Forever

Stealing my space

I closed my leather bound romantic novel and placed it on my bedside table. I dragged myself out of bed and looked at my reflection in the full-length mirror in my bedroom.

 A raven haired girl stared back at me with pale skin and dark circles under her eyes. Her blue eyes were shining brightly. Her hair was sticking up at all angles and she certainly didn’t look well without her makeup as a mask to hide her self-conscious flaws. And that girl staring back was me.

 I sighed and picked up a hairbrush from my chest of drawers and scooped my hair into a large messy bun on top of my head.  I lifted my spotty pink makeup bag and sat cross-legged in front of my mirror and started to apply my makeup mask.

Once I was finished I slipped my feet into fluffy slippers and placed my pink dressing gown around my shoulders and skipped down the carpeted stairs with a beam on my face.

 I slid into the kitchen and breathed in the cinnamon incense that Mum was currently obsessed with. It was just the three of us – no dad and one older brother. I guess you could call us best friends as that’s how close we were.

 Mum was a kind woman with long waist-length blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, the only trait I got from her were her eyes. She always wore floral clothing and gladiator sandals and went on spiritual retreats. At one point I think she was fond of the idea of becoming a Buddhist.

 And I’m the girl that nobody knows. I’m the invisible nerd that cowers at the back of class and whispers the answers to people and never gets so much as a nod back. I had one friend called Harmony but she was more outgoing and had tons of friends and most of the time I couldn’t work out why she was best friends with someone like me.

 Mum sat at the circular granite island in the middle of the room with a glass of orange juice and porridge. I wrinkled my nose and got two pieces of bread and pushed them into the toaster and joined her on the swivel seat opposite.

 “Good morning sweetie,” she nodded at me and took her last slurp of orange juice and a spoonful of porridge and got to her feet. She dropped her cup, bowl and spoon in the dishwasher and walked past me, ruffling my hair playfully.

 I smiled as the toast popped. I got to my feet and started to butter it neatly. I quickly downed it at record speed and took the stairs two at a time. I came to my room and entered cautiously. I was scared my older brother would jump out of my room or something but it was empty.

 I moved across to my drawers and pulled out pale blue skinny jeans, a starbucks t-shirt and a pair of white Converse. I hairsprayed my messy bun and grabbed my denim schoolbag and slung it over my shoulder. I checked my phone and realised that I was running late to pick up Harmony.

 I rushed into the bathroom and brushed my teeth. I gave myself a last once-over and smiled with satisfaction.

 “Scarlett!” Mum called excitedly from downstairs. I rushed down at her urgent voice and skidded into the living room. She was peaking behind the ruby red curtain. I peered around behind her and gasped. We had neighbours.

 I went outside to my old pale blue fiat 500 and got in the driver’s seat to scope out the scene. I slunk down in my seat and watched the scene unravel. There was a huge movers van parked outside the abandoned house beside a little red Beetle car.

 A tired looking woman stepped out of the red Beetle with a little girl of about five years old tugging on her hand, followed by a guy my older brother Liam’s age. He had black hair styled perfectly off his forehead and I could see the blue in his eyes from far away. He was tanned and very tall. He wore a tight white t-shirt and a black leather jacket and slacked black jeans and black boots. Huh. The black was definitely working for him.