Chapter 1.
It was a sunny day in Phoenix, Arizona, well it was always sunny here but that's what I loved about this place. I have lived here all of the seventeen years of my life with my mother, Renee. We lived in a small apartment by ourselves, it's not like we could afford anything more with only my mother's teachers salary.
Dawdling along the worn footpath after school, I nearly tripped several times but that was to be expected, me being me. I have been in the hospital more times than I can count on my fingers due to my klutziness. I was forever tripping over my own feet and landing myself with another battle scar.
The heat was starting to make me sweat so I stopped inside a café and ordered a milkshake. I chose a seat by the window so I could glance at the passing pedestrians.
After five minutes a waitress came over to my table and placed my milkshake in front of me.
She smiled down at me and asked, "Anything else?"
"No thank you." She walked away to another table, the same generic smile on her face.
I sat silently, drinking my milkshake and listened to the smooth jazz music floating out of the stereo on the back wall. It was calming but I felt a state of unease wash over me. I couldn't place what it was at first but out of no where a chill surged down my back like a crackle of electricity. I turned my head to see if anyone was watching me except everybody was engaged in conversation, enjoying the afternoon. Strange, I thought, I must be losing my mind.
Deciding that I'd had enough of my drink, I brusquely walked over to the counter and paid the lady standing behind it. She was about forty with graying hair and had a face worn with age. Suddenly, the crackle of electricity was back and I let out a little squeak. She looked at me, concern filling her eyes while handing me the change.
"You alright, darl?"
"Ah, sure, just peachy." I replied not all too convincingly.
She smiled back at me warmly and I turned for the door. Stumbling out onto the footpath I headed for the direction of home.
What the heck is wrong with me, no one is watching you Bella. Just relax, stop spazing out, you'll be home soon. Oh, look I'm talking to myself now, doesn't that just confirm my theory. I'm completely bonkers.
Frustrated with myself, I picked up my pace and walked the last stretch to my apartment. As I walked, I swiveled my head to look behind me suspiciously and saw a flash of bronze hair duck around a corner. What a strange hair colour, who has bronze hair? Turning back around, I entered my building and climbed the treacherous staircase to our third story apartment.
Finally, reaching the apartment, I unlocked the door and walked inside. Renee was no where in sight so I called out for her.
"Hey mum, I'm home."
"Honey, where in here," Renee called from the kitchen.
That was strange, mum never had people over. I shuffled over to the kitchen dumping my bag on the way. Rounding the doorway, I stopped to see my mother sitting across from a strange man at our worn kitchen table. He was quite tall and handsome and somehow I sensed a strange sort of familiarity towards him. Scrunching my brow in confusion, I wondered who this stranger was.
"Hi, mum. What's up?" I asked. I could feel the tension in the air.
"Darling, there's someone I want you to meet," she paused not knowing how to continue, "This is Charlie, your father."
Her voice trailed off, wary of my reaction. My lungs heaved up and down while my eyes stared at the strange man in my living room in shock. I did a double take. This was not happening, no way. Had Renee just told me that this was my father? I couldn't breathe from all my hyperventilating.
"What, you must be joking," was all I could manage to say in response.
"No, honey, unfortunately I'm not. Charlie is your father and he's decided that he wants to get to know you," mum stated.
"Ha, ha," I started to let out a laugh but the look on mum's face made me think she wasn't joking with me.
"You can't be serious, after all these years you want to get to know me, the child that you abandoned," I spat at him with fury in my eyes, enunciating the last word for effect.
He shifted uncomfortably on his squeaky chair turning to face Renee, "Renee, you need to tell her."
"Tell me what? Mum what is he talking about?"
"Bella, sit down," mum told me with authority.
"No, I won't sit down, now tell me what's going on," I said through gritted teeth.
Mum looked pale; her face turned whiter than mine which was close to albino.
"Bella, when I told you that Charlie left me because I was pregnant, I lied. I left Charlie because I didn't want to destroy his life. I know that lying to you about it wasn't the smartest thing I've done but I was trying to protect you from the mistakes I'd made. We were so young; it just didn't feel right to destroy his dreams as well as mine." The words tumbled out of mum's mouth with such sincerity that I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.
"No, I don't understand. Mum you always said that he left you, that he didn't want us." I stated. The stress of the situation was beginning to make me want to chew my nails but I had finally given that up so I wasn't going to resort to old habits now.
Renee just shook her head sullenly, as if in recognition of the truth.
"How could you lie to me like that mum, after all we've been through? I trusted you and you just fed me lies about my life. You made me hate him with every fiber of my being. How could you do that?"
"And you, where were you when I needed you most?" I said, facing Charlie, "How could you not at least write or send a birthday card?"
"I didn't know you existed until two weeks ago, I've just been coming to terms with having a daughter myself!" Replied Charlie.
He was obviously just as nervous with the situation as I was.
"You mean you never even told him, you just left without a word," I threw at Renee. My anger was starting to build now and those ridiculous tears started welling up in my eyes.
"What was there to say, 'sorry I got pregnant, have a nice life'. Bella, if I told him then I would have destroyed everything he'd worked for. I couldn't do that to him." Mum looked sad, beyond sad. Heartbroken was more fitting.
"I can't believe this, why now? Why not, oh say… seventeen years ago? Because I think that would have been a better time than now, don't you think?" Sarcasm was dripping heavily in my voice.
"I know, Bella. I know that now but I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry," tears were sliding down Renee's face as she acknowledged her lies.
Renee stood in the middle of the room, her arms outstretched towards me, waiting to enclose me in them. I would not give her the satisfaction.
"I need some time to think. I'll be in my room," I whispered after a few moments of awkward silence and made for the solitude of my room.
On the way I heard Charlie trying to comfort mum but right now I didn't care how she felt or her reasoning behind the lies. My life had been turned upside down in a matter of minutes. I pressed my door shut and threw myself on my bed. The tears were really starting to poor now, blurring my sight.
How could she lie about this? All my life I wanted a father and she had been denying me the one that was mine. Everything in my life had become a lie. I rolled over and pulled the cover above my head, closing my eyes and trying to sleep away my worries, hoping that this was all just a bizarre dream. Before I could drift away into unconsciousness though, I got that strange crackle down my spine again. This was starting to get annoying. Who would be able to watch me three stories above the ground, and why would they want to watch a nobody that was as interesting as a piece of blank paper. Deciding I was nothing but paranoid, I finally succumbed to sleep and drifted into a more pleasant world.