppose you can guess that I flopped my exams. I've never really been academic so I didn't expect anything good.

And yes, I said I like to get away from home. As you can guess, my mum fell utterly in love with Bill so he now lives in our house, the house my dad bought. I hate him, He disgusts me. The way he looks at me, the way he touches my thigh, the way he repeatedly tells me he's there for me if I need anything, the way he calls me beautiful, the way my mum is so blinded by love she cant see what type of person he is. He scares the shit out of me, but there's nothing I can do. I love my mum, but she's changed. She still loves me but nothing is the same as it used to be. Her world is now filled with Bill. I ask myself whether things can get any worse. If only I knew how lucky my life was at that moment. To answer my question, yes, things can get terribly worse.

{buzz, buzz} "What the hell" I whisper. It's 2:00am. My phones going off like crazy. I check my phone. 21 missed calls,34 messages all from my mums phone. But it's not my mum. It's Bill. They went out tonight at some fancy, expensive restaurant. I would love to know where he gets his money from. I wasn't expecting them back until midnight so I just went to sleep. Obviously they still aren't back. I panic. I don't even read the messages, I just ring him back straight away.

"Hello" he says.

"Bill? What the hell has happened? Where's my mum? Is she okay?" I cry

"Rae, I'm so sorry, you have to come down to the hospital. Things don't look to good. Your mum was hit by a car, a...and..."

"And what? Please tell me she's ok!" I scream. I feel like I can't breathe. My hands are shaking uncontrollably. I think I'm going to be sick.

"The doctors say she could be paralysed" he utters.

I can't comprehend what he's saying. All I make out is the word "paralysed". No.No.NO. What do I do. My mind can't think, no words are coming out.

"I'm coming" I whisper.

What do you do when the person you love most has been hurt like this? How can you live through such a change as unbearable as this? My poor mum, I can't even think. I want to scream and cry and punch something. But I don't. I just stare at my wall, tears escaping my eyes. I need to snap out of it. I throw on some random clothes and my coat and I run. I run as fast as I can to the hospital, my thoughts praying to God, begging for my mum to be alright. When I arrive, I see Bill waiting outside. I stare at him. I don't even know what to say when the most unexpected thing happens. He comes up to me and pulls me into a hug. It feels wrong. He's stroking my hair and clutching my waist a bit to tight.

"I'm sorry kiddo, there's nothing the doctors could do. She's paralysed" He whispers

I'm in shock. I don't even cry. I don't say anything.

"Don't worry, we will look after her. Me and you. Together" He adds.

A little tip for future. Be careful praying to God when the Devil is right beside you. This is the moment where everything changes. This is the moment my real life starts. This is the moment where life gets worse...