Broken Wings

Chapter 1: Meet Sasha

"Watching you stand alone." - Christina Perri

"Hello, my name is Sasha Castillo. I would like to─"

"Sasha!"

I grasped my respiration.

Why does this always happen?

"Sasha, where are you?"

My teeth started to quiver from the frigidness of the basement and I knew she could hear it.

I was screwed.

"Sasha, I know you're in here. Come out, now!"

I was trembling so hard I dropped the phone.

Paula opened the door and switched the light on. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you."

"Leave me alone," I mumbled.

"Get off your butt. It's supper time."

"I'm not hungry," I complained.

"I don't care if you're not hungry. The doctor wants you to keep up with the diet you've been ordered to follow and so do I."

I punched the wall and lurched to my feet. No matter how many times I tried to call a taxi to come and pick me up, I always get caught.

Always.

"If you don't start behaving, I'm going to have to ground you," she warned me.

I trotted up the stairs with Paula following me, of course. There's almost no way I can ever get out of my mother's sight. Except for school.

Ever since my father deceased, I use my mother's first name around other people. I tried to use my mom's first name in front of her but she never let me use it again. I assumed she was apprehensive that I would stop thinking of her as my mother. After all, she was the one who cheated on my dad.

I know, ouch.

I didn't know if I would ever go back to loving my mother the same way again, but ever since my father was gone, she does anything to prove how much she regrets it.

I scraped the floor by sliding the chair out from underneath the table and slumped into it. Sundays at Paula's are always quiet. When my dad was here, he'd always find a good way to make us laugh and have a great time.

God, I miss him.

"Do I get to go to college after I graduate?" I asked for the tenth time today.

I needed to get away from home. Far away from home. This was my only way out. Maybe I could start a whole new life in college.

"You only started your second last year in high school, Sasha. Give me some time to think about it."

Only in my dreams.

That was Paula's excuse all the time. I knew she was secretly trying to make me forget about it all, but I don't give up easily.

"Well, I need to know so I can start saving up money," I reminded her.

"I'll let you know as soon as possible." She gestured me to be quiet, meaning that she didn't want to continue with this discussion.

Living in Bar Harbor feels deflated. I never really understood why Paula would want to move to an empty small town where I don't know anybody. Paula didn't even bother to give me a chance to pass the test to get my driver's licence. Only if she knows what kind of people this town has; they are either drama queens, bullies, bad boys or shy. And none of them fit in my category. Shy is maybe what people think I am, but I just never talk. Quiet? Yes. Timid? No. There's a big difference between those two.