Forever (Book 1) (Editing)

Chapter One

I groaned as I looked out the window seeing the rain pouring down the glass.

'Just what you need Lady. What perfect weather for the start of a new year.' The voice in my head taunted me.

I rolled my eyes as I made sure I had everything I would need packed into my bag. We'd been here for three months now and the final school year was just about to start. I wasn't the least bit pleased when she had told me that I would be attending. Aunt Sally and her ideas of normal.

I'd had no intentions of going either. She knew the reasons why and still kept persisting about it. I had caved in the end and here I was on this lovely Monday morning making an attempt to be ready for the first day of my final year, in a town where I still didn't know anyone. Literally no one. In three months I hadn't met a single person. The rain just added more gloom to the day as I looked angrily out the window.

"Shut up" I muttered under my breath as I grabbed my bag off my bed and headed for my bedroom door. The voice laughing tauntingly at my annoyance. "If you weren't a part of my head I'd destroy you." I groaned as I made my way down stairs to the kitchen. 

I was greeted with a smile pasted to my aunt’s face as she looked at me approvingly. I glared in her direction showing my annoyance at having to do this. My lunch was sitting on the counter in a brown paper bag waiting for me to take it.

I rolled my eyes at her as I went to the fridge and grabbed myself an apple. I was never one for eating in the mornings and much to my aunts annoyance I wasn't going to change that.  The apple was to make her happy I at least ate something and to keep her off my back. It's was like she became a she devil once we began to rebuild our lives here, trying to make sure I ate right and slept right. She said that, 'now that the running was over it was time to start focusing on taking proper care of ourselves. Like going to school.'

I grabbed my lunch off the counter as I took a bite of the apple and shoved it into my bag. Looking outside I groaned again as I walked to hall closet looking for my damn umbrella. My aunt had followed me with that stupid smile pasted to her face.  

"Someone’s grumpy today." She stated as she watched me looking for it.  

I glared over at her hoping she'd lose the smile and adding to my annoyance it got even bigger. Growling with frustration I slammed the closet shut and went to make my way up stairs again when my missing umbrella was handed to me.  

"Thanks" I muttered to my aunt as I grabbed my sweater off the coat rack and put it on. My apple held by my teeth while this was done. 

"Have a good day sweetheart." She said as I opened the front door to leave.  

I looked back over my shoulder at her and tried to manage a small tight smile. It's not her fault I feared going to school. I feared a repeat of what happened last time. She was excited for this chance at living a normal life. And as much as I hated to admit it I owed her a lot for sticking with me the last two years. She nodded her head at me in acceptance as I left the house.  

We'd been here for three months already living on limited funds while she looked for work. So as much as I hated it we still couldn't afford a car and I had to walk the six blocks to school. Once upon a time we'd had more than enough money to live on. But that was before my teenage self got us into a situation that had us running for two years. Said money had been spent on hotel rooms to sleep in and food in our bellies, as well as the replacement of the clothes and other belongings we couldn't bring with us. We'd had just enough left to buy this house and furnish it.

This being a small town there wasn't much work for my aunt. You had to know someone who knew someone to get a decent job. I knew one of her resentments was that we'd had to leave and the job she had as a nurse at the hospital had become forfeit. She hadn't even had the chance to notify them she was leaving, ruining the prospect of a reference in doing so. She said it wasn't my fault but I could see the pain in her eyes whenever the subject came up. She missed the simplicity of our lives before we'd been forced to leave it and even if she never blamed me for it, I'd still blame myself.