Pinky Promise

Chapter One

I didn’t really care where I was going, or where I would end up. I didn’t seem to feel anything anymore; everything was numb. The earth was still spinning underneath me but I felt completely cut off from the rest of the world. Nothing mattered. It was all just one big nightmare, anyway.

The vibrant wildflowers surrounding me were dull splotches at the edge of my vision. They seemed as far away as the flawlessly blue sky above my head. Once again, I had drawn myself inside my guarded walls, untouchable to everything around me. I didn’t think, I didn’t speak, I just put one foot in front of the other. That’s what they wanted, wasn’t it? To get away from our past and sever any connection between us and him. I didn’t mind, really. I was never one to face my problems. Maybe I wasn’t strong enough. Or maybe my problems weren’t like everybody else’s.

I barely noticed when the tall, golden grasses of the meadow faded into the dull green lawn behind my family’s small, new house. I stepped through the sliding glass door, straight into the compact kitchen where my mother was sitting, reading a magazine. She glanced up when I slid the door closed with a metallic grinding noise, giving me a sad, little smile when she saw my emotionless face. I could practically see the thoughts running through her brain: Avery’s having another one of her days. Not like she didn’t have those days, too. It was hard for me to move into a new home, leaving everything I knew behind, though I was glad to forget some of the memories. She had to understand that.

The house was pretty empty at the moment, which seemed a bit ironic to me - an empty house full of empty people. Deciding that I wasn’t in the mood for my mother’s attempts at cheering me up, I slid through the kitchen, knowing that I still had a lot of unpacking yet to do.

“Wait, dear!” my mom called, forcing me to return to the kitchen. “Our new neighbors invited us over for dinner at six. Make sure you’re ready.”

She had to be kidding me. An attempt at a social life was not what I needed right now. Neither was a bunch of over-friendly neighbors trying to pry into my past. I glimpsed the time on the stove clock. Half past five.

“Actually, Mom, I had a late lunch, so I’m not really hungry.”

She gave me a hard look. “You’re coming. End of story.”

I tossed her an exasperated look, groaning, but I didn’t really have a choice. I spun around and angrily stomped up the stairs.

My room welcomed me, plain and boring and yet to be painted. It had generic, cream-colored walls, hardwood flooring, and nothing in it besides my bookshelf, my desk, and my empty bed frame. Haphazardly stacked boxes were scattered everywhere, begging me to unpack them and add a little personality to this dull space. The walls looked bare compared to the ones in my old room, where I hung all of my drawings. I knew that my mom would want me to look presentable in front of our new neighbors, but I honestly didn’t care. My T-shirt and jeans would have to do.

I blew a frustrated breath out of my mouth, tossing my old clothes in the white, wicker basket that served as my hamper, and returned to the kitchen. The clock reported that it was just after five forty-five. My mom was seated exactly as I had left her - apparently she was the only one that didn’t need to get ready. My little sister, Arista, was playing on her iPod next to my mom, wearing white shorts and a lacy, purple T-shirt. Her long, blonde hair had been styled stick-straight, hanging down to the middle of her back. Arista was a girly-girl, a fashionista, and pure beauty-queen material. Basically the opposite of me. I tried to stay as far away from makeup and girly clothing as I could. Not that I didn’t care about how I looked, because I did. It was just that there was no one I really needed to impress anymore. People would just have to accept me as I am. I remember a time where I used to find happiness in smothering on Mom’s lipstick and dancing around the room like a princess. I used to have a prince then, and he would fight off all the ugly beasts. The princess part of me just didn’t seem to live anymore, not without my prince.