Chapter 285

With a deep breath, she stood. She had cried enough for a lifetime and she knew it never helped anything. Tears had only angered her aunt more and Lisa had learned that there was a time for self-pity and a time to move on. She’d allowed herself a moment of weakness and now it was time to move on. With head held high and shoulders back, she walked out into the kitchen, hearing for the first time the oven timer beeping away. The pudding. She could already smell the burnt chocolate aroma and when she shut off the timer and pulled open the oven door, smoke billowed out, making her cough and setting off the smoke alarm. Perfect. Another area where she was completely useless. The temptation to fall to the floor and sob uncontrollably was hard to resist, but no good would come of it. Instead, she pulled up her big girl panties, metaphorically of course, and got busy. She turned off the oven, tossed the burnt pudding into the bin, dish and all, and then proceeded to clean the rest of her kitch