Shadowlands

Chapter One

Present Day...

A loud ring sounded next to my ear, forcing me to sit upright and look around for that annoying device.

My hand found my alarm clock, blaring and annoying high pitch ring, and I pressed the OFF button. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and yawned. My bedroom was still dark, only a tiny bit of light from the house porch light from across the street came through my dark purple curtains. I read my clock, it was 5:30 AM.

With a groan, I got out of bed, the bed making a soft creak noise. I began to make my bed, it had a nice thick purple comforter with nice lavender sheets, both with patterns of swirls covered them. After that was done, I just stood there to look around.

I had lived in this room since I was in first grade, that was around ten years ago. My walls were still a light blue color, now faded, and my flooring was still wooden with a blue rug covering most of it. As I had grown my dolls and toys were moved out to make room for a dresser, T.V. stand, and a desk that had my purple Dell laptop sitting on it.

With a sigh I went to my closet. The door was a mirror, reflecting my pale image, with my long, dark brown hair, and my dark blue eyes. As I looked closely in the mirror, I noticed the splash of light freckles under my eyes. 

I opened the closet, trying to find clothes to wear for the day. I decided to pull out a pair of black skinny jeans, along with a black skin tight shirt, and I took out a small red jacket, it was knitted and it was short sleeved, giving my black clothing some color. I also grabbed a clean pair of panties and a new bra to wear, just to make myself feel clean. From the corner of my closet I took out my recent Christmas present, a pair of very nice high heeled boots, solid black and they were made of leather. I know they were expensive, and my dad knew I had my eye on them for a few months, so he had bought them for me.

Stiffly, I got dressed, my body still tired from the rough night. It was such an odd dream… a place covered with shadows… it felt familiar yet at the same time it didn’t. Once I was done dressing, I put on my boots. My long, slender legs slipped inside easily, and the boots had a inch-and-a-half heel, and they came up to above my knee. Satisfied with my clothing, I went to my hair.

My hair, as I had said, is very long and it is dark brown, almost black. It was naturally wavy, and it curled annoyingly at some spots. Some girls it takes hours to get the good wave look to their hair, I just have to brush my hair and walk out the door. As I brushed through my hair, I noted that I should probably get it cut, since it was about two feet long, and it was getting annoying to maintain.

Before it was time to go downstairs, I added some makeup to my face. The standard cover up for the non-existing zits, the slight pink blush to make it look like that I am not a bloodless being, and some black eyeliner to intensify my dark blue eyes. I looked at myself in the mirror one last time, twirling around, getting all of my angles. I am very skinny, too skinny for my liking. I looked like a twig, and I felt like one too. My doctor says I am the perfect weight, but I still felt underweight, so he just told me to work out to gain muscle tone, which is what I do.

With yet another sigh, I looked at my clock. It was only 5:45. I then grabbed my backpack, it was blue with purple designs on it, and my black Coach purse and then went downstairs.

The stairs were right by my door, and they were wooden covered with a red rug. They squeaked and creaked as I walked down the stairs, and I had to hold onto the railing for once because I had kept almost losing my balance with my boots. The stairs led into the kitchen, which was it up bright.

As I entered I noted the smell of coffee and the smell of eggs and bacon. Sitting at the small kitchen table closest to the west wall, which right behind the wall was the living room, was my father.

My dad was only 35 years old, and his dark brown hair, which I inherited, was only streaked once or twice with gray. His face still looked very young and boyish, women at stores always flirt with him and say how handsome he was. He had light green eyes, his skin was darker than mine, instead of being like white milk like mine, he had a cream color to his, so not by much. My dad was still well muscled, often going to the gym with me, and thank God we are separate from one another when we work out. He was Kyle Jordan, the manager of the used car dealership just on the other side of our small town, and the best father I could ask for.

When my dad saw me, he gave me big smile. “Good morning, Kat.” he said. “Breakfast is ready, so hurry up before it gets cold.” he took a sip of his coffee and then took a bite of his plate of eggs. I got myself a plate of eggs and bacon and sat next to my dad. 

Yes, my name is Kat, it’s short for Katrina. 

Our small kitchen was a pale yellow color, small pictures of fruit hung on the walls. The floor was made of yellow and white tile, and the kitchen was full of the smell of food. It was a very homey kitchen, it was like a mother had decorated it.

Oh… wait, you guys didn’t know. My mother isn’t around, she had died shortly after I was born, so I never knew her. She and my dad were high school sweethearts, ready to go to college and then get married. But my mother got pregnant with me, causing both sets of grandparents to be extremely upset. When I was born, my mom bled to death, and to this day her parents blamed my father and I for her death, and to this day I still have not met them. My dad was 18 years old when I was born, and he had to throw away his basketball scholarship to take care of me, and his parents often came around to help him, they were more forgiving since their only grandchild was alive and well.

I looked at the wall clock, noting the time was 6:15. Quickly, I finished my food and clean up my mess. Again, I looked at the clock. Only a minute had passed.

“Alright, drive safely to school, Kat.” my dad said as he got up from the table, the chair scrapping across the tile. He was wearing his usual suit and tie, ready to sell cars.

“Okay, Dad.” I said back as I kissed his cheek and the went into the living room.

The living room was small, as if you couldn’t tell by now that my house was small. But, it will be described another time. I grabbed my long black coat from the hook next to the door, and with my bags in tow, I left the house.

Snow glittered the ground, shining like crystals from the porch lights. Soft crystals fell from the sky as well, snowflakes hitting my face. I walked to the driveway, where my black Toyota car was parked, a sixteenth birthday present from my dad and grandparents.

I unlocked it and got out the brush and scrapper, getting the snow and ice off of my windows as I started the car to warm it up. Once that was done, I sat in my car as I made sure I had my bag and purse. I buckled myself up as sighed to myself…

“This is going to be a very long day…”