Stars That No One Might See

Chapter 1

Seven seconds.

It takes me seven seconds to walk from my car to the big wooden door of the mansion. I put the cardboard boxes that I'm holding on the ground and ring the bell.

It takes another seven seconds for the door to open. A blond woman stands in the doorway, her red lips curled in a big smile. She wears a tight blue dress. It looks quite expensive.

'Kayla honey, how are you?' asks she, way too excited.

'Hello Aunt Lily,' I say, ignoring her question. I'm not in de mood to pretend that I'm happy.

She steps closer and embraces me awkwardly, grabbing me so tight that I can hardly breathe. It takes her way too long to let me go.

She just stares at me for a while before she starts talking again. 'Come in honey, I'll send someone to fetch your boxes and bring them to your new room!'

She drags me inside and before I can protest is the door already closed and are we halfway through the hall. We end up in a big sitting room. In the centre of the room stands a large coffee table with huge armchairs around it. My aunt gestures me to one of the chairs. She sits down in the chair opposite of me.

'So Kayla, how was your journey?' she asks while pouring me a cup of tea.

'It was fine,' I tell her. I take my cup and start sipping the warm liquid. We drink our cups in silent. I don't mind. I don't really feel like talking to my family because they weren't there when I needed them, so why would they want to help me now?

Two years ago, my mother got really ill. I had to take care of her and myself on my own. I never saw them once while my mother was dying. They did show op at her funeral. I had only seen them one time before, and that was at my grandfather's funeral.

So basically, they only show up at funerals. I have the best family ever.

The thought of that makes me so angry I want to smite the cup at the table.

'Can I go to my room?' I ask my aunt.

'Of course honey, I'll show you where your room is.'

I hate it when she calls me honey. I hate nicknames in general, but especially names like honey, because I feel like a child when people say that.

We walk through the ridiculously big house. It's so huge I'll probably get lost a few times. My mum and I had a mediocre sized house, just like most families. Three bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen and a sitting room. I loved our house.

Aunt Lily stands still in front of a big white door. 'This is your room,' she says as she opens the door.

I step inside and look around the large bedroom. Against the right wall stands a big bed. The bed is so huge that I'll probably be able to lie in it diagonally. When I turn around, I see two large white bookshelves against the wall. A bookshelf was the only thing I asked to be in my room. I own a lot of books. And when I say a lot of books, I mean a lot. Probably around 500. Against the same wall stands some closets and a desk with a chair. On the other side of the room is a door.

When my Aunt sees me looking at the door she says: 'That is your bathroom. Why don't you take a shower and start unpacking? I'll call you when dinner is ready.'

'Yes, thanks.'

She nods and closes the door behind her. 

My boxes are already in my room. I don't own a lot beside my books, so there aren't that many boxes. What I do own is a car, because I inherited it from my mother. I also inherited some money, but I'm not allowed to use it till I'm eighteen. That is the only reason I moved here. I'm still seventeen, so I am not allowed to live on my own. And now I'm stuck with my stupid family. Couldn't be better...