A Twisted Cinderella

Chapter 1

My knees buckle underneath me as I climbed out of the taxicab, I tap my foot nervously as I stood close by the taxi, my suitcase by my feet the driver didn't want to leave me until I was with an adult.

The social worker must have told him that I had lost my father since he doesn't bother trying to talk to me, I haven't said much since his death I couldn't find it in myself to believe that it was true, doesn't feel real. Not to me. The taxi was parked in an unmarked forget path, trees loom on both sides of where I stand. It makes me feel like I'm in a cocoon, a Venus flytrap ready to snap shut.

I pull out my phone looking to see if my best friend Taylor -since the age five- had texted me or at least called. No service, not even a bar of signal shows on the phone. Damnit.

"They're coming for me you can leave." I said my voice barely louder than a whisper.

I don't know why I told him that, I knew it wasn't long until I started crying I had spent the last week crying in my room until my eyes were really red and my throat hurts. No matter how unreal it feels I couldn't stop the tears. Maybe it was because I didn't want him or anyone to see how scared I was, mostly I didn't want to hold him here any longer. I hope Dad had enough in savings to pay for the day of driving, since he had gone out of his way to drive me across the entire state of Pennsylvania.

"Are you sure about that?" The driver asks doubly.

I only had one suitcase I sold the rest of my clothes, I was lucky to even get one full suitcase. I spend every thing I saved of my own money to get here.

"I'm sure," I tell him after some awkward minutes of silence. "Really, I'll be fine. They'll be here any minute."

"I don't know," he says, rubbing at the back of his head.

I stifle a shriek.

At the front of the cab, stands a woman who wasn't standing there before. A woman who appeared out of nowhere. How long was she standing there? I think to myself trying to hide the surprise.

"Victoria, come on." she demands, she doesn't say anything more.

I don't have to ask if her name Louisa to know she's my mother, she has a few shades lighter hair color then me but it falls in the same waves, her heart-shaped face is severe, the pointy chin and wide -set eyes are familiar.

I didn't understand why she lived out in the middle of nowhere, she doesn't say anything else not even a "hello" as she turns on her heels and begins to walk away, I quickly follow after her. As we walked I studied her, she's wearing a black wool jacket that hides her figure. A long green skirt with black hiking boots underneath. When she steps over a fallen tree, I caught a glimpse of wool socks in her boots. Must get cold here, I think to myself. If she wears so much wool.

I drag my suitcase along with us, she suddenly turns and looks at the taxicab driver who was watching us. "You can leave." She says to the taxicab driver, like she's dismissing a dog.

My mother stood motionless, empty-handed, regarding me with a cold stare as I pick my way towards her, I sighed quietly I wished I had said yes to Taylor to moving in with her family when she asked the first thirty times.

I was wearing the same ratty grey sweatpants and one of Dads comfy sweaters that I've been wearing all week. I didn't bother with dressing nice seeing as I lost my father a week ago. And I was glad I wore boots instead of tennis shoes because I'm sure I would have fallen on my face by now.

I wonder if Louisa told the social worker that she lived in the middle of nowhere, because they failed to convince the message. Louisa strides ahead, making sure there's a lot of distance between us, thorny weeds choke the trail and scratch at my sweats, I trip over a branch that I didn't see and fell to the ground landing on my butt.

I quickly get up bowling hair out of my face, Louisa stops and looks at me in disgust, great she doesn't like me already. Suddenly a moment in the woods catches my eye dread lurches itself into me. I move slowly away only to catch the eye with a deer, I sigh letting go of my breath I didn't know I was holding.

After a moment of watching me, it returns to eating the grass it had found. I watch it for a minute, looking at its beauty, captivated by the nearness, I'm close to see its black eyelashes on its deep dark eyes. It's eyes go widen as its tail and ears perk up listening to what my ears couldn't hear.

It turns away from me and runs as fast is it can through the trees before disappearing in minutes. I look to see around trying to figure out why it ran, it wasn't me. Or was it? Part of me wondered. I was at least fifteen feet away I was positive it wasn't me the deer was running from. Finally, my eyes laid on the dark figure standing in the shadow of the trees.

I leaned forward trying to see what it was, all I could tell was that it was huge and something you didn't want to mess with. Adrenaline burst through me, but I stand frozen where I stand, I go to scream but it comes out in a pathetic squeaky whisper. "Mother?"

I turned around to see that she had disappeared I turned to look at the black bear but it too was gone. "Mother?"

I was breathing deeply, the bear must have walked back into the woods when I turned and Louisa must have continued walking without me.

When I turned around again she's standing there looking at me with the same cold look she gave me when she first saw me. I wondered if she had gotten far only to notice I wasn't behind her anymore, she was looking at me like that because she had to come back for me?