Lies

Chapter 1

My eyes shot open and I gasped for breath. My heart was accelerating faster than it ever had and I put my hand over my heart. I sat up in bed slowly, afraid that any more movement would make my heart beat faster. My hair clung to my face from the sweat that had built up from the nightmare. I wiped my long, auburn hair from my face and shoved the hot blankets off of my legs. I stood up from my bed and stretched as much as I could. My whole body felt sticky from the sweat, so I decided to shower before I went to school. When I was done showering, I checked my clock. I started to move around my house faster when I realized that I only had twenty more minutes until my friend, Jenna, picked me up for school.

I smiled when I remembered that it was the day that Jenna and I had planned for months. We were going to do something special, but Jenna wouldn't tell me what she had planned. After I had gotten done getting ready in my room, I bounded down the steps to get breakfast. I walked into the kitchen and was surprised when I saw my mom making coffee. I stopped walking and just looked at her for a few seconds. She was always gone before I was in the morning, since she worked as a surgeon at the local hospital. Her silk pajamas shimmered from the overhead light as she turned to face me.

She smiled at me and said, "Good morning Aleksandria."

I smiled faintly at her and said quietly, "Good morning."

"I asked for the day off a few months ago so we could spend a day together!"

"A day together?"

"Yeah! I asked for it off so we could catch up."

"Catch up?"

"Yes! I barely know what's going on in your life nowadays and I just want to spend some time with my own daughter."

My heart dropped into my stomach. Why did she pick today of all days? My mom and I had never really been that close ever since the accident, so I was curious of what had sparked her sudden mood change.

I said quietly, "Well mom, Jenna and I planned to hang out today..."

Her smile faltered as she asked, "What?"

"Jenna and I have been planning to hang out for months."

"Well what's so important that you have to miss spending a day with your own mother?"

I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Well that's the thing. She never told me what we were doing because she wanted to keep it a surprise."

My mom looked at me and I could tell that she thought I was lying to her. I wanted to tell her that I really wasn't lying and that I actually did have something planned. I wanted to tell her that it wasn't my fault since she never told me that she had asked for it off, so it really wasn't my fault.

She said quietly as she turned back towards the coffee machine, "Okay. I see. Have fun on your day with Jenna."

I could tell that she was upset with me, but I didn't say anything. I didn't want to get in a fight with her before school. I heard a honk from outside and I started to walk towards the door. I looked back once and saw that my mom was still staring at the coffee machine. I turned back towards the door and walked out of the house. I smiled when I saw Jenna waiting in my driveway in her silver Grand Prix. She was comically singing along to the music playing on the radio, which I could hear from my front door. I shook my head as I walked towards her car and almost covered my ears when I opened the passenger door. She laughed and turned her radio down. I sat down and she pulled out of the driveway.

She asked me as she was driving to school, "Are you excited about tonight?!"

I smiled and said, "Well, you're lucky that we're even hanging out. My mom asked for a day off just to hang out with me and catch up, but I told her that I had plans with you."