Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 1

Carla
The pale morning sun broke through the last of the reluctant grey clouds. A robin sat beside my window, chirping happily, oblivious to the world around him. I smiled at his content expression, dragging my hand through my unruly mop of curls. The smell of smokey bacon wafted to my nostrils, making me leap out of bed. Now that's saying something, normally I'm not a morning person. At all.

But today was going to be good, it was my 14th birthday and I was going to meet Stiles, my best friend after lunch to go for a walk.
I dragged the warm covers back, seconding to start the day, grabbing out my black jeans with daisies, white and blue canvas shoes, a navy top with a small white anchor in the top left corner and of course, my necklace. Anyway, I raced downstairs and snaffled some bacon, hearing the comforting sizzle of the hot oil in the pan.

I quickly scribbled down a note saying I was going to meet Stiles, setting it down in the table in the hall, I gently opened the door, praying it wouldn't squeak and closed it as quietly as I could.

The morning air was crisp and refreshing, exactly what I needed. I just wanted to be away from the orphanage. Yeah, I'm an orphan. This day 14 years ago, this sounds kind of cliché, but I was left on the doorstep of an orphanage with only a note that said this;

Please take care of our little darling Carla.

We are sorry we can't be there to take care of her ourselves but we don't have to money.  She was born on October 28th and we will be back to get her soon. We have left a small necklace around her neck and it is vitally important she wears this.

Carla, we love you so much and are so sorry this had to happen.
Love mum and dad

I walked down the deserted alley along the cobbled footpath to get to the animal shelter. I love it there, it's almost like my second home. So today was my 14th birthday, I'm only 4 years away from being a legal adult.

Yay right? Wrong. I was brought up in an orphanage all my life, birthdays were a pretty dull occasion. If we were lucky, we got one or two presents. Last year I had gotten a beautiful purse. It's was actually one of my most prized possessions. It was black leather with white swirls cascading down it. I also had got a pair of black skinny jeans with rips at the knees. I decided to customise them by drawing white Daisy's down the seams. I was wearing them today and they were my favourite pair of trousers.

I had arrived outside the vets. I could already smell the familiar scent of animal hair and disinfectant. It was like whenever I stepped through the door I became another person. A better person. I was suddenly wasn't the "bad girl" who people were scared off. I didn't have to be someone I wasn't, just myself.

As I was about to enter the vets, I suddenly felt faint. No, please not again, I silently begged. I gripped the door for any support, but before I knew it, my legs buckled, my head smacked the stone ground.

Stiles
I had just arrived at the vets on Saturday morning, feeling exhaustion sweep over my body. I suddenly felt giddy inside. Carla would be here and it was her birthday.

I smiled, thinking of the day we first met:

It was the first day of nursery and I was terrified, I had begged my dad not to make me go and I was clinging to his leg, literally. The teacher and her assistant were trying to pull me off my dad and I wasn't budging.

They finally managed to pull me off my dad and sit me down at the water tray. Big mistake. My 5 year old mind took a small bucket of water and poured it on the teachers head.

I have never seen anyone so angry in my entire life. It was then a little girl with tanned skin, a mop of brown curls and startling green eyes came over to me. She giggled at the teacher's face and then took a watering can and started watering the teacher's head.

I started to laugh and so did the girl, she grabbed my hand and said in a small voice,

"I'm Carla, you look like your name should be Watering can Wilfred, we should be friends."

I laughed at her sentence and said,

"I'm Stiles, yes, we should be friends."

Carla then said, "best friends?"

"Yes."

I snapped into reality, getting off my bike to find Carla collapsed on the steps of the shelter. Not again. Her eyes were wide and I knew instantly what was happening. I could see her pupils had become huge. I fumbled in my back pocket with the keys and opened the door, breathing heavily I picked her up, burst into the vets and ran into the surgery room.

"Carla, come on Carla wake up,"

I felt sick, last time I didn't think she would wake up. I sprinted to the water machine and filled up a plastic cup with water, grabbing some tissues on the way. I dipped the tissue in the water and placed it on her forehead.

"Come on Carla, wake up?" I pleaded.

I felt a sudden rush of adrenaline through my body. Before I could help myself, I knelt down beside her and whispered into her hair

"I love you Carla McGregor. Nothing can change that."