Introduction

My story is not shocking. It is not romantic, nor happy. It simply is what it is.

It is, however, worth telling, I believe. We all have our contributions to make, after all, and perhaps this can be mine.

My name is Anna Wells. I have lived my life in the small town of Twinbrook, which has been a blessing and a curse. I didn't have a particularly tragic childhood, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it was happy. I "come from money," as they say. Very old money. As a result, I was blessed with only the finest things money could buy, and a beautiful house to grow up in.

Unfortunately, I was not so blessed with warm, loving parents. They were both cold, distant, and never seemed to know how to laugh. I believe they loved me, in their own way, but they never understood me. I never felt comfortable at home.

I also had an older sister, Ashley. She was every parent's dream: intelligent, polite, hard-working. She was so infuriatingly perfect. She was the standard by which I was constantly measured, and I was always found wanting.

However, Ashley was an amazing sister. We shared secrets, we laughed together, she helped me with my homework. She was a remarkable support to me during my time at home.

I suppose I should explain what made me less than perfect to my parents. I was an artist, something for which they had nothing but disdain. I tried my best in school, but I just couldn't achieve the level of success that they expected from me. I believe, looking back now, that my heart simply wasn't in it. I knew I didn't want to go to college or become a doctor. I wanted to move to Bridgeport and open a studio. Ashley always joked that she would move with me so that she and Matthew Hamming could finally be together.

Other than that, my parents and I simply never saw eye to eye. I never liked to take things too seriously, whereas they were constantly serious. They were very conservative and strict, and while I don't believe I would classify myself as a rebellious youth, I was far more free-spirited than they cared for, and I had very different views on what was acceptable behavior.

These differences were frustrating, but it was something else entirely that brought everything crashing down...