Mother of Darkwaters: Book one of the Vessel series by Tony C. Skye

up.
      
       Beep. Beep. Beep.
       She looks to her left. On her nightstand sits an alarm clock. Turning it off, Caroline's legs swing to the right side of the bed – her feet auto-finds her pink rabbit house shoes.  She glances back at her bed. The sweat soaked silky bed sheets are a testament to the beads of water glistening upon her face.
       The teen heads to the bathroom to brush her teeth and take a much needed shower. While looking in the mirror with a toothbrush in her mouth, she notices three scratches on her right cheek.
     
       Not again.
       She immediately examines her chest and sees an imprint of a hand.
      
       That's new. Keep this up and they'll have me in a straitjacket in no time.
     
       Caroline rolls her eyes within her doubt and returns to her morning ritualistic onslaught of beauty time. With a last check in the mirror, she heads downstairs to the early morning smells of breakfast at the Reynold's household.
     
       Sizzle. Pop. Sizzle.
     
       “Ew!” Caroline's mouth puckers in response to the disgusting smell of frying bacon forcing its way into her nose, “I don't know how you can shove that nasty stuff into your mouth.”
       Caroline's mom turns with bagel in hand. She kisses her daughter on the forehead as the girl swipes the cream cheese covered delight.
       “Good morning to you, too,” Victoria responds.
       “I'm starving,” the girl with brown pinned-back hair says, “Where's the..? Never mind.”
       Caroline shoves the bagel between her teeth to free up her hands for the inviting orange juice sitting on the table. She pours a glass, takes a bite of her bagel, and washes it down with her drink.
     
       “One of these days that bagel's going to choke you,” the woman of her late thirties boasts with a slight touch of motherly concern.
       “Not before that pig fat gets you.”
       Victoria laughs. She takes another bite of her bacon strip while in full eye's view of her daughter. Caroline responds with a look of disgust. Her mother grins with a playful triumph before noticing the faint lines upon her daughter's cheek.
     
       “Scratch yourself in your sleep again?”, Victoria stares at the marks.
       “Is it bad?”, Caroline answers, “I tried to cover them. But they're deep.”
       “You need to salve them,” Victoria responds, “Not infect them with makeup.”
       “After school. I promise,” Caroline informs her mother of her decision.
       “See that you do,” Victoria accepts her daughter's decision, “And you might consider wearing mittens when you go to bed.”
       “Ha. Funny.”
     
       Honk. Honk.
       Caroline scarfs down her bagel, slams her o.j. back, and heads for the front door after grabbing her backpack.
    “Hey,” the girl's mother exclaims, “Aren't you forgetting something?”
       Caroline partially turns her head back while marching for the door, “Love ya!”
       Victoria responds even louder as her daughter opens the door, “Love you, too!”
       The front door slams shut. Victoria shakes her head slowly while grinning. She polishes off the bacon strip before attending to her morning duties of dishes, laundry, and the ever so lovely gift of motherly house cleaning.
     
----
          
     
       Caroline opens the passenger side door of the deep blue custom metallic Ford Mustang 5.0. The latest model, this car is fully loaded with all available options. For Rebecca's parents, money is a non-issue. Caroline has often thought they just might swim in the stuff when no one is looking. She opens the door, seats herself inside, and pulls the door closed.
     
         Click.
       “Hey girl, you ready to conquer the day?”, Rebecca Hindsworth asks with no response expected. The blond hair blue-eyed girl fits the a-typical stereotype of the Californian buxom beauty to a tee. She, expertly, throws her stick shift into the first position. The rear tires chirp as her right foot overeagerly