Page 1 of Chase

Chapter One

Yasmin

“Shit,” I gasp, sitting up and trying to catch my breath.

My skin is covered in sweat, my hair wet and stuck to my face. Slowing my breathing while looking around at the unfamiliar room, trying to find something to focus on while I calm down from the night terror. I focus on the alarm clock on the nightstand.

5 a.m. Great.

I’ve only had two hours sleep. Again.

My hand shoots out, trying to locate my phone on my nightstand.

My room is still dark, so it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the light of the screen. There’s no point in going back to sleep when I have to be up soon to get ready for my first day at Canary Bay High.

Opening my email app I scroll through all the unread messages looking for the newsletters from my favourite authors. My pulse slowly starts to return to normal and the remnants of the night terror gradually slipping away.

Sitting up and turning on the lamp I take in my room. There are still boxes piled high in the corner, and empty bookcases line the wall opposite my bed, waiting to be filled with my books.

We arrived in Canary Bay late Friday night after spending Saturday unpacking and yesterday running all around town getting uniforms, groceries, and anything else we need to start school. I didn’t have time to unpack my books. If I didn’t love seeing them on my shelves, I wouldn’t bother. They are just going to be packed up again in a few months when I leave for university.

Putting my clothes away took all the energy I had left last night before I curled up in bed with my Kindle.

Making my way to my dresser, I pull out a black hoodie and pull it over my head. It is two sizes too big. It’s colder here this time of year than what I am used to. We moved from somewhere a little more tropical. Unfortunately, even though it’s spring, the mornings are still cool here.

I’m not complaining though. I love the cold. I pull on some socks and slip on my favourite red Converses. After a quick stop in the bathroom to fix my messy bun, I make my way down the stairs to take Daisy for a walk.

She’s been cooped up all weekend and after the car trip on Friday, she probably needs a good walk. I know I could use the fresh air after that night terror. I don’t bother trying to be quiet. Millie will sleep through anything.

She slept through a cyclone once. I envy her some days. Her ability to fall asleep anywhere is truly a gift.

I smile at Daisy as she lazily looks up from her bed by the front door. She always sleeps at the front door when Dad isn’t home, she’s very protective of Millie and I. Especially when we are home alone.

Daisy is a Golden Labrador that Dad brought home after Mum died. He thought it might help Millie cope with losing Mum. At the time it just felt like a bribe rather than a present.

The moment my shoes hit the bottom step, she’s up and wagging her tail excitedly, she follows me as I grab her lead.

I put my headphones in and start up Spotify, picking a random 90’s playlist to listen to on the walk. I decide it is probably safer to drop a pin at my location, so I don’t get lost in a new neighbourhood.

Daisy and I take off down the street. I let her lead the way, while I attempt to take in my surroundings. The streets are quiet at this hour, and the skies are starting to lighten as the sun peeks through.

The grass is glistening with a light frost. We are in the less prominent area of Canary Bay. The houses along the street vary from slightly run down to modest family homes that could use a coat of paint and some TLC.

We moved into my grandma’s house. Dad and his mum hadn’t been close but when she passed away twelve months ago, she left him her house. Instead of selling it, he decided to rent it out. The last tenant moved out a month ago and when Dad decided that it was time for a fresh start for me, he put in for a transfer with the station and then told us girls we were moving back to Canary Bay.

We moved away from Canary Bay when I was four. I haven’t been back since then.

I don’t remember anything about this town. It’s like I never lived here. I was hoping that over the weekend something would seem familiar, but it’s like I’m seeing it all for the first time.

Canary Bay is a smallish coastal town. There isn’t much here. A few blocks of shops, a shopping centre, some pubs and a school. There’s a police station and a decent-sized hospital but otherwise not much else.

New Hope is about an hour away, and it’s bigger with more of a city style. Before we moved here, I had planned to move to New Hope for University.

Well, I hoped to if I was accepted into the law degree I wanted to study. I don’t know why, but when I was looking at Universities New Hope stood out. It was almost as if I was drawn to it.

I started to research the area and that was when I discovered it was an hour from Canary Bay. The more I looked the more I realised that New Hope was where I needed to be. There was a Disney-type theme in New Hope and the surrounding areas. Neverland University was the elite sport-orientated university. I knew that I’d never be able to get a scholarship big enough to go there. But I instantly fell in love with the area and knew that New Hope University would be the school I went to.

When I told Dad I wanted to move to New Hope for school, he argued with me about it. He wanted me to stay closer to home at the time. He told me moving over twenty hours away was never going to happen.

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