Hope Everlasting. [COMPLETED.]

Chapter One-Welcome to St Einstein's;Home of all things geek.

Hello again! Yup, so here it is, Chapter One of Hope Everlasting. I wasn't expecting to update today, but I did so yay! It's fairly short, but it seemed the right time to cut it off for me, so I did it! In future though, I'd expect slightly longer chapters. Can I just say, you guys are amazing? I only posted the prologue and already it's on #110 of Paranormal and #475 of Teen Fiction. I wasn't expecting it to get on ANY of the lists so thanks a bunch! As always I love to hear your comments-some of them really made me blush last time, aha! So yeah, if you comment or even vote if you enjoy, it'll make my day.

Anywayy, big thanks to Tsubame for the most epic cover EVER. You're amazing, so yeah I've dedicated this to you as a thank you. Also thanks to my Dad, who cooked the most delicious pancakes for breakfast this morning and gave me inspiration for this chapter...weird, I know. But yeah, thank you Daddy. :') Just one more thing, because I know I'm wittering on, but I have to mention this- I am a UK resident, having never been to America, but for some reason I decided to write this so it is set in America. So what I'm asking to all you American peeps, if I make some mess up with the whole High School years or whatever, let me know! Aha, that's all now, you can read it and I promise I won't witter on as much next time xD Expect Chapter Two in...two or three days time? Enjoy! :)

Chapter One

“Ashlynn! Ashlynn honey, you’re going to be late if you don’t get up soon!” My Mom’s cheery, sickly sweet voice was the first sound I heard on Monday 10th of October, 2011 -

leven years to the day that I had lost my twin sister.

It was no wonder really, that I was so tired. Once again, I’d had that dream, the one that has haunted me since that day. Because losing Hope, it was not just losing my twin. It was like I lost my best friend, the mere reason I was on this planet in the first place. We were two halves of a whole- Ashy and Hope, inseparable. At least, we were.

With a sigh I clambered out of the tangled web that was my bed sheets. Hell, I must have tossed and turned last night. Mind you, I’d always been like that-restless dreams had haunted me for practically as long as I could remember.  “Ashlynn! Are you up yet?”

“Coming, Mom!” I yelled back, sighing slightly. Come on, Ashlynn. Get a grip. It’s just a normal day, just a normal, crappy, boring..

“Ashlynn Marie Carter! I do not hear any movement up there! I swear to God if you’re not in that bathroom within ten seconds I’ll come up there and--“

“Okay, okay I’m coming!”

Jeez, maybe I wasn’t the only one who didn’t get good night’s sleep. Rubbing at my half-asleep eyes, I stumbled out into the bathroom, dragging my outfit as I went. I managed to shower, tame my often frizzy hair, fix my makeup and dress in a simple floral tee and skinnies without glancing in the mirror for more than ten seconds at a time. You know sometimes you have these days when you can’t bear to look at your reflection without suddenly feeling suicidal? Yeah, today was one of those days.

Glancing at my totally nerdy yet super-cool Snoopy watch, I was relieved to see that no, I wasn’t going to be late. As usual, my Mother had freaked out over nothing. Then again, we were all sort of stressed out today. As I walked down two flights of extremely steep steps, (yeah, I live in the attic. It’s cool, sort of like having an annex. You know, like in ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’. Okay, okay. I admit it, I’m a total nerd) I was greeted by the delicious smell of what we liked to call ‘Carter’s special’, but what most ‘normal’ families knew as pancakes and maple syrup. Mm, maybe this morning wasn’t going to be as bad as I first thought.

“Pancakes on a school day?” I asked dubiously, as though I were expecting my parents to change their mind at any moment.

“Yup. By the sounds of things, I figured you needed something to wake you up.” My eyes wandered to the medium height, balding male stood in front of the stove. I grinned--I truly loved my Dad. We’d always been close--closer than I was with my Mother, that much was sure. She’d always been stupidly overprotective and often cranky, bringing countless arguments. Then again, she’d never forgiven herself for what had happened to Hope, either.