Twisted Minds

Chapter One

Are you happy?

I know it's a ridiculous question to ask, but really think about it for a second. Are you happy? If you are, hold onto that for as long as you can because I have learned that above everything, not all thing happy in life last forever. Not even me, being a normal girl from Ohio, could be happy forever after living what I thought was a normal life.

Aside from not having a dad, my mom and I had always been close. But just because I didn't have a dad in the picture didn't mean my life wasn't normal, plenty of people only have one parent in their lives and they turn out fine. So could I.

All of my life it has been my mom and me, the strong-willed woman and her only daughter. My mom is the owner of a cake shop Duval's Cakes and after graduating high school I spent the summer there helping her.

I added icing around the edges of a graduation cake someone has ordered and just as I was about to add the finishing touches, the lights in the cake shop went off.

"Mom?" I asked, lifting my head and attempting to get a clear view but everything was too dark.

The staff room door squeaked open and my mom's face, along with my best friend, Kira, was lit up from the candle light.

They began to sing Happy Birthday to me as she walked out of the staff room and towards me, causing me to laugh and set the icing aside.

"Make a wish, Elaina," Kira said to me.

Today is my eighteenth birthday, the day I'm supposed to become an adult and it should be the happiest day of my life. I hadn't thought much of it, I focused on working at the shop but having Kira and my mom here made me feel more in the mood to celebrate.

I closed my eyes and thought of a wish before blowing out the candles. I didn't wish for anything because in that moment I didn't need anything, I already had everything I wanted.

I had built my life the way I wanted it to be and no wish I made would change that, actions would.

As I opened my eyes, I smiled at my mom and Kira, "Shall we cut the cake?"

We sat together at a small table in the cake shop that was close to the window, since we were closed at this late hour we had the whole place to ourselves and the privacy was nice.

While we enjoyed the fresh cake that my mom had baked for me, mom and Kira also passed their birthday gifts to me which consisted of a best friend charm bracelet and my mom gave me a limited edition copy of The Great Gatsby, which happened to be my favorite novel.

"I'm also trying to get us tickets to that Pitbull concert," Kira explained to me, seeming disappointed, "They're sold out but I might be able to get some for the show in New York."

My jaw dropped in excitement, "You're kidding? Kira!"

My mom simply shook her head, "No. I'm sorry, but you're not leaving Ohio, Elaina."

"What?" I asked.

"I said, you're not leaving Ohio. Do the concert but only if it's in this state..." She cleared her throat, "I, uh... I'm not comfortable with you leaving the state."

It's seemed highly unfair that she felt like she had that type of control over my life, especially now that she legally didn't.

"Mom, I'm eighteen now. I'm an adult," I explained to her as politely as I could, "I'll be okay. Kira isn't even sure yet."

My mom's gaze met Kira's, "I'm kindly telling Kira to not waste her money because you are not leaving the state. Ever."

I had no intentions on staying in Ohio forever, I planned on doing my schooling elsewhere and escaping this town, but the way my mother stated this made me feel trapped and I could only wonder the meaning behind her words.