All Chapters of Gifted Shadows: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

My fourteenth birthday came and went in early May, and it was now three months without a word from mom. I was heartbroken that she would miss my birthday and then miss summer. Summers with mom were my best memories, since she never did have a job. That was our special time when we could just laugh all day, and nothing else mattered. Since I had nothing else to do, I found myself asking some of my teachers for extra work.School had started back after a short summer and everyone was busy with their own stuff … and nobody cared what I was doing. I went from having mom around, hanging on my every world and giving me all the confidence a young girl could ever need, to having no one.Dad was working twelve hour shifts, Erik was into sports and was ‘Mr. Popular’ …  I barely had any int

Jace and I had now been in our 'relationship' for a couple of months, and things were actually going pretty well. I was learning a lot more about how to be more girly ... from my boyfriend. It actually wasn't as weird as I thought it would be. However, I was met with the serious third degree from dad and Erik, and dad decided to leave Erik “in charge of it,” as he put it.  Dad was shocked when I asked for money to go shopping. “Yeah, I know I rarely go shopping," I had said. Dad laughed and raised his eyebrow, “rarely, huh? How about I am usually begging you to go shopping and telling you that you need to be a little more ...  feminine?” Yeah, about that.&n

I was absolutely devastated that Jace/Julia dumped me. Not that we were really "together" but I came to desperately rely on our relationship and losing it was not in the cards for me. What the hell was I supposed to say to my dad and Erik about it? Even Mr. Drew made a comment about not seeing us together anymore. I didn't do anything wrong, at least not that I could tell. I still had all of Julia's clothes, makeup and a couple wigs in my room, as a constant reminder of what I lost. Jace started missing a lot of school and even dropped baseball. I started getting very nervous for him, but what could I do? I tried going to his house one night, and his mom just said he wasn't feeling well. I even tried talking to his sister Victoria, who was only in

I was still only minimally friends with my cousin Tara and I really didn’t want to involve her but I was desperate. I called her after the “chat” with Jace and I convinced her to tell my dad I had come over and fell asleep at her house Friday night. Oftentimes, when dad would come home after a night out, he’d just go to bed and assume I was in my room, he didn’t really bother checking up on me. I told Tara that things between Jace and I had been rocky but we were working it out and she was actually happy for that, so she agreed to help. She asked about James and if I could introduce them. She didn’t know I went out with him last night. I quickly changed the subject and hoped she would let it go … maybe I could hook her up with Corey. I figured the rumor mi

The weeks fell away and I immersed myself in work from Professor Evans. I really thought hard about trying to go back in the fall and be a senior. The sooner I could finish high school the sooner I could get out of here. It's not that I hated being home, but it just seemed like it was time to move on. I was ready for the next big challenge, and honestly I was tired of living in Erik's shadow. He was done with school and going into the army. My dad was so proud and gushed about him constantly. The perfect son, good grades, good looking and never a shortage of girlfriends. At first dad was not happy about him wanting to go in the army, but Erik wasn't taking no for an answer.Since Erik was leaving, he was out partying with his friends every night, making the most of his final days. Dad was working all the