The Start

Lory’s POV

Another day that I'm not looking forward to at all. But then, what kind of day am I really looking forward to? Oh, it would be my 18th birthday and I could get out of this crappy life.

I have to hurry, today is a school day. I rush to wash. The pleasant aroma of lavender and lilac with the warm water fill my senses. My long black hair needs careful washing, otherwise I'll look like a sheep that's been running in the forest. I quickly dry my body and hair and brush my teeth. I can already hear knocking at the door.

"Loreen, hurry up, you have been there for a long time. The others need to be washed too."

I cover myself up and move to my room to get dressed. I know the school bus isn't waiting and I still have to make breakfast. I quickly put on jeans, socks and a white t-shirt, with a black hoodie on top. A quick combing of my hair and a high ponytail and I'm ready. I grab my school bag, that has only one strap, the other one has long since broken.

I hurry to the kitchen, where I can already see my stepmother waiting angrily. “Well, look how you take your time. How long do I have to wait here for my breakfast!” Nancy has never been a very patient person. I take the eggs, bacon and bread. I quickly put the bread in the toaster and turn on the stove so that I can fry the eggs and bacon for 5. I have to be careful not to get grease on my clothes, I don’t want to be at school with dirty clothes all day again. Nancy takes her coffee and goes to do her morning rutines. I know that if I quietly do my things as needed, she won’t nag me very much.

The youngest of the family - Robin - is already arriving in the kitchen and I have already prepared his first plate of food. Robin is 8 years old and has been living with Nancy for a year. Robin is the friendliest in our house and I get along well with him. Sometimes I even manage to play board games with him, although there is little time for that. A small happy smile and he is already focused on eating breakfast.

Jacke and Jacky, the twins, who can always get into some kind of trouble and always make trouble for me, rush in. I always have to hide my things from them, because they have already stolen and sold all my valuable things. At first I always told Nancy about it, but since she is as if enchanted by the twins, no amount of complaining has ever worked for me. I have always been punished for complaining about the twins. The twins have lived with Nancy since they were born, so the last 15 years, while I have only been with her for 8 years.

I remember that I was 5 years old when I was already taken to the next family, I don't remember life before that. I remember the fear when a big and cold hand grabbed my hand and took me along. I was taken to a family where there were already 6 children, and I had to sleep in the same room with the younger ones. They cried every night for their mothers, but I didn't remember where my mother and father were. There were nights when I cried quietly with them, but since no one comforted us, soon none of us cried anymore. Since then, I have been in a total of 6 homes, and because I was very independent and didn't want to stay in one place, I was often moved from family to family. I remember one family when I was 9 years old, I liked living there the most because they lived near the forest, and I could play in the forest every day. However, they didn't like that I didn't come home and was always missing until late at night. So, they wanted me be to placed with another family. That's how I finally ended up here with Nancy. It was important here that I do everything she wanted, and then I could be anywhere once the work was done. This kind of life suited me.

The twins take everything that has already been prepared and start eating at the kitchen table. Grinning to themselves, because they know that Nancy and I haven't had anything to eat yet. I quickly grab another portion from the fridge and start frying again. I'm ready just in time for Nancy to reappear in the kitchen.

“Hurry up, put your bags on and get going, the bus will be here in 5 minutes,” Nancy reminds the twins and Robin. I quickly grab a piece of toast, my bag and Robin's school bag and help Robin up from his chair. While Robin put his bag on, I put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.

“Let's go now, Robin,” I urged the boy. Luckily, we made it to the bus.