Confusion

Chapter One

I turned around and gave Mr and Mrs Tennance a last hug and said goodbye for the final time.

"Thank you so much, for everything you've done for me, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you, I'm going to miss you two so much, I'll never forget you" I said, feeling the lump in my throat throb as I spoke. Then Jake came to stand in front of them at the doorway, their little sandy-haired, six year old son, with his puppy at his feet. "Bye Jakey boy, I'm gonna miss you" I managed to choke out. I tried to seem strong for him, make it better for him, but I wasn't doing very well.

"Please don't go, I promise I won't ask you to play eye spy anymore" he pleaded, stepping onto the doorstep where I was stood, in his bare feet.

"I have to go little man, I'll see you again maybe, when you're a bit older", I whispered, kneeling down so I was his height, pulling him into a hug and cradling him in my arms as he sobbed onto my leather jacket. Then my TAXI pulled up and I pulled him off my shoulder and looked at him in front of me. "Bye bye Jake". I stood up, nodded to Mr and Mrs Terrance, bent down to stroke the puppy and turned to walk down the garden path, out of their garden and out of their lives.

As I got into the TAXI I turned to look at them through the window. It had started to rain now and the water droplets ran quickly down the window, distorting my final view of them.

I was snapped out of my gaze as the driver asked me where we were going to.

"15 Pleasington road please" I answered and waved to my foster family as the car sped off out of sight.

I couldn't help but worry about what my new home was going to be like. Apparently it was quite large, in the city and only a couple of blocks away from the city centre.

It took us 25 minutes to reach my Aunt and Uncle's house and on the way, the scenery outside the window changed dramatically. By the end of the journey, we had turned off the main road and gone down a wide and winding lane, with tall hedges at either side and no houses on it. Then we went around a bend and pulled up outside an enormous pair of large black, iron gates. It was quite dark outside the gates due to all the shade from the large trees nearby and the rain had become awfully strong now, torrential almost.

The driver turned around to face me and slid the glass window across so he could talk to me.

"£27.00 please".

I opened up my purse and forked out a tenner and a twenty.

"Keep the change". I forced a smile at him as he nodded to me. I slung my rucksack on my bag, carrying my suitcase in my right hand and got out of the TAXI, completely unprotected against the cold rain that battered down against my skin and clothes.

The TAXI drove off and I looked up through the rain at what was to be my new home.

It was incredibly modern looking and large. I couldn't believe it. This MUST be the wrong house, surely! I peered at the number on the gates and sure enough, it was a 15.

I walked over to the buzzer and clicked the large round button, standing under the shade of one of the trees, but it wasn't really keeping me very dry.

"Hello?" came a female voice on the other end of the line.

"Hi, Auntie Trish?" I asked.

"Paisley, come on in you must be soaked!" she cooed and sure enough the gates began to open up very slowly.

"I'll see you inside dear" she said and the call ended.

I walked slowly through the gates and stopped to stare at the place that I was going to living in now. I didn't care how drenched I was getting, this just didn't seem right. I didn't belong here. I was brought up moving from average house to average house, I'd lived in a homeless hostel when I was seven for Christ's sake and now I live in a mansion?!

Then I realised how ridiculous I was being and hurried along down the tarmac driveway to the flagged courtyard.

Patricia was standing on the doorstep, her blue cardigan wrapped tightly around her and her arms crossed.

I smiled at her and she returned the gesture, stepping out to greet me, throwing her arms around me and getting herself wet through.

"I couldn't wait to see you" she admitted, picking up my suitcase and lifting it into the large porch.

"Me either" I replied, which wasn't technically true. I hadn't seen auntie Trish in Fifteen years and seen as I'm only 16 I couldn't remember her whatsoever.

"Well, kick off your shoes and I'll run you a bath, then I'll show you around, how about that?" She asked.

"That'd be great" I admitted. I was quite cold now from all of the rain, all my clothes were soaked and my hair looked like, well I daren't think what it looked like.

I took off my military boots and hung my leather jacket on a hook over the radiator in the porch, leaving me in denim shorts and tights with an oversized concert t shirt.

I was then lead upstairs to the bathroom which was absolutely beautiful.

It was long, with large white tiles covering the floor and all of the walls were mirrored.A huge shower cubicle was embedded into one wall and a king sized tub in the middle of the floor which was actually IN the floor, so when you were in it, your head was the same height as the ground. There was a toilet, and a bee day side by side on one side of the room and on the other there were twin sinks facing the mirrored wall.

"Whoa" I gasped, running my finger gently over one of the mirrors near the door and staring at my aunt who seemed very amused.

"Right dear, you get yourself undressed and grab a towel from the shelf over there and I'll run you a bath" she instructed.

Five minutes later, I was alone, in the bathroom, soaking up all sorts of lotions and potions in a bath tub with candles all around the outside of it and dimmed lights.

I leaned my head back onto the side of the tub and closed my eyes.

I could not BELIEVE I was here. All my life had been such an uphill struggle and now I finally had a home, a permanent home that I felt safe and cared for in. Of course I felt cared for at the Terrance's, but that was only temporary foster accommodation. Whereas here was where I was meant to be living until I moved out.

I thought about all the times I had wished to be away somewhere else. All the times I'd curled up in my single bed at my mum's house, clasping my pillow tightly over my head and burying myself in duvets to keep myself from hearing my intoxicated mother screaming at my step dad downstairs. I remembered all the times I'd had to lie to people and say I was fine, all the times I'd gone into school and had to go about my normal day like everybody else did. When they'd go home to warm, caring, sober and sensible parents, and I'd go home to a woman that was useless to speak to after seven at night because she was too pissed from all the wine to know what was going on around her. Now, I was away from all that. She was in rehab night now and when she came out, she would have a carer to monitor her alcohol intake and she wouldn't care about me in the slightest.

After an hour I clambered out of the bath and dried myself thoroughly with the red towel, towel drying my hair vigorously and wrapping it around me as I walked off in search of my Aunt.