Walking on Broken Glass

Chapter 1- Could This Day Get Any Worse?

                I sat in my bed and watched my clock tick. Tick, tick, tick, 5:30, Beep, Beep, Beep. I slammed my hand on the off button, pleased with waking up before my alarm. I pulled my blanket off of my body, allowing the cold air to attack my body. I shivered as the air crawled up my back and down my legs. I rubbed the goose bumps off my arms and walked out of my small, attic bedroom. I walked down the steep ladder steps, letting my feet touch the cold tiled floor. I yelped at the temperature, quickly covering a hand over my mouth. I got to the bottom of the steps shut the ladder, watching the string bounce as the attic door shut. I tiptoed downstairs thinking of the song from Insidious.

                I slipped into the kitchen and began to raid the fridge, searching for something edible that wasn’t tofu or meat-less bacon. My step mother and her two daughters had started being vegetarians about three months ago. I am normal so I am not. I mean come on, what werewolf is a vegetarian? I dug to the back of the fridge, the artificial light burning my eyes but I finally found my stash of food. I grabbed the pack of bacon and ripped it open, pouring the meat into the pan. The fridge was my only light source as I cooked until it shut with a slam.  The lights came on and Vivian Darrien stood in front of me. I lay on the floor, my eyes burning from the sudden change.

“I thought I heard a rat” she spat at me. My eyes adjusted and I could see Vivian with her hands on her hips in her black bra and panties. I covered my eyes again; I am never going to be able to unsee what I just saw.

“Open your eyes and clean this up.” I peeked through my fingers and saw that she was wearing her wrap. I breathed a sigh of relief and pushed myself off the floor. She was gesturing to the pan that was still filled with sizzling bacon.

“My breakfast?” I asked.

“You know that there is no meat allowed in this house yet you cook…Bacon… in front of me and my children, teasing us with your murdered pig!” she screamed at me. At that point Natalya and Camilla came running in, clutching their mother.

“Did she hurt you Mommy?” Camilla asked in her childish voice.

“Yes baby.” Vivian lied, fake tears rolling down her round cheeks.

I laughed a bit and took a piece of bacon, biting into it. Natalya licked her lips and Camilla slapped her arm. Both girls looked exactly like their mother; slim figure, straight blonde hair and dull blue eyes. Camilla was slightly taller than Natalya by a half an inch. Natalya was the only one in this house who has been almost nice to me since my dad left to work in Hong Kong four years ago when I was twelve. My mom died giving birth to me, she wanted to do it the old fashioned way and something went wrong. My dad says I look just like her, our eyes are exactly the same. I always wear her locket, to keep her close to me.

Vivian grabbed the pan and tossed all the bacon into the trash.

“Hey!” I said with an irritated look on my face. She swung the pan around so fast I didn’t have any time to react. She slammed the frying pan into my shoulder and I could feel the pain erupt like a volcano. I screamed and fell to the floor in pain. Camilla laughed and joined her mother in standing over me, beginning to kick me. Camilla kicked me in the back as Vivian kicked my stomach. They stopped and just stood there as I fought the urge to cry. I bit my lip so the tears wouldn’t fall.

“Next time I tell you to do something, I expect it done.” She threw the pan in the sink and stormed off with Camilla on her heels. Natalya rushed in with a wet wash cloth, throwing it on the floor for me to dab the blood off my face.

“You need to stand up for yourself, I can’t do anything against them.” She said leaning against the sink.

“You could, but you choose not to.” I said anger and hurt laced in my words.