Finding light

Chapter 1.

Bad guy-Billie eillish

          Paralyzed,cold,naked and fear where all I was feeling as the masked man walked towards me slowly with a knife making sweeping movements to a music only he could hear. I tried to move but my feet's were stuck to the ground. His demonic laughter filled the air when he noticed my pathetic attempt to move, sent a chill down my spine.As he got closer and was about to plunge the knife into me,an ominous boom startled me and I fell off the balcony.
I woke up with my cheeks wet and my body bathed in cold sweats.my limbs were tangled in d sheets due to my trashing around, my pillow soaked with sweats and my heart pounding against my chest.looking around my room and realizing it was a nightmare, I sighed and pulled my sheets off and stood up from the bed.i reached for my bedside table and picked up my phone and switched it on.
I walked into the bathroom , looking at the mirror and seeing my disheveled state, I sighed and picked up my toothbrush to brush my teeth. After brushing, i undressed and stepped into the shower. Few minutes later I stepped out of the bathroom and walked into my closet. Grabbing the clothes I picked out yesterday before going to bed, which consisted of a red lace matching underwear and a white floral dress (picture of the dress above)
, I put them on , wore my makeup, shoes and picked up my phone and bag. I walked downstairs and walked out through the front door to the car.My chauffeur was standing beside it while holding the back seat door open for me to get in. Smiling at him I got in and he shut the door and walked over to the drivers side and got in.driving off, he broke the silence,
"Good morning ma " he said .
"How many times have I told you to call me by my name James ?" I replied
Looking like a deer caught in headlight he apologized "sorry ma, I mean miss star". Rolling my eyes,I replied,
"No need for formalities James.you have been working for me for the past 3 years, you've seen me at my worst and you know me better than anyone , just call me Star"
" yes miss star"
Chuckling,I shook my head.its been like this since he started working for me 3 years ago.looking out the window I didn't know when we stopped moving until he spoke. "We are here" .looking around I said a thank you and stepped out of the car.
      Staring at the tall building in front of me called STARLIGHT , I walked in receiving greetings from everyone I passed by and answering with a nod and walked towards my personal elevator leading to the 12th floor where my office was. Stepping out of the elevator, I came face to face my secretary Ella .
"Good morning mam" she greeted as I walked passed her towards my office
"Morning Ella, any messages ?"
"Yes , your mom called she said she's expecting you for lunch today at 'la vie en rose' and sterling and co. Called they are very happy with the turnout of the gala and promise to give referrals to friends and clients" she said as I opened the door to my office and walked to my desk, plopping down on the chair. Nodding at her , I asked "what's in my schedule for today?"
"You have a meeting by 8:30 with Mr Harrington and after that lunch with your mom and then meeting with an investor by 2" she replied. Looking at the alarm clock on my desk and seeing I have 30 more minutes before my first meeting for the day, I decided to look through some files.
"Thanks Ella , you can go" .
She walked out closing the door behind her.Ella has been my secretary for 2 yrs now and she is more like a friend than my employee. I graduated from college 4 years ago and started my company STARLIGHT, which is an event planning company and as the years passed , I also opened a beauty empire called LOU cosmetics . Ever since I was a little girl I loved makeup and used my mother's makeup to experiment on my self. I remember going to my mum's room and putting everything in her makeup box on my face . And when I went to the kitchen to show her my perfect makeup, she was scared at first because it was Halloween and when she realized it was me she laughed at me because I looked like a ghost . And when I turned 13 she got me my own makeup.ever since I've been a lover of makeup and always dreamed of having mine one day.
           Finishing up with the files, I looked at the time seeing it was 8:28 , I stood up with my sketch pad and walked out of the office. Passing by Ella's desk,she looked up from her laptop "let's go" , she stood up with her note and followed me towards the elevator. Getting to the the 8th floor, I walked into the board room and exchanged pleasantries with Mr Harrington and his assistant . "Shall we?"I asked and we all sat down to begin the meeting . 2 hours later we finished with the meeting and I went back to my office.
It was lunch time and I remembered I was having lunch with my mother. I left the office and decided to walk to the restaurant since it was just a 5 minutes away from my office. While walking there, I looked around to see paparazzi following me and taking pictures, I quickened my steps and walked into the restaurant. Looking around, I spotted my mother waving at me, I smiled and walked to her table.
" hi mom" I said while hugging her
" I thought you stood me up" she replied
" no I would never do that, why would you even think such" I said as I sat down across her.
she shrugged and replied
"Well it's not the first time"
"It was only once and it was because I had a meeting"
"Twice actually"
A waiter came to collect our orders,
"Good day, I'll be your waiter for the day, what would you like to drink"
" we'll have a bottle of your best wine"
He wrote it down on his note pad and asked
"And for appetizers?"
"I'll have the crostini" I said looking at my mom
"I'll have bruschetta" she replied
"And for main course ?"
"I'll have the shell pasta with spicy pork and tomato sauce" she said
"I'll have the same"
As soon as He left to go prepare our orders,mom turned to me with a frown " are you okay" she asked
"Yes"I lied. Knowing my mom she already knows am lying.
She narrowed her eyes at me and then her expression changed to understanding and concern,
"How long ?"
Feigning ignorance,I answered "how long did what"
"Don't think am stupid star, how long has it been since the nightmares came back". One thing I love about my mom is that you can hide nothing from her. Since I was little she could always see through me.
"A week"
"A week? ,and you didn't think I should know" she said with hurt in her eyes
Stricken with guilt, I apologized "am sorry mom, I didn't want to bother you"
"You are my child Star, you can never be a burden"
"Am sorry"
Elizabeth Carter has always been a strong and loving woman.even when my dad left us for another woman, she never cried or showed how hurt she was. She stayed strong for us.she worked hard to send me through high school and college doing odd jobs. She's the best and only thing that I have in my life and I love her for that.
Sighing she replied "have you gone to see Dr Alexander"
Dr Alexander is my therapist.she is at her late 40s , she's the only one I could talk to about my nightmares apart from my mom.
"No"
"You know you h-"
We were interrupted by the waiter who came back with our meal.
Lunch went by perfectly and mom left to go visit her friend while I went back to work but not before making me promise to go see Dr Alexander. The day went by peacefully and by the time we closed for the day I was tired and hungry.I packed my stuff and left the office. I took a cab home because I gave James the rest of the day off. On getting home, I prepared something to eat and then changed out of my work clothes, ate and took a shower . I was so tired that as soon as I hit the mattress, I fell into deep sleep.

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
What do you think about Star Carter?
Who is the masked man in Stars nightmare?
Find out in the next chapter.
P.s please do not forget to vote.xoxo