ARRANGED (Book 1) ✔

CHAPTER TWO.

(Lea's Pov)

After the surprising news I had found out yesterday, I stayed outside in the rain a little longer, letting reality settle in. When the rain became a little more rapid, I went inside and locked myself inside of my room, not bothering with dinner. 

Who knew getting cookies could end up leading to this situation?

I certainly didn't see that coming.

I didn't get any sleep last night, instead I stayed awake crying. Of course the next morning it resulted with a massive headache, but it wasn't anything I couldn't get rid of with some aspirin. I also held back from taking a look at the photograph Vanessa had given me. It was of her son. Her son whose name I didn't even know.

I sighed, shaking off my thoughts and instead, focused on my reflection. I stood in-front of my mirror, my eyes gazing over my outfit. It was nothing special, in-fact it was the complete opposite. I was dressed in a plain, white short-sleeved shirt, on top a grey cardigan, jeans and on my feet I wore my white sneakers.

My parents refused to pay more than a reasonable amount of money for my clothing. I didn't mind, though. However, I knew sometimes people in the past, say school for instance, people would judge my clothing and make comments - tramp, beggar and cheap.

I heard it all loud and clear.

I shook my head at the negative thoughts clouding my mind. Grabbing ahold of my side bag, I threw it over my shoulder and began making my way downstairs. The sound of my mother's laughter mixed with my father's could be heard from a distance. I took a deep breath, preparing myself for what was to come.

The creaky floorboards made a sound, capturing the attention of my parents. I diverted my eyes to the ground, not even daring to look up.

Damn these creaky floorboards.

"Where are you going?" My mother asked, her tone snappy. 

"To work," I replied quietly and regretted sounding so small.

"Speak up." My father demanded and I refrained from rolling my eyes, knowing the consequences wouldn't be good. 

"To work." I repeated, this time a little louder. 

"Oh, off you go then. Make sure to bring home some milk." My mother told me. 

"B-But I can't, I'll be receiving my paycheck on Friday." I argued. Today was Monday, I still had four days until then. 

"So? Don't you have any spare change on you? It's not as if I'm telling you to buy me a car by tomorrow." My mother fired back, earning a snort of agreement from my father. I sighed, shaking my head.

"Why not?" My father asked, a hint of anger and suspicious in his tone.

Oh God, he's angry. This is not good.

"B-Because, I-I may have gotten a l-little hungry and b-brought a packet of chips..." I explained, hesitantly looking up. My parents both looked at one another, before bursting out into laughter. I watched them in confusion, my brows furrowing as I bit down on my bottom lip.

"Did you hear that, Martin? She spent her money on chips." My mother laughed along with my father. I stayed silent, not knowing what to do. Honestly, I was quite scared right now.

"No wonder why you're so fat." My father spat. I looked away, trying not to let his words affect me. It was funny that he was calling me fat, when all my clothes were baggy on me because of how little they loved to feed Mary and I.   

"What do you have to say for yourself?" My father questioned angrily. I hung my head in shame, taking in a deep breath. It was a method I had learnt to calm myself down.