C1

Dark clouds covered the morning sky of Starling City. The wind rustled through the now bare trees, and winter seemed to strangle any warmth there may have been. Samantha's eyes fluttered open and she sighed with satisfaction. Today was a Saturday. There was no need to frantically rush around her castle of a house, only to be welcomed by another chaotic environment at work. Sam worked as the CEO in her family's business, O.C. Pharmaceuticals. The business had been her uncle's and her mother's, passed on to Sam when the latter suffered from a fatal cardiac arrest.

Even though it was Saturday, Samantha wasn't completely free from work. She still had to plan, look over files, and even meet with a few stuck-up businessmen who were interested in her company. However, being the procrastinator that she was, Sam groggily sat up, glanced at her clock, saw that it was already 11:00 am, and decided that she would have to move her work to tomorrow, because today was going to be her lazy day.

Her legs swung over the bed and landed firmly on the floor before the young woman lazily dragged herself over to her closet and threw on a pair of black skinny-jeans and a fuzzy purple sweater that may have been just a few sizes too big for a petite 5'2 girl like Sam. She tore a brush through her frizzy brown hair, and didn't even bother with any makeup as she grabbed her phone and headed down the marble staircase of her family's mansion.

She entered the kitchen, grabbed one of her favourite blueberry muffins, and crept toward the front door. She made sure that she stayed quiet, walking with the toe-to-heel technique that she had taught herself at a young age. Sam had always been one to creep around. Although she was quite a goody-two-shoes, she would have to find her own space every once and a while, and that wasn't something her mother had been very keen on letting her do. Because of her billionaire family, Sam normally wouldn't have even been able to walk out her own front door without cameras flashing. Her father had died when she was young, so her mother had raised her in a very strict and protective manner.

When her mother had died, she moved in with her uncle, her father's brother and mother's co-worker. Sam had thought that this move would allow her a bit more freedom, but the effect seemed to be just the opposite. Now, she was rarely allowed to even leave the house without a bodyguard (her uncle was far too busy to deal with such childish affairs). Since she and her family were so powerful, they were considered a threat by many other businesses. This caused many rivalries and sometimes even violence targeted at the family. Sam's uncle was only trying to protect her, but it still seemed a bit unreasonable.

Suddenly, her uncle's voice rang through the hall. "Samantha, you know you aren't allowed to go out without permission. Why didn't you ask?"

"I just wanted to step outside for a bit. I didn't plan on going anywhere anytime soon."

Of course this was only her excuse for not asking first. If she hadn't been caught, she would have gone a decent distance away, probably into the city.

"I wouldn't be worried if you didn't have a habit of 'getting lost' so frequently," he replied, making sure to emphasize his sarcasm with finger quotations.

"Uncle, I'm twenty-five years old, I think I can take care of myself!"

"Sweetie, don't think I don't believe you, I just want you to have some extra protection while your out. You never know what could happen." At that moment he gestured for the bodyguard stationed near him to come closer. "Why don't you take Leonardo with you?" he suggested, even though it was more of an order than a suggestion. Sam only groaned with annoyance as her uncle walked back into his study.

Still, the young woman wouldn't let her uncle spoil her time alone. The only problem to deal with here was Leonardo. Sure, he was a nice guy, but she really didn't have time to have him tagging along at the moment.

"Hey, Leo," she started. "I'm gonna go fetch my wallet, be right back.

Funny thing, Sam really had forgotten her wallet, but she couldn't have cared less. When she got into her room, she grabbed a twenty like she would have any other day, but instead of heading back downstairs to leave with Leonardo, she opened one of her bedroom windows and silently slid out into the tree that stood there. She shut her window again and effortlessly climbed down the tree, creeping over to her Harley that stood in the driveway. Sam mounted the bike and started the engine, feeling the vehicle roar to life beneath her. She took off down the long and twisted driveway, letting the wind tangle her hair. The adrenaline pumped through the girl as she made her way onto the road.

This was what it felt like to live.