~ My Cinderella Story ~

Chapter 3- Well Shit

My phone rings and the ID caller is my best friend Marcy. I pick up on the second ring. "Hey whats up."

"Whats up? Thats all you have to say?! Are you not seeing the news?!" Marcy shouts and i turn on my small cable box TV in my room. The news comes on and a reporter is talking about a fire set off in a neighborhood burning three houses. Two children, 1 mom, and 2 dads dead. "Hey Kat. You still there?" Marcy asks. The mom, a dad, and a child dead were my aunt, uncle, and 5 year old cousin. As the news goes to commercial Father comes in and then backs out seeing me on the phone. "Should i call back?" Marcy asks gently.

"Yes please." I say then hang up as Father knocks "Come in." I say blinking back tears. I have always been good at masking my emotions. It was my superpower of sorts. A secret one no one knew about.

Father walks in and gives me a hug. "You okay kiddo?" He asks. I just nod. "Okay. Your mom and i are downstairs if you need us." He says. I stiffen.

"Shes not my mom." I say through gritted teeth.

"Katrina she is whether you like it or not. Understood? From now on this Lucy crap stops. You must treat her with respect." Father says stiffly

"You cant just come back and tell me how to live my life!" I shout trembling "Just leave me alone!" I slam my bedroom door in his face after i get him out in the hallway. Once Im sure he's gone I flop on my bed letting my emotions pour out. My tears soak my pillows. My hands wrinkle my blankets from clutching them so hard. My brown hair is frizzy. My blue eyes feel red and splotchy from crying. My once long perfect nails are bitten to the beds. Im an absolute mess. I fall asleep after a while overwhelmed with tiredness.

*~*~*

I wake up and sweat beads my forehead. Another nightmare. I sigh standing up going over to my vanity so i can brush my hair, put some eye drops in my eyes, and apply a little bit of make up to freshen up. I pull on a white tank top, blue jeans, and black jacket with my black boots as i put my hair into a simple braid.

I make sure my phone, charger, wallet (containing my debit card, id, cash, and drivers license), book, and earbuds are in my satchel. I go down the stairs quietly. Its 3 in the afternoon. Lucy and Father must be out some where. I grab an apple from the kitchen before slipping out the back door to my car. I get in and plug Marcy's address into my GPS. She just moved into another house that had an extra room for her new baby brother's nursery and i have yet to see it.

Father tries to call a couple times and leaves countless voicemails. I ignore each and everyone. He tries texting me but i ignore those too. It was unfair to him but what about me? Maybe i didn't see Lucy as my mom. But thats MY desicon. Not his to force on me. I arrive at Marcy's house only to see Father parked in the driveway. Great.