Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. If I did things would definitely be different.
My mom, Charlotte Warren, keeps trying to be nice to me so I'll stay. But I'm tired of putting up with the crap that she keeps putting me through. I can only stand lending her money for 'food' for so long.
Mom used to be pretty. Course, she also used to have a job too. She got tired of waiting for the right guy to come along. That's when everything went downhill. Her blonde hair was once the envy of the neighborhood, but now, it just looks dirty most of the time. That's where mom and I differ. She's blonde and I'm a dark brunette. Also there is the fact that my eyes are a steel gray color and her eyes are green. Some people don't even know that we're mother and daughter when they see us. So, I must get a lot of my features from my dad, who I've never met.
I know she's not actually buying food with the money, since after I give her the money, which is from her weekly paychecks, she leaves for hours on end and then comes home looking stoned. That's when I have to go grocery shopping.
And don't even get me started on some of the guys she brings home sometimes. Some of them stay the night while others leave right after they get done. Either way, it's kind of gross. I hate how almost every single one of them calls me 'kid' at one time or another during the night. And at 16, you hate being called kid.
I started counting the days till the hearing. I had filed for emancipation and hoped the judge would grant me this removal from my mother's life.
On the day of the hearing, I got up before mom did and got a shower. I didn't figure she'd be up any time soon since she came in late last night.
The courtroom was semi crowded. My best friend, Janey Young, and her boyfriend, Carter Benson, were sitting on the bench right behind me. Janey and I have been friends since kindergarten. Janey and I have known Carter since 5th grade. Janey and Carter just started dating about a year ago.
Janey doesn't really have a distinct label that people use. She has her own style that mixes several groups together. Her dark, almost black, shoulder-length hair is usually straight but sometimes she puts it up in a messy bun to get it under control.
On occasion, when I wanted to escape mom, I've borrowed some of her clothes. I give them back to her after I've washed of course. It's amazing that we're the same size.
Carter is a bit of a jock. His short messy blonde hair fits pretty well under his football helmet. Sometimes I wonder why he sits with us at lunch instead of with his sports buddies. But I guess it doesn't really matter.
"In the case of emancipation for Miss Melinda Warren. I've read your case, and I grant you emancipation."
I contained myself until the three of us made it to the car then I was jumping for joy while holding the papers above my head in my hand.
I already had the perfect place in mind to move into and immediately went down to put a down payment on the place.
Getting a job was the next thing on my mind. I get a little bit of help from the state until I turn 18 to help with rent and utilities, but it's not enough to cover everything. Course, working enough to cover extra expenses and going to school full time was going to be fun. But I was going to do it. I really didn't want to move back into that dump that my mother calls a home.
I got hired at the grocery store just down from my apartment. Evidently, they just had someone retire and needed a new cashier pretty much immediately.
Janey wanted to color my hair, but I had to turn her down since I knew that anything other than natural colors at work would probably get me fired. She was a little depressed, but we hung out anyways.
School is going good so far. People think its cool that I'm living on my own. I make the point of telling them that it's not as cool as it looks, which gets them thinking and then they leave me alone.
I've been living by myself for almost a year now. I'm doing better now. Mom hasn't called me in months. She kept trying to get me to move back in with her and I kept telling her no.
I hate it when people knock on my door, early in the morning on a Saturday. They better have a really good reason for it, because I might have to go a little crazy on them. And this is the only day I have off for a while, so I wanted to spend it sleeping and finishing my homework for Monday.
So anyways, I answer the door and there's a man in a nice looking suit standing there with a briefcase. He looked like he was about ready to knock again.
"Can I help you, sir?" I said as I put my hand on the door and ran my other hand through my hair.
"I'm looking for a Miss Melinda Warren. Does she live here?"
