1 CHAPTER 1

It was cold...very cold, rain was pouring down in its best speed ,the heater of our home was already on but today there was something about the weather. Not even the heater could blow away the coldness of my room. I sighed and stretched myself as I stood up and walked towards my bathroom to freshen up, I stripped my clothes off and stood in the hot shower, I gasped as the water hit me but then got used to it.I've been sleeping a lot lately and no one's objecting it, because my dear dear dad is as always on his business tour which lasts up to 10 months every year due to which I could spend only two months with him, my mom died after giving me birth. But on the bright side I get to spend Christmas and New year with dad! After taking the hottest bath, I walked into my closet and chose peach coloured loose hooded sweatshirt and black skinny jeans as I left my hair open. I had chocolatey brown hair which were long till my waist and were thick. I walked out of the closet and looked at the time, it was 6:18 pm.

"Cora!" I heard Avery's voice, she was my bestfriend cum bodyguard.

"Coming!" I said as I walked down the stairs and towards the living room. She was sitting on the couch scrolling through the channels on the T.V.

"How did you know that I woke up?" I asked suspiciously. It's so strange,she knows when I wake up,she knows when I'm in the bathroom or when I'm crying or when I'm talking to strangers even without checking!

"Not again Cora, we've been through this. I just know" she said like she always does. I sighed defeatedly and sat down beside her.

"You didn't have lunch,want me to bring you some?" She asked

"Yes please" I said

I wanted to help but she always refuses so as the time passed by I grew accustomed to her doing everything to me...which is a bad thing but I can't and couldn't do anything about it. It's October 22, dad would be here after exactly 9 days.

"Here you go, your favourite cheesy chicken sandwich" she said as she handed me the plate. I don't usually have chicken, actually, I don't like chicken but Avery makes the best chicken dishes, I love her chicken recipes which includes the cheesy chicken sandwich.

"Thanks A" I said as I bit into the scrumptious sandwich. I looked at her, she was busy watching live concert of Charlie Puth, I looked at the large window , rain had slowed down a bit. I gulped,tonight, I was going to commit a crime, I was going to break the rules which dad made for me because tonight, I was going to escape from home to hangout with my friends as I had promised them. They said that they would be waiting at the corner of the street by 7 pm. I looked at the time,it was 6:50 already. I know that Avery would be very mad at me but I had to do this! I wanted to breathe freely for once! After finishing my sandwich I stood up and said

"I'm facetiming Penelope in my room"

"Ok, I won't disturb" she said while watching the concert. I gulped and walked in my room, this was the first time that I was lying to her...But it was worth it...right? I hope so. I very slowly and carefully locked myself in the room without making a single noise. Then I opened the huge window, yesterday I had disabled the cameras, sirens and automatic locks of my room. My dad was really overprotective of me, I took a deep breath and decided to jump out of the window. Thankfully, I was on the ground floor, I jumped out of the window and landed safely on my feet. I broke into a run and didn't stop until I was in front of Andrew's car. I quickly opened the door and sat on the passenger seat, adrenalin was rushing in my veins as I felt scared and nervous at the same time.

"Are you ok Cora?" Andrew asked

I buckled the seatbelt securely and said

"Let's go before Avery breaks all of your bones"

That made Andrew shut his mouth and start the car, everyone was scared of Avery...and at this point..I was too.

"So..where are we going?" Andrew asked

"Club!" Bailey suggested

"No! it's Cora's first time so let's go somewhere more sober" Danny said

"How about showing her our spot?" Penelope suggested

"That's a brilliant idea! Our spot it is!" Andrew said excitedly while driving. I was busy getting scared and nervous if what lies ahead. Let's just hope for the best. I took a deep breath to lock away my fears and as always it worked. A smile spread on my lips as I watched the streetlights on our way to their so-called spot.

The ride was short as he stopped the car in front of a diner.

"Grills and chills" I read out the name of the diner.

"Yup! Dad owns it!" Bailey said as we walked into the cozy looking diner, it had good vibes everywhere. We sat at the round table which was at the right corner. The diner was sort of full with many people of almost all of the age groups.

"How may I help you, ma'am?" A waiter asked Bailey

"I want an espresso" She said

"A black coffee" Penelope said

"A cold beer bottle" Danny said

"Beer? What's beer?" I asked totally confused

"You...don't know what beer is?" Danny asked and I shrugged

"It's a type of alcohol" Andrew said

My eyes widened

"You're gonna consume alcohol?! It's dangerous! " I said worriedly

He chuckled and said

"Don't worry Cora, I can handle it"

"But--"

"It's ok Cora" Andrew said cutting in my sentence, I sighed and nodded

"Sir, what would you like to order?" The waiter asked Andrew

"Cappuccino" he said

"Ma'am?" the waiter asked me

"Umm...do you have ..an orange juice maybe?" I asked

I saw Andrew smiling at me due to which I narrowed my eyes at him, he chuckled and looked away.

"Yes ma'am, we do" the waiter said

"Then I'll have an orange juice" I said

"Sure, ma'am"