Lost In London

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Dedicated to Ashlinized, for your crazy enthusium 

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Chapter 2

My head whipped to the door in front of me. Mom walked in, with her hands on her hips in a scolding manner. She was smaller than me, but it only took the tilt of her head to eye my body head to toe.

"Where did you plan on going?" she questioned me, with a knowing gleam in her brown eyes.

"Cara was about to-"

"-Shut up, Kaleb," I spat. I turned to face my mother again. She was naturally pretty, with tan skin and brown eyes that made her look like an adorable women. However at this moment, her motherly nature had shattered and satan has taken her place.

"I was just going to go out for a walk." She furrowed a brow at me. "We've been indoors all Saturday, I want to get some excercise."

"Don't you think you should have gone jogging while the sun was still up? It's nearly twelve in the morning." But the ATM's open twenty four seven, and mom was still home at that time.

"But can't I just go now? I'm eighteen mom. I'm pretty sure I can handle going for a jog at night."

"Cara..." Kaleb warned playfully in the back. He knew that whenever I mentioned things like this that I would get in trouble. That mean's I would get grounded, and he wouldn't have to drive me anywhere.

Besides, Kaleb got away with everything. I don't know why, but I feel like my mom favorites him over me.

"Cara, you don't know what type of people are out there," my mother told me, like many times before.

"Like who? Pedestrians?"

"You could get hurt-"

"-I have a phone."

"-You could get shot." Oh Lord forbid.

"Mom, we live in Southern California. Not the Bronx."

"You never know-"

"-What do would you know mom?" I asked frustrated. "You're a software developer. You work with computers not criminals." I watched as my mom's eyes narrowed in anger. "What could you possiblly know about getting shot?"

"Cara, there are dangerous people who do dangerous things out there. You don't know what kind of trouble you could run into."

"And you do?" I seriously doubt my mom has. She's overprotective on everything. Whenever she watches the news, which I try to keep her from doing, her rules get even more strict. "You think everything is dangerous, and you never let any of us do anything! Will I ever be able to leave this house? Or do I have to stay in my room for college too?"

Just talk about leaving the house. When I mentioned London to her, she freaked out. The topic made her blood boil, and I swear I've never seen her so upset over anything before in my life. But just because she was upset over something, doesn't mean that I have to be. I mean it's London for a school trip. What could possibly go wrong?

I mean, I've got this passport but it's barely ever been used.

"Cara..." My mother said again. "You're not allowed-"

"-I'm not allowed to do anything. You never let me do anything!" Angry tears formed in my eyes. "You keep me locked up in here, and I swear it makes you happy." I shouldn't have kept on talking, but I was so angry. "If I had a father maybe he would be more lenient on me than you!"

The f word that was never to be said was mentioned. My mother is a strong woman. She raised my brother and I on her own while getting a good paying job to pay the bills and care for us.

I was always used to her being happy, motherly, or angry. But never shocked or saddened. Her expression broke, as if my words really did shoot her through the heart.

"I-I," I mumbled. I turned to see Kaleb but he had the same expresion on his face. He was the only male in this house.

Other than my uncle Duke who comes for visits, there's no other father figure for him.

"Cara..." Kaleb warned me this time.

I turned back to look at my mother. She buried her hurt within a matter of seconds, and became angry again.

"Go to your room," she demanded. "You're grounded for a week."

"What?" More tears sprang in my eyes. "But that's not fair-"

"-Now Cara!" I turned on my heels and sprinted up the stairs.

I can't believe she was grounding me, and for a week. It wasn't fair how she did this too us. Forcing us to obe her rules without a reason for why they were made in the first place.

"And you can forget going anywhere while you're grounded!"

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I heard Kaleb's footsteps approaching my door as I paced around my room. He didn't even knock, he just came in.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He walked in and shut the door behind him.

"No." Kaleb furrowed a brow at me, like my mother just did earlier. "It's just, I'm sorry. I know how you feel when I mention him."

"Don't worry about it," Kaleb brushed off. "But are you okay?"

"No. What does she know about danger? She's the safest person we know."

"I guess, but she's our mother-"

"-And you defend her!" I pointed a finger at him. "You're in this with me too, you know?"

Kaleb's face turned a little guilty. He knew he had more priveledges than I did. Kaleb actually looked like he could protect himself. That's why mom always let him off more. I was slim at 5'7", but keeping myself healthy was it. I wasn't muscular like Kaleb, not that I wanted to be.

"She's been through a lot."

"How would you know?"

"Mom's cares about us because we are family. She did lose her sister when she was a teenager." I glanced down at my feet, remembering some of the few stories of my mom's past that she did tell us.

Mom told us the story because she was trying to get Kaleb and I to be nicer to each other, and I can just say I've been more lenient on Kaleb because of it.

"But me going to London doesn't mean we'll stop being a family-"

"-I think you should just give up on London. How about staying inside the states, like New York or something. New York looks pretty. "

I sneered at Kaleb. He out of all people should know how much London meant to me. I wouldn't settle for New York.

"Get out, Kaleb!"

"What? You're kicking me out when I'm trying to give you brotherly advice?"

"My room, get out!" Kaleb grumbled as he opened the door and left.

I glanced at my closet. My clothes were already packed. I had everything I needed to leave, but I just needed the money.

I was eighteen for god sake. I'm an adult. My eyes flickered to the window and I glanced down. It shouldn't be hard to get out from here.

But I felt determined. I was going to London regardless of what my mother and brother says.