Chapter 1

I looked sadly out my window. Not only was it a stormy night, it was a very dark one. Dark, like my soul at the moment. Not the most cheerful way to start a story, huh? Well, then. Let me introduce myself to you. My name is Katarina Ann Houy. I'm 21, with long blonde hair and violet eyes. I live by myself in this 'lovely' dump of a house in Illinois. My husband just left me. Does that give me a reason to be so depressed? Why he left me, I have no idea. All I know is that I will always have a special place for him in my heart. I grew up in a wealthy suburb of Chicago with my parents and younger sister. Now I live in this town. How I wish to move. Go back to Long Grove, where everybody knew everybody. I even miss the snobs. How freaky is that?

As I stare out my window, I notice two young girls standing outside in the freezing rain. They don't look much older than 14, yet they look familiar. They're two of the many town prostitutes. Sad life, that must be. 12 or 13, and selling your body, just to get a decent meal at least once a day? Then I see two guys, probably in their late 30s, go up to the two teenagers. The four walk away together. Disgusting.

I long to get out of this town, get a decent job, make some new friends. Possibly find a new love. Perhaps tommorrow I will go out shopping, though I have little extra money. Daniel, my ex-husband, took most of what he made, which wasn't a lot in the first place.

Sighing, I walked over to the hard, lumpy bed where I spent many late nights with my lover. I laid down on it, hoping to get some sleep. I felt something on my back and reached over. I should have known. This whole house is infested with cockroaches. I shuddered in disgust and pulled the light, unhelpful covers closer to my face, hoping to warm up a bit. I was already wearing many layers of my warmest- and only- clothes. There was no way I could afford to turn the heat on. Going bankrupt was the last thing I needed.

After deciding I needed to find a job, anything, somewhere close-by so I could walk, I fell into a restless sleep, dreaming of cockroaches and Daniel.

...Chapter 2...