Adelaide Jockston was born in a little cottage in Brindleton Bay. She was an only child, but not spoiled by her parents. They were a perfect family and that family was about to grow. Juliette Jockston was nine months pregnant and after dropping Adelaide off at school in the morning, she went into labour. Her father was at work so one of the other teachers drove Juliette to the hospital. It was morning rush hour and so their car was speeding to reach the hospital in time. But they never made it. Juliette was killed along with her unborn child in a car crash only several blocks away from the hospital. A few months after hearing the news, Adelaide’s father was drowning in grief. He had lost the love of his life. He left Adelaide with his sister Zara who he trusted, before killing himself.
Zara cared for Adelaide like she was her own child for two years. They lived together, just the two of them until Zara met a woman online. They started dating and soon enough, she moved in with them. She was sweet to Adelaide for the first few months before she started to say things to her behind Zara’s back. It began as small insults but later it because full on bullying. Eventually, she didn’t even care if Zara saw. She would just stand in the corner looking tired and afraid, her eyes almost empty. Adelaide was never physically hurt, but Zara was. She was a shell of her former self. She dressed differently, she acted differently. She didn’t take Adelaide out for ice cream. She’d always loved wearing bright colours but the colour had drained out of her clothes just like they had out of her face. Just like the life in her.
The moment Adelaide was old enough, she moved to the city, far away from where she’d spent her childhood. She felt guilty about not being able to help Zara and it constantly itched at the back of her mind. She adopted a stray dog, she knew what it was like to feel alone and didn’t want it to feel the same. She named him Diesel (he was found living behind a petrol station) and luckily, her apartment allowed pets. She took up a job at the police station, hoping to one day help those in need. Help people like Zara. She thought it would help get rid of the guilt she felt everyday. Now she just had to wait for her first day of work to begin.