Stockholm

[Saralaya]

I started something I ended up completely ignoring. Sorry.....

 

I will not be posting in this anymore.

Edited February 15, 2015 by Saralaya

[Saralaya]

Prologue

 

When I was a young girl, I always thought I would find my prince; my knight in shining armor. We would meet somewhere nice and he would think I'm the most gorgeous girl on the planet and sweep me off my feet. We would be totally in love. After a few years, we would get married and start a family. We'd have a beautiful little girl and a handsome son. When I got pregnant, we would decorate the baby's room together and we'd have a blast. It would be the perfect family.

I wasn't completely wrong.

We didn't meet anywhere especially nice, but he was sweet, at first. He does think I'm the most gorgeous girl in the world, and he'll never cheat on me. He will always be faithful. But sometimes, if you look hard enough, your knight is wearing black armor; he just painted it to look shiny.

I'm not totally in love, but I'm pregnant with his little girl; we're not even married yet. I'll remind myself of these dreams as I decorate the baby's room, and I'll get tears on the cement floor. When I'm done the small amount of decorating I can do, I walk back up the stairs to the kitchen to make supper for my knight. before I cross the threshold to the main floor, I glance back at my handiwork in the basement; my future daughter's life.

When making plans, just remember, life doesn't always go the way you want. Sometimes it will throw big, burly men to block your way and take you down a different path.

 

 

 

 

[Saralaya]

Chapter 1 - Present Day

 

Valerie took the scenic route through Ketchum, Canada, on her way to her new home. It was a beautiful little village. There were quaint little houses surrounded by forest and all their yards had lovely gardens. On the main stretch, there was only the necessities: Sobeys, the only grocery store for 50 kilometers, a gas station, a cute little B&B, a garage, and the smallest school Valerie's ever seen. The whole town's population came up to a little over one thousand. It was the perfect town for a new beginning.

She pulled in the driveway to her new home and was still in awe about how cheap this beautiful house was; it was only a little over a hundred thousand. It was a simple, two-story home. The exterior walls were a pale yellow with orange shutters. The trees hugged the left side of the house, and past the driveway on the right side was a flower garden that led to more trees. This country home certainly came with privacy. Her only neighboring home was to the left past a yard of trees.

Valerie grabbed all of her belongings - her suitcase with all her clothes, her laptop, and a few non-perishable food items - and brought them into the her new home. She had all the necessary furniture already delivered. The entrance led to a rustic looking kitchen with a small dining table in the middle of it. She walked through the kitchen to the hallway that led to the living room and the stairs to the top floor. Attached to the hallway was a coat closet and a half bath. She brought her belongings up the stairs to her bedroom, then went to her en-suite to have her first bath in a couple of days.

It felt amazing to lay in that warm water after driving for two days from Utah to Ketchum. This place is going to be amazing, she thought to herself. This town is exactly what she needed, after running away from her latest, out of a long line, of abusive boyfriends. She chose this town for its distance and solitude. The lovely charm was just a bonus. Being able to work from home as a web designer made everything easier, as well.

Feeling refreshed, she got out of her tub and put all her clothes away. She promised herself she would go to the next town over to buy some more clothes sometime soon. As she turned on her computer to check her email, there was a knock on the door.

Behind the open door was the smiling face of a woman who may have once been beautiful. All she looked now was exhausted, and probably only in her late twenties. Valerie's gaze drifted from the woman's face to what she was holding in her hands. An apple pie.

"Hi there," said the woman, her voice beautiful and soft, "My name's Amy, I live just next door. I heard we were having new neighbors, so I baked this pie as a welcome gift." Amy held the pie out to Valerie.

"Thank you so much," said Valerie, taking the pie, allowing Valerie a good look at Amy's worn hands. People living in the country must have to work a lot with their hands. "My name's Valerie, please come in and share the pie with me."

"Oh no, I couldn't. I need to get back to my husband, he's expecting me."

"Okay then, it was nice meeting you. You and your husband are welcome to come over anytime." Amy was already walking away before Valerie even finished her sentence. It was then that Valerie realized what Amy was wearing. It was a floor length, long sleeved dress. It was cute with a floral pattern, and looked as if she may have sewed it herself. It was stylish, which would explain why she was wearing it, except that it was the middle of summer and almost thirty degrees outside.

Shrugging, Valerie went to the kitchen, sliced herself a piece of pie, and went back up to her computer. A wave of anxiety passed through her as she scanned her inbox. Ten emails from Alex, the guy she was currently hiding from. When she left him, she grabbed everything of hers that was necessary, bought a new phone, and traveled somewhere far so that hopefully he wouldn't be able to track her down. Apparently he couldn't just leave her alone, and since he couldn't call her, he was spamming her inbox. Furious and scared, she deleted each message without opening them, and closed her email. She started looking up stores that sold guns.

Edited June 26, 2014 by Saralaya

[wingedcat]

Ooh, I love disturbing stuff! (I also love sleeping, but I try not to think about that too much. )

 

I'm no expert by any means, but I like the pacing and can't wait for the long dress mystery to pan out. You might need some work on keeping tenses consistent, though. There are a couple of instances where this slips ("Valerie's," "town is,"). Other than that, great work and I look forward to more!

Edited July 6, 2014 by wingedcat