Secrets, we all have them. My family more than ever.

 The masks they wear so carefully as soon as their foot hovers outside the house, yet the minute the front door shuts their true colors begin to show.

 The way they slam the door behind them when they walk in a room. How Mother always pulls another bottle of blood-red wine from her secret cupboard and drinks her sorrows away. Or how Father lets his inner thoughts and regrets disappear through the clouds of smoke from his cigar. Brother would never come home on time. His footsteps would slice through the fog of silence that surrounds him.

 All my life I have waited for a day when I, Lily, would be truly accepted into this family. Although as the years pass the outcome remains the same for me and my position; someone to yell at. The chains that once served as a warning bind me and restrict me more and more as I get older. Tackling me down and dragging me back to the place with the people I hate the most; “their” house. One of the good things about getting older and being a fifteen year old is that I know I only have to bear with it for three more years until I am finally eighteen. Then I will be able to move out. Then I will be able to leave this hell hole.

 The morning sun rises with the chirping of birds outside my window. They sing songs to one another, sharing their love as they sit next to each other. I sigh, remembering a time when I, too, wanted to be a family like that.

 My head pounds from lack of sleep. Every morning I wake up, it only seems to ache more and more.

 “I knew I shouldn't have stayed up until four am studying for the test today,” I mumble reaching for some water.

 I rip off the blankets of my bed as the cold creeps in. Crawling up my skin, feeling as though my body was beginning to freeze over regardless of the fact that it was already spring. I jump up too quickly and my vision begins to fade. I sit back down and take a deep breath while my vision returns.

As usual every morning I still wake up to the small room that was once used as a place for storage in the house. The paint has already begun to peel as it hangs around the sides of the room, only to then fall and become left aside on the floor.

 I begin to set my bare feet on the tile floor ready to get up and get ready. The cold feeling only grows by every second they are planted there. I look at my clock as it reads 7:53 am.

 “Shoot,” I spin around fast.

 I lunge towards my dresser as it is only a little more than a step away from my bed. I grab my uniform and quickly change.

 While stepping into my skirt I feel myself beginning to fall backwards onto the floor. My head bangs against the hard floor. I hiss in pain and begin to check my head for a bump.

While feeling my head my fingers begin to feel a warm liquid fall onto them. I bring my hand back down from my head and look at them. Covered in my own blood my very fingers began to look different from before. The same fingers I had used my entire life, now looked almost irresistible. Without thinking my tongue brushes against each one, licking them clean. All while a warm fuzzy sensation begins to appear in the middle of my throat. Suddenly I come to, I gasp in shock and run to the washroom. Grasping the door handle and swinging the door open. Not caring that my head was starting to bleed more and more by the minute.

I rush to the toilet and begin to throw up. Each cough begins to pain my throat and increases my need for that fuzzy sensation once again. I grab some toilet paper off the roll and begin to wipe my face. I then drop it in the toilet. Although before I flush something had caught my eye. The toilet had contained much more blood than I had consumed.

Shocked, I ran to the mirror and looked at myself, my once weirdly golden eyes became slightly red in the middle.

“I just need more sleep, I just need more sleep,” I repeatedly mumble to myself. Each time not the slightest convincing.

I wash my hands and brush my hair and teeth. Afterward, I washed my face thoroughly. I race back to my room and grab my books. Glancing towards the back of the room where my clock sits on the floor, now reading 8:12 am.

Surprised, I immediately rushed out of the door with the hope to just be able to catch the bus. Every step I took made my breath only get heavier and heavier.

The bus begins to pull up as I turn the corner. Gasping for air I run with everything I have left and just make it to the back of the line as the second last kid begins to get on.

I step inside, the uncalled for choice to run both the air conditioning and the heat at the same time begins to overwhelm me. My heart feels as though it had sunken to the bottom of my stomach with the reminding thought that the test is today.

Although my heart begins to rise at the sight of my best friend Kayla waiting for me at the back of the bus. She waves me towards her directions as I smile brightly and hurry along to see her.

“Hi!” she exclaims with her usual positive vibe.

“Hi,” I mumble back to her.

She looks at me worryingly. As usual, she begins to turn to what I call “mom mode’ as she bombards me with questions.

“Are you okay? You look pale? Is that blood on your head? What happened this morning? Is there something wrong? You should go ho-”

I interrupted her, my head starting to pound more now. “I’m fine, thanks but that is way too many questions.”

She lets out a heavy sigh and looks me up and down and begins to pout. “You can talk to me, you know,” she says, her cheeks puffed out while she pouts.

I chuckle and ruffle her shoulder-length coffee creamy hair as she ruffles my silver hair back.

‘Thanks,” I whisper to her.

“No problem, however, you are looking seriously pale, are you alright? Have you not been eating properly?” she scolded with her less soft tone.

“I’m fine,” I grumble back.

Suddenly as the bus takes a quick turn and I fall into her lap.

“Sorry,” I said panicking.

“It’s fine are you okay?” she says while rubbing the bit of blood that dripped onto her bag with her handkerchief.

“Yeah, I think s-” Suddenly my vision shakes and I begin to cough painfully.

I looked at my hand that I had coughed into, to see blood spilling out of my palm from the shaking of the bus. I looked over to Kayla who looked shocked.

“I’m fine,” I say trying to change her facial expression only to be unsuccessful.

She glares at me. “That is not okay-” but before she can continue the bus comes to a stop and everyone begins to get off.

I hold her hand as she squeezes it tightly worried. We get off the bus together and with that, a new day lies in front of me waiting to be experienced.

Hello everyone, it's me Alice.

I had already wrote some chapters to this book although I didn't feel satisfied with those. So with that I have decided to re-write and continue The Romantical Predicament. I am very excited to say that not only will the chapters be longer but I will also be updating weekly. As I begin to pick up writing this book again you will notice that the chapters and writing will be slightly different from before but I hope that you will still enjoy this book as I am hoping to make it better and improve through it. I thank everyone for the amazing support and feel free to check out my other books.

Stay safe -Alice.