Page 1 of Fated to Her

Chapter 1

• Adeline •

I’m dazed waking up, my mother frantically fussing over me. I groan, sitting up off the floor and peering around. Maya is no longer in the living room, and the TV is now off.

“Mom, I’m fine. I just stood up too fast,” I tell her.

Taylor isn’t in the room but returns with a phone in her hand.

“Who are you calling?”

She jumps, not realizing I’m awake, then glances at my mother and the phone in her hand.

“I was about to call an ambulance,” Taylor says.

I shake my head. “I’m fine. I just stood up too fast. Really, I’m okay. I only need to have a shower and get some sleep.”

“She said she’s fine. We can just keep an eye on her,” my mother says, touching my face with the back of her hand and then helping me to my feet. My mother ushers me to the bathroom, and I strip off my clothes before starting the shower and stepping in.

“I’ll get you a towel,” she tells me.

I nod, stepping under the water.

Great, the last thing I need is my mother worrying about me; she has enough stress already.

The wave of heat has diminished slightly but is still present. My mother brings in a towel after a few minutes and then quickly ducks out of the room only to be replaced by Taylor who comes in, sits on the sink basin, and stares at me.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You were burning up,” she says in between gnawing her thumbnail.

“I’ve just been working too much.”

“You should cut your hours back. You’re always working. Maybe you need some time off.”

I sigh. “It was just a bit of vertigo,” I tell her.

Maya sings out from her bedroom.

“You should go check on her. I hope I didn’t scare her.”

“No, she was actually asleep on the floor when it happened, and I was engrossed in the movie. I didn’t realize how late it was. It’s after midnight,” she says, moseying out.

I grab my pajamas and chuck them on and pop some Panadeine Forte. I panic slightly knowing I just took the last one but I climb into bed all the same. Now I’ll have to get more somehow. I turn off my lamp and try to go to sleep.

• • •

The morning starts like any other as I force myself out of bed to get ready for work. Maya and Taylor are already up, moving about the house. I grab my clothes, slip them on, and rush into the bathroom to do my hair and make-up. Taylor comes in a few seconds later and does a rush job of hers before racing back down to make Maya’s lunch.

When I’m done, I straighten my hair then head downstairs. My mother has already left for work, and I help Taylor by doing Maya’s hair, pulling it into two pigtails while she eats her Coco Pops.

“Have you seen my phone?” Taylor asks frantically, lifting the cushions on the lounge as she searches.

I glance around the room before spotting it on the TV unit. I pick it up and see her screen saver is a photo of her and Maya, and her battery is on 3%.

“Here it is, but you might want to take your charger.”

She groans when she sees it is almost flat.

“Get your bag, Maya. We gotta go,” Taylor sings out to her while she snatches the charger from the kitchen. Maya hops off her stool before yanking her bag off the dining room table. We all hop in the car and leave, dropping Maya to school on the way before going into work.