The Other Side Of Fear[1]

Chapter 1

🖤Thank you firstly for making it to Chapter 1, I hope you enjoyed the prologue and it sparked a little bit of interest in you to continue reading. Please vote if you enjoy reading this story and please leave me your feedback and comments!🖤

I threw the empty cardboard box down to the floor aggressively and flopped down onto my bed, laying my head in my hands. My new room was tiny compared to my old one. It consisted of dusty, wooden flooring and dark green painted walls. It was disgusting. The mirrored fitted wardrobes along the wall opposite my bed were the most modern thing about it.

I had laid all of my things out, my bedside tables placed at either side of my king-size bed, my desk sitting below the window that looked out onto the street below and my dressing table on the last free wall. I had hung all my clothing away in the wardrobes and was proceeding to unpack all of my smaller things when the reality of the situation hit me. This was my life now. I stood and paced to the window and looked out onto the street. It was completely quiet, nothing like the streets of New York; even the streets in our old neighbourhood were always so full of life. This place wasn't exactly rural but it was a quiet, low populated town and my Dad's aunt's house was a traditionally built property that was basically falling apart and Dad encouraged us that he would make it his goal to spruce it up; not that I cared.

I headed out of my new bedroom and down to the room next door to mine where Riley was unpacking his things. I tapped on the door and strolled in, giving him a smile as he looked up from his suitcase of clothes still not put away.

'How are you doing?' I smiled.

As much as I hated this place and the fact our lives had been turned upside down, I still felt the responsibility and the need to reassure Riley it would be okay. He knew I was forcing the front but being the big sister it's a duty to make sure he's feeling okay.

'I'm good,' he nodded. Riley tended to put out the same behaviour too, trying to make me feel better by acting like he was okay.

'I miss my old room,' I sighed.

'Me too,' he nodded. 'But we will get used to it. This is our life now.'

'Not for long,' I scowled. 'As soon as high school is over, I'm heading straight to Columbia and getting my life back in New York. You can join me as soon as you graduate too.'

'We'll see,' he shrugged. 'I just think maybe we should at least give it a chance. There's nothing we can do about it so...'

'I'm not getting comfortable,' I frowned. 'I literally hate this place already and I've only been here a few hours. I'm dreading what the school is like.'

'Yeah, I hope people are nice,' he said nervously.

'You come find me if anybody isn't nice okay?' I told him.

He nodded, even though I knew he wasn't likely to run to his big sister if anyone gave him shit.

'I need to finish unpacking,' he said and I nodded, taking the hint to leave.

I returned to my new room that still smelt like old people and sighed as I realised Riley was shutting me out. He was acting like everything was fine but I could tell he wasn't going to adjust to this new life easily.

I finished unpacking the rest of my things and headed downstairs where my parents were unpacking in the kitchen.

'I'm going out,' I said, as I passed by the kitchen heading for the door.

'Whoa whoa!' Dad cried. 'Really? You don't know the area; we were going to take a walk out together.'

'It's bad enough that you made me come to this shitty place and now you want me to take a nice little stroll through town together as a family,' I frowned. 'Riley and I are already probably in for a world of abuse from the kids at our new school and you want to embarrass us even more. We already stick out like sore thumbs and I'm so mad at you still for doing this so no thanks.'