The Lost Girl (Complete)

Chapter Four - The Chance Introduction

Teeth chattering, Celestia stood under the spray of icy water as she tried to clean the sweat from her body.

It had been a night filled with nightmares, enough that she tossed and turned, waking up almost every hour as she tried to stave off the terror and pain.

Completely destroying her mood had been the realisation that the hot water had been cut off. She had hoped to fight off the chill in her heart with a nice, warm wash but her inability to afford the household bills had finally come to bite her on the ass.

She wanted to cry and scream at the unfairness of it all. Barely eighteen and already the world seemed a wholly unfair place. Marie had left her daughter with nothing except debts, overdue bills which Celestia thought had been paid with the money she had handed over.

"You're so stupid," She whispered, turning the taps sharply before trying to rub some warmth back into her limbs.

Of course her mother would have decided to use the last months' worth of bill money to buy the drugs which had taken her life! Why had Celestia expected anything else?!

She hated how bitter she sounded but with cost of a burial depleting her savings, the meagre funds that she got from part-time work weren't enough to sustain the house. Hell, the lawyer who had handled her mother's will had wasted no time in telling her that any settlement owed to Celestia would go directly into their own coffers and the banks since her mother had been nice enough to redraw on the mortgage.

There was nothing left over to support herself with and even if she could find full-time work, it wouldn't be enough to allow her to start college.

A dream which had sustained her through the long, heartbreaking nights as she listened to the wild parties below her feet.

Sighing, she finished drying and walked across the hall to dress for work, hopeful that the busy day might stave off some of the worry.

Maybe Uncle would tell her a little more about Lucian and North?

She could only hope because it was looking as though things were about ready to fall apart and she didn't know where she would end up in the coming weeks.

Breakfast was a quick bowl of cereal before she locked up and headed down the road. It was a familiar walk and even though she was sure there was a quicker way through the back woods, she'd never been able to find it without ending up lost.

She really was hopeless when it came to that kind of thing – in all honesty, if not for its helpful signs, she was sure that finding classrooms at school would have been beyond her.

The air was crisp but pleasant as she finally reached the point where smooth cement met the crunching pebbles of the diner's carpark.

The only vehicle to be seen was Uncle's shiny red truck, its paint shined to perfection.

She'd begged for extra shifts to try and bring in a few extra dollars until she decided what exactly she was going to do with her life. Instead of walking through the front door, Celestia skirted around to the kitchen entrance where she could hear her boss singing happily as he worked through the early morning preparations.

"Knock, knock," She called, stepping into the deliciously scented room. "What's this?"

Uncle turned from the large bench with a smile, his hands clutched a large piping bag. "Tia! You're early."

Shrugging, she walked forward to circle the gorgeous three-layer cake that he must have already spent hours playing with. "There was nothing to do at home and I knew that you'd already be here."