Running Away

chapter one: seventeenth birthday party of one, please

Edited.

O N E : SEVENTEENTH BIRTHDAY PARTY OF ONE, PLEASE.

- Taylor -

Sunlight filtered through the open window, bathing the room in the afternoon warmth, marking new freckles on my already lightly spotted nose. I raised a hand up above my face, examining my normally pale skin for any signs of the summer tan I'd seen on so many girls throughout the months. But as usual, there wasn't much improvement in that department, but I was satisfied to see that they had become at least a shade darker than before. Laying on the floor of the living room, with one shoulder pressed against the wall underneath the enormous arched window so no one could see me from outside, seemed to be paying off thus far.

"Taylor," I jumped at the soft but strict voice, immediately sitting up to snap the curtains shut, shrouding the once beautifully yellow room in still darkness. Across from me, her posture straight as a pole, her thin arms folded across her chest, was Janelle, in all of her glamorous and vicious glory. "What are you doing out in plain sight?"

I flinched at her tone, clambering onto my feet so that I was at eye level with her. Even in her four-inch Jimmy Choo heels, the top of Janelle's head barely scraped average height. She was a fairly short woman, but powerful for her small frame. I chose to ignore her question, stalking to the red leather couch instead. I chewed at the inside of my cheek as I felt her inquisitive glare follow after me, silently prompting me to respond before she had to speak again.

"Can't I go in the backyard, at least?" I murmured.

"No," Janelle chuckled lightly, but with an undertone that implied she meant business. "The neighbors are home, and I am not in the mood to explain the appearance of a strange girl around our house today. I'm sorry, Taylor, but you'll have to stay in. Besides," she paused, her lips settling into a satisfied grin. "Andrew will be by later. Have your books ready."

"Where are you going, then?" I asked, shifting into a more comfortable position on the sofa.

"Press conference," Janelle clipped a dangling diamond earring into her lobe as she answered. "Paul's new movie's release date is being announced, and the producers wanted him to give off a very... family-man type impression. So Is and I are both going."

A family-man type impression. What kind of family man ignored one of his daughters to the best of his ability? To the public, Paul was a glowing beacon of goodness; a great actor, an organ donor, an owner of three charities, a husband of a beautiful retired model, and a father of an even more beautiful working one. But to me, he was just an individual who was biologically my father, but who wanted nothing to do with me.

I pushed these thoughts out of my head with force, as I reached for the TV remote.

"Listen to me, Taylor," Janelle instructed, and I snapped my gaze up to meet her careful glare. "You will not leave this house under any circumstances whatsoever. Do you understand?"

I wracked my brain for an appropriate response, but before I could scramble one together, I blurted, "What if it's on fire?"

Groaning in resignation, Janelle spun on her toes, and stalked back toward the hall from which she'd come. Smirking slightly at my spontaneous victory, I turned to the television, which was currently set to a channel that played endless reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Great. Nothing like watching a badass girl fall in love with a blood-sucking leech to get you into a better mood.

"Ugh, not again," I lowered the volume as another voice complained from the entryway.

Grinning up at my sister, I motioned to the empty space beside me on the sofa. Rolling her eyes, she gestured down to the outfit she was wearing; leather pants that looked tighter than duct tape on her skin, and an incredibly flattering pink top, complete with a strapless sweetheart neckline and peplum waist. Even her hair was flat ironed to perfection, falling to the middle of her back in a straight line.