I could usually hear the birds before I even opened my eyes. I knew that when I opened them I would find the morning sun beaming through my shutter blinds making artwork on my white walls, but today was different. When I managed to open my eyes I could not see the beautiful masterpieces that usually danced on my walls. Darkness. No birds. No sunlight. I brought myself to sit up and grab my cell phone from my nightstand. 7:39 am. I made my way from my bed to the bathroom almost gracefully and began to run the water from the shower head. Starting twelfth grade for most people is the most exciting day of there lives but not me. I stripped out of my plaid pj pants and red tank top and stepped into the shower. Being in the water was one of the only things that actually calmed me down. It always had that effect, even when I was little. I had just finished rinsing all the mango scented shampoo out of my hair when I heard my mother calling from the stairs." Bridgette you better hurry the bus comes in 7 minutes " I wrapped my wet limp brown hair into a pony tale, wrapped a towel around my body and made my way back to my bedroom. I grabbed a pair of black tights, a fuchsia high waisted skirt and a black and white crop top and proceeded to get dressed. I grabbed my dark leather school bag and made my way down stairs. I made sure to grab an orange from my moms fruit bowl on the counter before leaving the house. As soon as I stepped outside there were already a few people waiting at the stop. A small blonde girl named Vicky that lived next door to me my whole life was talking to her boyfriend Gus, who was a tall, lanky German looking fellow who I've never spoken too. Me and Vicky used to be best friends until one day she just stopped coming over. Just like that our friendship was over. All those countless phone calls and friendship bracelets just vanished. The bus was always on time but today something was off. School started at 8:30 and already it was 8:14 and the bus had not yet arrived. I threw the orange into my bag that rested over my shoulder and made my way back inside my house. " mom the bus never showed up I need you to drive me so I'm not late" I stated as I shut the door behind me and stepped into the living room. " Honey please sit down we need to talk about some things" my mom said looking at me worryingly. Two middle aged men then appeared followed by an older looking woman with hair as orange as the fruit that rested in my school bag. My mom then continued to speak as they entered the room." Bridgette your whole life you've been a very special girl. Our family is special dear, and I've never told you because I didn't think it would matter but it does matter and everything makes sense now love" she paused. What the hell is she talking about? Who are these people and why are there suitcases at the door? All these thoughts circled in my head as she continued. " honey your a special girl. You can do things no one else can. I think it's time that you learn more about our family and your history, so your going to be leaving today honey"
" where the hell am I going mom?! You can't just get rid of me now that dad is dead!" I screamed out.
My mom hated talking about my father and cringed at the mention of his name. My dad was an amazing man filled with enough love for everyone And my mother hated him for it. When I was 14 my dad was diagnosed with brain cancer and he only got worse from there. The day he died was the worst day of my life because it's the day the love in our family died. My mother no longer had to pretend to love him and now could continue the affair with my grade 9 English teacher that she had been sneaking off to see for months now.
" Bridgette stop. All of your stuff is already packed and your leaving now. I hope you learn some manners while your gone too" my mother calming stated as she left the room.
After that everything was a huge blur. The taller of the two men grabbed my arm and lead me out the back door while the other grabbed the bags resting at the front door. The freaky lady with the orange hair opened the door and the man who grabbed my arm threw me into the car then nothing. Just darkness. I must've hit my head on the way in and it knocked me out. Time was something I had not realized had passed until I looked out the tinted window and saw hills. Lots of green rolling hills and I realized that I was not in Ontario anymore. There were no green hills in Ontario and with this very thought the headache set in. The only sound I could manage to make was a grown as I laid back down onto the chilly leather seat and fell back into the darkness.
Time meant nothing. An hour. A day. I didn't know how much time had passed since I was removed from my house and was being taken to a place which I wasn't sure where I was. I thought I might have been dead but this pounding headache was a reminder that I was still alive. I opened my eyes slowly incase whoever took me threw my into a ditch or something but I wasn't. I was in a huge bed in a room that appeared to be pink. Well this is sure better than a ditch I thought to myself as I sat up slowly and lifted the blankets off my bruised body. My bags sat in the corner of the large pink room which made me happy. At least if I died I would have my Michael Kors bag with me. There was sunshine poking through the shutters on the left wall. Home. "Where the hell am I ?" I whispered to myself as I heard the door behind me slammed open. " Hello love. Your safe here, please don't be afraid" a tall, slender woman proclaimed as she stepped into the room.
" who are you and where am I?" I said and I stepped backwards towards the windows. " my name is Cordelia Foxx and I'm the head mistress here. There are fresh towels in the bathroom. Please take your time and freshen up honey!" She paused. " dinner is at 6 and I know the other girls cannot wait to meet you love" Cordelia then left as quick as she appeared and left me standing in the large room alone. I followed Cordelia's advice and started the water in the claw foot tub. This bathroom was bigger than my entire room at my house. It was entirely white except for the light pink towels that were set neatly on the rack. I removed all my clothes which were now wrinkled and let them rest on the white tiles. Before stepping into the hot soapy water I looked in the mirror. My frail body looked terrible. There were bruises on both of my arms and I had a small cut on my hair line where dry blood had rested into my dark hair. Right foot. Left foot. As my body sank into the water I could feel my headache drifting away. A grabbed a small pink cloth from the rack beside the large tub and drenched it in soapy water. After I rinsed all the blood from my face and wiped my body from the crazy day I've had I pulled the tiny plug up and watched the water disappear. I grabbed a towel from the bunch and wrapped it around myself and stepped out of the tub. I hadn't realized that I still had bubbles on my foot and as soon as my foot hit the tiles I fell from the tub and onto the floor. Tears. I couldn't stop them now they just started coming out and now I couldn't stop them. I just couldn't understand why this was happening to me. Why now? Why at all? pull yourself together pretty girl I told myself over and over again as I stood up and walked towards the bedroom. That bathroom alone was fancier than anything is ever been too so I should dress for the occasion. I dragged my biggest bag over towards the bed and used all the force I still had In my tiny body to lift it onto the silk sheets. I unzipped the big black bag and opened and suddenly was hit with a wave of smells. Vanilla. When I was little my mom used to spray everything with vanilla because she said it reminded her of her home in Rome. It just reminds me of neglect and a lifetime of broken dreams. I reached into the bag and grabbed out a simple black dress except it wasn't simple at all. It was beautiful. It was about knee length with a deep v neck line and enough class to make anyone weak at the knees. I slipped on the dress along with my favourite pair of red heels that were nestled in next to the dress. I took one last look in the mirror and headed for the door. God damn it what was I getting myself into.