stars ; j.s.

9

V I O L E T

I hadn't slept that night. My mind wouldn't seem to shut off as thoughts raced through it. This always seemed to happen at the dead of night when all I wanted was to swiftly drift off to sleep and escape from my worrying brain for a while. I thought about going outside and taking a walk like when I first met Jacob, but I didn't want Bree to wake up and nark on me again. Once I realized there was no chance of this happening, I took the blanket and pillows off of my bed and carried them quietly over to the window seat in my room. I propped myself up against my pillows and draped the purple blanket across my lap. I admired all of the beauty the sky held, but couldn't seem to keep my eye off of this one star. It was glowing a bit brighter than the rest, giving the illusion that it was the biggest star of them all. I was normally quite skeptical of things like this, but I thought I would give it a shot. So, I wished pretty hard on that star for something really great to happen. I was rather certain it wouldn't come true, but I couldn't help but hope.

I sat on that window seat all night, not catching a wink of sleep. I waited patiently for 5:30 to come, when I could go back out and watch the sunrise again. Maybe today it would help to clear my mind a little. At around 4:50, I heard an alarm go off followed by a groan from Bree. Eventually, she reached over, shut it off and groggily got out of bed. She grabbed a spare blanket from my closet and began to leave.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

She spun around and looked confused as to why I was sitting on the window seat. "What are you doing?"

"Couldn't sleep, so I've been sitting here," I admitted. "Now answer my question."

She shifted her feet. "I, um, set an alarm to get my phone out of my car so I wouldn't forget." She hesitated.

"And the blanket?"

"Um, I, uh, am bringing it with me because it's probably a bit chilly out there at this hour." Bree answered unsteadily. "Okay, gotta go, bye!"

Before I could ask any further questions, she walked out and shut the door. Her explanation seemed kind of fishy, but I knew she would go to drastic measures to get her phone, so I didn't think too much of it.

When it was finally 5:30 and I could see the sun peeking through the dark sky, I became excited to go out to the shed and enjoy it. Bree still wasn't back, but I figured she probably fell asleep in her car or something. I got up from my spot and began quietly heading out the door as I did several times before.

The walk was quite long, but I didn't mind. The sky was already beginning to change colors like a work of art. I couldn't wait until I could get to that old shed that I called my own and watch it like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

When I finally reached the shed, all of my excitement disappeared.

My secret little hiding place had been taken.

I could see a blonde ponytail and a brown quiff peeking out from the blanket the two of them were wrapped in. I should've expected Bree to do something like this because she always seemed to sabotage everything for me.

I felt strong feelings of hatred and anger, but also had to hold back tears that were threatening to fall from my eyes. I thought about just walking away, but I couldn't help but lash out on her and finally getting rid of all of that hostility I'd been feeling all these years.

"I hate you Breanna Ferrell. I don't care if you're my stepsister. I have never felt so much rage toward another person. You have ruined my family and you have ruined my life and I'm not going to let you get away with it anymore!" I yelled and I could no longer help the tears that streamed down my face.

Bree and Jacob turned around to look at me and I didn't even care that I looked like a complete mess in front of them. They were speechless as I kept yelling.

"You know that this is my special place. And I never wanted anyone to know about it, but once again, you had to screw everything up!"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, grow up. It's just a stupid, old shed. Why does it even matter?"

"It matters because my mother built this shed. My mother built this and she brought me out here every morning to watch the sunrise." My voice cracked between cries. "This was the only place where I could be alone and miss her after you barged into my life. And now you've taken every last piece of her that was mine."

I didn't even wait for them to answer. I just walked away, sobbing so hard the whole town could hear it, but I didn't care.

My dad came out the house and began walking toward me.

"Is everything okay? I heard yelling." He asked.

I shook my head and buried my face in his chest like a child to quiet my sobs. Maybe I was overreacting, but I couldn't help it. My mom is gone and even after all these years, I think I'm allowed to miss her.