The Twisted Chain || A Disney Fanfic [discontinued]

5. the kidnapping

The air was warm and dense, and the sky was an empty canvas of black, as though the stars had been snatched from the air. I heard the police station door shut, and watched as my mother walked to my side, hands crossed over her chest. "Do you know how much money that fine was?"

"A couple hundred?"

She rolled her eyes and began to walk. "You're way off, Ivory Grace. More." She started rummaging through the black purse that hung around her shoulder. "I took it straight out of your college fund. You won't be needing it, seeing that no college is going to want to take a girl who's been arrested."

I was about to open my mouth and speak, but I couldn't find the words to say. What could you say to an angry woman who had become thick as stone from raising a daughter alone?

"You had a great chance of getting into a good college, doing something with your life- and it's gone!" Mom pulled a set of car keys out of her purse, pressing one of the buttons. A black Toyota chirrped from down the road.

I regained moisture in my mouth. "Mom, please, I-"

"Do you know how disappointed I am in you? Do you know how angry I am?" Her entire facial structure had hardened- any idiot could tell that she was in rage. "I thought that I raised you better than to do something that childish!"

I could feel the moisture spreading just above my lower eyelids. "Mom, Keaton and I-"

"This has nothing to do with Keaton, Ivory." My mother waved her hand dismissively, approaching the car and grabbing the handle of the front door.

"Keaton and I broke up."

"Did I not just tell you that this has nothing to do with Keaton?" With a roll of her oceany blue eyes, she turned back to the car, pulling the door open and starting to climb inside.

My heart gave a sickening pound. "You don't care?"

She let out a sharp breath of air. "There are bigger things that I have to care about right now."

My legs were still wobbling, heart pulsing and spitting pain throughout my chest. She knew how much I cared about Keaton- why didn't she care? Why couldn't she offer me even the slightest bite of sympathy?

Before I could grab the car door handle, my mom slammed on the wheel, honking the horn. The sound made each nerve in my body sting as though I had been set on fire. "Oh no, Ivory Grace," my mom growled. "You're walking home tonight."

I widened my eyes. Walking? Was she high? "We're, like, three miles away from our house!"

Mom pulled the door shut. "Well, you'd better get going, then."

And just like that, she was off, the car backing up into the road and speeding off. Even after the car had disappeared past the horizon, I watched, eyes set on the white lines in the middle of the street. I didn't know why I was still watching- maybe I was expecting something to happen.

Mom had never acted that way around me- never. She'd always been so loving, so warm. But then again, I'd never done something this illegal before. However, she didn't have to be this cold. It was like getting snow in Florida- something so rare that when it did happen, the entire world stood still and watched, dropping everything else to take a few minutes and gaze.

"Mommy issues, huh?"

I titled my head at the sound of the voice. I didn't expect there to be anyone else out with me. The night was warm, yes, perfect for a walk- but it was late, about eleven or twelve at night. The street looked abandoned, the police station windows providing the only source of light. And yet, when I turned around, I could see someone, standing casually like I was.