Only One Cup of Coffee

Chapter 6

Harper whipped his head around and faced me, astonishment written on his face.

I took a step back and threw the closet door open again and sprinted out. What was that? Therapy?

As soon as I got a safe distance from him, I dialled Alex's number on my phone and he took me back home quietly.

As soon as we got home, Alex rushed off to his room, leaving me to face my parents' wrath.

"Where were you until twelve?!!!" My dad's voice boomed. I flinched away from him as he got up from the dining table and stepped towards me.

My mom pinched the bridge of her nose and got up as well.

"Where the hell were you?!!" He screamed at me once again.

"I was... At a party." I replied quietly.

"Until twelve?!" My mom screamed. "You have studies to work on Caroun! Stop going to parties."

This frustrated me. My brother went to parties all the time and they never said a word against him.

"Alex goes to parties too you know!" I shouted, finally raising my voice.

My dad's pale face turned scarlet and he grabbed onto my red hair and threw me to the ground.

"Why the hell did you adopt her Alice?!" She's such a fool! I don't care about this child!" He shouted and then flinched back, as though realising what he said.

Mom's face turned chalky white as she heard him utter those words.

My face contorted. "A-adopted?" I whispered softly.

"Caroun we weren't going to tell you under these circum-" she started.

"Then WHEN?! Were you ever going to tell me why you hated me so much?!" I laughed humourlessly. "Everything makes sense now..." I said and rushed off to my room, banging the door shut behind me.

"Don't you dare disrespect me young lady!" I could hear my dad's muffled bellowing from downstairs.

I hated this but I should've known. I should've known that this was how it was going to end up.

I grabbed a tissue paper box and threw it on my bed, changing into my pyjamas quickly and bursting into a fountain of tears.

--

I changed as quickly as I could at 6 so that my parents would not be awake when I headed off to school. I definitely was not in a mood to converse with them.

I changed and clanked down the stairwell with my brand new boots that were actually second handed from Laila so, not so brand new.

I grabbed a toast and rushed out of the door with my backpack.

As soon as I reached school, I sat down in front of the unopened doors and pulled out A Tale of Two Cities and continued my reading.

Another hour later, when I had finally made it to the second part of the book, the janitor threw the door open, offering me a pitiful glance that I professionally ignored.

I threw my leather bound book in my bag and rushed into the school to take my required textbooks for my history and English classes.

I found it rather pleasant to be out of the way of snobby teenagers who loved to make my life miserable. I didn't trust anyone. I may have been friends with Nyx and Della but they didn't know my secrets, and I planned to keep it that way.

As I sorted through my books, a fresh wave of tears streamed down my face. Everything I knew since I was a child was untrue.

The people I spent 15 years calling mother and father were not my biological parents. Alex was not my brother. Alex was not related to me by blood.

No wonder I looked nothing like my parents or my brother.

My parents would often try to convince me that the reason I looked nothing like them was because I resembled my great grand mother back when she was young.

Lies.

All of them were lies.

My family was a lie. Perhaps Alex knew this and he pretended to love me so that the truth wouldn't hurt my heart.

I whipped around and rubbed against my swollen eyes harshly with my sweater sleeves.

I rushed off to history before anyone could notice.

As soon as I entered class, I slumped down in the back seat, something I never used to do, and quietly sat through the lesson.

--

As soon as lunch came about, I knew I wasn't going to be in a good mood to talk to my friends and I definitely knew I didn't want to take a chance with meeting the bullies so I attempted to head to the library.

Only thing is, Mikaela just had to be in the same corridor at the same time so I decided that I would just stick to hiding in the janitor's closet for lunch.

Luckily for me, that day I had packed myself a PBJ sandwich for lunch, just incase, so I slumped down in a corner of the damp, mini room and pathetically gobbled down my sodden sandwich with tears running down from my eyes.

I didn't want to live with this family that made me feel pathetic.

They even planned for me to start working part time once I turned 16 so that I could pay for my own college and so that they wouldn't have to waste their money on me.

They never asked me what I wanted or give me anything when I did.

If I didn't score top marks, I would get slapped by my mother. Of course. But Alex? No, of course not! He was their little sweetheart and honestly, if he wasn't so nice to me I'm sure I would've hated him.

Who could I truly believe? Was Alex being nice because he cared? Where were my real parents? Were they dead?

I cried and cried for at least 10 minutes when a loud bang sounded from the closet door.

I flinched and cowered in the dampest corner of the room when all of a sudden a hand held onto my shoulder.

"Caroun?" An uncertain voice asked.

I lifted my head up slowly. Before me, Harper crouched with a grim frown etched on his face.

He took one look at my bloodshot eyes and his face blanched.

"What happened?!" He asked frantically.

I sighed and sat up as he joined me in the corner.

--

one lunch break and a handkerchief later, I didn't understand why I had trusted and told Harper about everything that had happened that day.

I frowned at the floor as he pulled an arm around my shoulder.

"It's going to be okay... Or maybe not. But if you hope it will be then I think it just might." He said to me.

He took off his hood and put it on my shoulders.

"Put it on or you'll catch a cold, fool." He said as he got up and brushed at his jeans.

"Why'd you help me?" I asked him as I got up as well.

"I honestly don't know." He replied as he pushed the door of the supply closet open.

I sighed as I pulled his jacket on and sniffled. Maybe I really was going to catch a cold.

"Maybe I really was going to catch a cold" Ha! That's all she can think of when all that ish just happened.
I find her to be kinda hilariously dense XD.
Well, that's chapter 6 for you!

Au revoir!