My immortal

Chapter 1

The air is cold in a room at three o'clock in the morning. Annabelle Prail sleeps in her small house in Manhattan. Her room is quiet and the moonlight shines through the black curtains covering her window. Small slivers of silver light creep across her cherry colored wood dresser.

Lauren listens to the quiet rain that seamlessly falls from the sky and hits her kitchen window. Annabelle knows her mother does not like to sleep much these days with all the work she has to do, constantly under stress.

Something about this night is unsettling to Lauren. Her eyes shift to the oven clock that reads 3:17 A.M. She sighs and lifts her warm coffee mug off the counter and gingerly takes a sip. The coffee is black with little sugar in it; just how she likes it. She takes her warm mug and sits on the couch in the living room. Quietly she turns on the tv.

Lauren's husband Jason Simons died 15 years ago, just before Anna had been born. He was a tall man with medium length dark hair and deep blue eyes, the color of the ocean. Due to his death, she went back to her maiden name, Prail. There was one photograph of Jason in the Prail house. It sat on the nightstand of the master bedroom of the two story house. Every night Lauren would hold the photo close to her chest and mourn her husbands death.

There are certain things that Lauren tried hard to keep from her beloved daughter. She is ashamed of her past and swore to do everything in her power to keep Annabelle away from it. Alas, the child is becoming aware.

°°°

Anna woke up that morning groggily rubbing her sleep filled eyes. Her best friend Katrina Teller had invited her to a sleepover that night.

Anna was on spring break now and is not bound by any particular time to wake up so she woke up at 8:53 am. Her feet pounded lightly down the stairs to get some breakfast.

"Hello mother!" Anna exclaims.

"Hello Dear, how are you doing this morning?"

"I am amazing! I just finished the most wonderful book last night."

Anna loves to read. She could be hooked on a book and not stop reading for four hours straight!

"That is wonderful dear." Lauren said without looking up from her book.

Anna's mother had a very interesting way of wording things. It was as if she had come out of a fifties movie.

There is a closet on the wall beside the kitchen that Lauren had turned into a pantry. It is small but sufficient for holding non-perishable food. Anna grabbed out a box of Mini Wheats and set it on the island counter. She took out a medium sized black bowl from the cupboard and begun to pour the cereal into it.

Outside you can hear the busy streets of Manhattan. The sound of car horns fills every corner of the house.

The Prail house is located in the center of the city in a small neighborhood. On the outskirts of the neighborhood lies Anna's all time favorite restaurant "Tendium".

Once her cereal is poured, Anna sits in the living room where she can watch tv. The couch leather is soft and a bit old. It was about six years old. Anna wanted a pink velvet couch but that was not fitting for the casual contemporary living room her mother was creating.

Anna ran upstairs letting her straight hair fly behind her. In her room she opened up the dresser and grabbed out a pair of shorts and an elegant spaghetti strap tank top. She prefers to wear short denim shorts (that aren't too short) and tank tops. The top she wears today is dark gray with smokey jewels strewn across the neck-line.

She applies a bit of eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss. Katrina would be here any minute to pick her up for their fun day together.

Just as Anna is getting her shoes on, she is interrupted by a loud *Ding Dong*. She sprinted down the stairs to greet her friend but her mother beat her to it.

"Hello Katrina. How are you today?." She said in her silky voice.

"I'm doing well thank you."

Katrina is a sweet girl with good manners she'd gotten from her own mother.

"Well mother we really should get going." Anna said to break the awkward silence. She shuffled the bag uncomfortably on her shoulder.

"Alright, you two have fun. Anna do you have your phone?"

"Yes." she said, trying to hide the irritability. Her mother was protective over her. Sometimes too protective.

"Okay bye now!" she said with an elegant wave.

Anna and Katrina walk down the driveway together. Katrina only lives about four blocks away so it isn't a problem to walk there.

Anna and Katrina had been friends ever since kindergarten. Anna knew basically all of Katrina's relatives and in turn, Katrina knew all of Anna's.

The two girls crossed the street. All the houses are similar but not too much. Some of these houses used to be model homes until they were bought.

When they were younger, Anna and Katrina would play capture the flag with a whole bunch of people from school in the backyards of the model homes. Those were the good old days, Anna thought.

The girls got to Katrina's house about 7 minutes later. Katrina opened the door and held it open for Anna. She walked in and was immediately greeted by Katrina's mother, Casey. Casey wrapped Anna in a large hug and said, "Hello Anna!"

"Hi Mrs. Casey!" She said.

Casey's long hair is unnaturally blond with darker streaks in it. Her eyes are light brown and angular but not so much that she looks Asian. Her eyelashes are naturally long and black. The resemblance between Katrina and her mother is remarkable. However unlike her mother, Katrina has dark brown hair and blue eyes that she got from her father.

"Are you girls ready to go?"

"Go? Go where?" Anna asked a bit confused.

"We are going to the movie." Katrina replied with a smile.