Torn in Two Read Online Free Page A

and pulled herself up so she stood over me. Suddenly, I felt two inches big, and I wanted to cry. Cordy slowly walked into the back of my mind and put a metaphorical hand on my shoulder. For a moment, a shared pain united us.
    To my shock, Mom bent down and roared in my face, "You're a monster!" Her eyes glinted with a damaged and crazed light. "You are unbelievable. Has every word out of your mouth been a lie? A lie upon a lie." My mom shifted her weight from foot to foot then paced away on unsteady legs.
    "I'm not a monster," I whispered with a desperation I'd never experienced before. My eyes clenched shut against the glare of the sun filtering through the windows and the truth of her words. They sent shock waves through my haywire system.
    "Yes, you are. Only a monster could hurt someone the way you just did. Oh, my goodness, Cordelia! Get out!” She screeched. “I never thought it would happen to you." She turned away and looked out at the deserted road we lived on. “I thought if I showered you with enough light and took the brunt of your father's darkness, you would be free from the other world. But you're just like them.”
    “What are you saying, Mom? I protected you. I did what you couldn't!”
    “No. All you did was act like an animal.”
    “I only did it to save you. How can you call me a monster? I'm your daughter.”
    “You aren't my daughter any longer,” she said as she walked out of the kitchen, leaving me alone, confused, and with nothing but an ache in my chest where my heart used to be.
    I allowed Cordy to resume control and buried myself inside the cold prison of our head. I didn't understand. What had I done wrong?
     
    ***
     
    My feet carried me upstairs in a dreamscape. One where my Mom hugged me, thanked me for protecting her, and helped me throw my father out on the curb, back to his cold world, leaving us to live in peace and harmony. Instead, I packed my clothes and shoes, and then walked outside into the sunshine, feeling as if my life were over.
    As resolve steeled my spine, I spun on my heel and took three steps before my carefully constructed dam broke and I trembled. The tremors were deep and my vision blurred. I had nowhere to go. I was alone.
    The clouds circled around our farmhouse, and I let the tears slide down freely. Thunder cracked overhead as a storm brewed and rain pelted my face. I let the water cleanse my thoughts and carry away my fear of the unknown. The heavy fabric of my dress absorbed the moisture and created splotches in crazy patterns. 
    I stayed rooted to the cold stone walkway, and then my instinctual self-preservation kicked in. My eyes dried and my head fuzzed up. I slowly unclenched my hands and wiped the stray tears. I refused to fall apart. Above, lightening struck through the sky in bolts. As the last tear died, the sky lightened and the deep grey clouds drifted away as quickly as they’d coalesced.
    I glanced back at my childhood home, seeing the carnage, even from this distance. Smoke curled out of the windows, and I picked my head up and shielded my eyes as I searched the top floor windows for any signs of my mother. Her bedroom curtain shifted from open to closed, and I knew, in that moment, that she was lost to me. My father had damaged her so bad she no longer saw straight. She'd keep taking his punishments, thinking this was her penance. My only hope now was my father would die, and my mother would be safe.
    I had only one option. Go to my grandmother and start training for my life.
    The stable was in the back of the house, and I walked with measured steps, my youth falling away with every pebble under my leather shoe. My mule, Sassafrass, waited in her bay. She snuffed gently at me when I entered, and I ran my hand over her nose.
    “We need to go, Sass,” I said in a quiet voice. “We're never coming back.”
    She pawed the ground once in understanding, and I opened her door. She walked out with dignity, and I placed my leather satchel over her