Chapter 1
I sat on my bed, as I always do after school. I was listening to my favorite band, One Direction. I was typing out my book on Microsoft Word. I loved to write. It was like my way to escape the world's problems. If I finished my book by January, I might be able to send it in for the school board's writing contest. "PIPER!" Mom screamed from upstairs. "Dinner!" Saying Mom and I never have really gotten along is putting it lightly. We literally hate each other. Dad died in a car crash last year, and he was the only thing mom and I could ever agree on. We are complete opposites. She works across the country as a famous game show model. I hide from life in my room, typing down my feelings. She is beautiful and loves parties. I am ugly and the shyest girl you would ever meet.
I sighed and crawl out from under my covers and slunk up the stairs to the kitchen. My bedroom is in the unheated, damp, and filthy basement of an uptown, modern, 4 bedroom, town house. I quietly walk into the kitchen and take my seat at the stainless steel island.
"We're sitting over here tonight, Pipes." Mom said sweetly for once. I turned around to see a man sitting at the head of the dining room table. Oh no... new boyfriend. Mom has a new guy almost every week now that Dad is gone. And I hated every single one of them. They're nothing compared to Dad. He was my best friend. She had the best man in the world and now mom goes around bars and picks up guys like she was born to do it.
I went and sat at the opposite end of the table so I can get a good look at him. He was tall and muscular, was a gorgeous lock of golden hair and had a thin mustache that looked almost looked unreal. He looked like all of mom's other boyfriends. Hot but totally fake.
"My name is Jason Green. You must be Piper." The man said. No duh... he just heard my name being called. "I have heard so much about you." He continued, smiling slyly.
"Like what?" I asked sassily. Mom glared at me but said nothing. Most of the guys she brought home tried that line on me. None of them new a thing about me.
"Uhhh... um-I, like-ummmm...." Jason started. I rolled my eyes and laughed.
"Don't worry. All of mom's other boyfriends do that to me." I said, trying to get him mad at mom. His eyes popped open. "Mom? May I go downstairs and eat my food there since you are such a great mother? I have lots of homework and I know you want to spend some time with Jason... alone." I said with a hint of sarcasm, trying to sweeten up the explanation mom will have to give later. I winked dramatically so Jason could see me. Before she could reply, I picked up my plate and went back to my room. I stole a quick glance behind me and saw Jason staring wide-eyed at Mom. This was going to be a quick relationship.
I went back downstairs and threw the plate of food in the garbage. I hated mom's home cooking. She never put any effort into it. I grabbed my computer and started to type again. After an hour or so, mom came stomping down the stairs.
"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT PIPER?" she screeched in my face. She slapped my cheek. That was my usual punishment for ruining a date. I started to say something when she hit me again. "DON'T talk Piper. I really liked that one. I-'' she said but I cut her off.
"LIKED!" I screamed back at her. "You sound like a teenager! And what ever happened to love, Mom? Why are you trying to get hooked up with someone? Why not stay in love with dad? He's my father! Can't you still love him!?"
Mom grabbed my face roughly and put hers inches away from mine. I could smell the alcohol on her. "He wasn't you're real father, Piper." She said sneeringly. "I was drunk when I got pregnant with some guy at a party. I thought it was Chris for 18 years!" she slurred. I flinched when she said my dad's name in that tone. She went on, "He lied to me. When he told me the truth, I hired some dude to kill him in that car crash. I've been looking for your real dad since. I thought it was Jason, but you scared him off before I could tell. This is all your fault!" she screeched in my face.
She threw me onto the bed and started hurting me more than ever before. She punched me in my jaw at full force. But I didn't cry. I have learned that crying just makes it worse. When she was done with me, I was covered in blood and bruises starting to form. My clothes were torn everywhere. Then I realized something that I should have realized before. My mother was a murderer, a liar, abusive; everything a mother shouldn't be.
Mom slunk back upstairs probably to get more beer. I rushed to my closet and grabbed my backpack and stuffed it with some clothes. I grabbed my laptop and the picture of dad that I always kept under my bed so mom wouldn't make me throw it out. I put on my warmest jacket and toque since it was November in New York. I tiptoed up the stairs and slowly opened the door. Mom was singing some song in the bathroom. Definitely drunk. I didn't care. She was distracted and that's all I needed. I sprinted to the front door. I opened it up as silently as I could and slipped out the door. I closed it quietly and jogged out into the cold night.
I ran for a few miles until I thought I was safe. I didn't exactly have a plan so I sat on the ground and cried for a few minutes. I hadn't cried since dad's funeral, so this kind of startled me. I kept on crying till a firm hand grabbed my shoulder.
"Are you alright?" asked a deep, Irish voice gently.
