Billy Hargrove // DNA

Chapter One

Author's note: just a friendly warning that this story slowly progresses. Not everyone enjoys slow stories so please be patient. Feel free to leave some comments about my writing because it would help me out big time! xx

I dreamed that I was standing in a dark alley. At my left I saw that the end was closed off by an iron gate.  I looked at my right and saw that the other end wasn't blocked by anything. I carefully stepped over garbage lying on the floor and traced my fingers over the concrete walls. When I reached the end, I suddenly saw a big man standing in front of me. I looked up at him with fear. His face was unrecognizable. I took a step back while the man grabbed me.

Amelia's eyes fluttered open and felt immediately in shock. Her chest went up and down wildly while her breathing was shaky. Her whole body felt sweaty as a result of her nightmare. She looked at the clock on her nightstand. 6:44. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep any longer so she removed the blanket she was lying under. 

Amelia opened her bedroom door slowly, not wanting to wake up the rest of her family. The house only held one bathroom which was conveniently right beside her bedroom. After she carefully closed the bathroom door behind her, Amelia looked at herself in the mirror and was displeased with what she witnessed. 

A pale girl with visible, dark circles under the green eyes stared back at her. The result of yet another troubled night.

She removed her baggy t-shirt and sleeping shorts and stepped into the shower. Her hairbun was still somewhat intact so she kept it that way. An ice-cold water jet came out which made her jump, but didn't bother changing the temperature and instead let the cold water pour over her sweaty body.

The nightmare had come back. Over the years she gained a collection of nightmares and even though this one was so short, it was one of the worst she had. It reminded her of the terrible night. 

After Amelia had thoroughly washed her body, she wrapped a large towel over her torso and slipped back into her room. She opened her wardrobe and blindly grabbed some clothes. In the end Amelia had put on a blue denim jeans and a yellow shirt. 

As she walked around her bedroom she carefully let her hair down, revealing dark brown locks of hair which fell over her shoulders. Amelia spent the next few minutes brushing all the knots out, until it was completely smooth.

When she looked at the clock she noticed she still had half an hour before she had to wake up her little sister, so she decided to make use of that time by making her bed and checking her homework. 

When she soon noticed life in the house, indicating it was time to start the day, Amelia placed her maths book back in her backpack and went over to her sister's bedroom. Cora was five years old so she had a typical child's room. The walls were painted pink and posters of horses and rainbows covered the walls. In a corner of her room stood a small table, where she often played fantasy games like a tea party. Another corner of her room was filled with toys and stuffed animals.

Amelia watched Cora sleeping so peacefully for a few seconds before she reluctantly made way to her bed and shook her gently. "Cora, wake up." The little girl moaned and blinked a few times. "It's time to get up, sweetie." Cora stretched her small body and looked at her older sister. "I wanna have pancakes, please." She said with a high, childish voice. An amused smile came across Amelia's face. "If you'll put on some clothes, we'll get some pancakes." 

Cora immediately jumped out of bed which made Amelia giggle. When Amelia went to open the small girl's closet, bright colors jumped out at her. After a moment of hesitation she decided to let Cora wear a bright yellow pants with a white-yellow sweater. 

After Cora was fully dressed, the two sisters went downstairs. Their stepfather was already sitting at the table, holding a newspapers in his greasy hands. His name was John, the most common name for the most common man. He was at his late forties, slowly becoming bald and getting a bloated stomach. Every day he wore a striped shirt with the same boring tie, brown trousers and shiny shoes.