A Twisted Cinderella

Chapter 4

The itself was bigger than what I saw of Owen's room. It takes up the remainder of the upper floor, but it's huge. It's under the slanted leaves, tall in the middle but to short at the edges for someone to stand upright under the roof. Every inch was covered in piles of boxes or old furniture covered in what was once white sheets now we're covered in a layer of dust.

A pile of lumber, lamps, a rocking chair that was broken sat in another corner. Hundred more items that I couldn't even list was thrown around the room.

"Wait, what? Are you serious?" I asked my mother a little shocked. If I cleaned up most of this and moved everything around the room would look beautiful.

"You think you're too good for us?" Mother snaps at me. "This is all we have, never would I have thought you'd show up asking for a handout."

I swallow hard, I was fighting all the words back I wanted to say to her right now instead I say. "It's not like I planned for him to die. And I was going to say the room is perfect." I could feel tears in my eyes, I didn't want to cry in front of her.

If she wanted to be rude fine but I wasn't going to, she looks taken aback at my words before she narrowed her eyes at me. She frowns and rubs her temple. "I guess you didn't hope for him to die." She says after a few minutes. Yeah, like I purposely had the only person in this world love me killed.

"There's a sofa couch bed in here somewhere," Rowan says walking into the room she picks up a few lamps as she walks around the crowded room.

Mother picks up a few more lamps, and moves things around mostly she works on taking sheets off some of the furniture. They work together as I stand there awkwardly watching them, finally they find what they're looking for, pulling off a vacuum cleaner shrouded in its creepy white veil. They whip off the white sheet with a flourish.

"Ah here it is," Rowan says. Mother smiles for the first time since I have arrived, dust mites drift down her like snowflakes, disturbed from their home. "You can sleep here. The rest of the room will take some work, but you can start working on that whenever I'm sure you're still grieving."

She gives me a pitty smile, as she strokes across the room just before closing the bedroom door she says. "If you need anything, one of us will be downstairs when you call."

As soon as she was gone I sank down on the sofa, I wished that any moment Taylor was run through the door and tell me everything was a big joke, I was really regretting not moving in with her now. I feel the vibration of people moving around downstairs, I also hear wood being thrown into a metal box, the fire roaring from the chimney, a stainless steel tube runs through my new room.

The room itself is warm, so warm that I feel as if I should be wearing a tank top inside of the sleeveless shirt I'm wearing. The dust in the room makes it stink like cat pee, and I try to breathe through my nose as little as possible.

I sigh to myself and I lay down tears already sliding down my face.

******

I jump a little when I hear the door creak open, I sit up fast making myself dizzy. I don't want them to think I'm lazy as well as spoiled. I didn't even mean to fall asleep, but after all the crying I did, I had fallen asleep.

I wish I didn't wake up then I wouldn't have to pretend my dad didn't die, I wouldn't pretend I was with a mother who didn't want me. I'd be at home, in my bed not on an old couch.

I didn't want to sound rude or spoiled it was nice of them to give me a place to stay in a room of my own, they were doing their best of what had happened. It just sucks because if my father never died I could keep pretending my mother was dead, that she didn't leave my father and me to live in the middle of nowhere in a creepy village.

"Mother told me to bring your dinner." Rowan says creeping a little into the room like she's afraid I would attack her.

I was sure my eyes were red and puffy, I rub my eyes. She glances around nervously never really meeting my eyes. She looks for a place to set the tray she was holding but there seems so much crap around there was literally nowhere to put it.

My stomach growls at the amazing food, Rowan mouth twitches and I blush embarrassed. I was more hungry than I thought.

"Sorry," I mutter.

"It's okay," she whispers, glancing behind her as if she didn't want to be caught talking to me.

"Did you know?" I blurt out suddenly "about me?" I couldn't help but asking. Maybe mother told her and Owen about me as they grew up?

She shakes her head, glancing at the door again. "Did you know?" she asks her eyes going wide

"No." I answered her.

She relaxes, crossing the room to set the tray down next to me. "Oh." She says, it made me wonder why she was so worried I knew about her. Wouldn't she have liked it if I knew I had a sister and really wasn't an only child like I always thought.

A bowl of some sort of soup in the bowl it looked homemade, and smelled even better up close.

"What's it like living in a city?" She whispered urgently.

"It's great." Is all I can think to say. I missed the city. I loved all the noise and horns and yells of people, here it was quiet way to quiet.

She nods, "I've only lived in the village but mother let's me go into town with her sometimes."

I don't get the chance to reply when we hear mother's voice. "Rowan what's taking so long?"

Rowan jumps to her feet and rushes to the door. "Wait!" I call not wanting her to leave just yet.

She turns and looks at me. "Where's the bathroom?" I asked I seriously needed to go I didn't see one in the house.

"Out back," she says with a nervous laugh. "I'll get you a chamber pot, mother doesn't like us going outside past dark snakes and. . . . Stuff."

You gotta be kidding me, I never thought I'd miss the city more than ever.