Runaway

Chapter 1

"And here we are!" Aunt Joyce says cheerfully as the rusty minivan pulls up to the driveway. The house sits on top of a huge piece of land. The bright red door stands out against the dark, moldy brick. I can see toys on the lawn and an old chicken coop off the side of the house. "Honey get her bags for her will you?" She motions to her husband in the passenger seat. Dave was his name I think. "I'm so excited for you to meet our Lily she is just thrilled to see a new face in the house!" Joyce squeals, turning to me.

"I'm excited too." I say smiling as if my life depended on it. "And don't worry about my bags I can handle it," I tell Dave as I get out of the car. I watch as he opens the car door for Joyce and holds her hand tightly. They're a cute couple. She grins at him squeezing his hand back. Ugh romance. They head towards the front door, watching to make sure I follow. Before they can get the door open, a loud scream echoes from inside. A little girl jumps through the door and leaps into Joyce's arms.

"Mommy and daddy! You're home!" She screeches. Her blonde curls bounce up and down as Joyce rocks her back and forth. "Are you my new cousin?" She asks, turning to look at me. Her perfectly round face beams up at me. I rub the back of my neck uncomfortably and slowly nod yes. "How come you're so old but I've never seen you before?" She questions me. I notice Aunt Joyce and Dave glare at each other, clearly not sure how to appropriately answer her question.

"She's a hyper one!" Aunt Joyce says as an attempt to skip that awkward conversation. "This is my daughter Lily and Lily this is your cousin Mai!" Joyce exclaims as she nudges Lily forward to greet me.

"It's nice to meet you Lily," I reply politely. "And to answer your question, my parents are bad people. That's why we've never met."

Lily's eyes widen, her curiosity clearly peaked. "Where are they now?"

"Not here. Which is good enough for me," I say dryly and turn my attention back to Joyce and Dave. "Can you show me my room please? I think I'm going to get some rest."

Dave, clearly uncomfortable with my brutal honesty, shuffles towards the hall. The lights flicker slightly as he leads me down, stopping at the very last door. I thank him and walk into my new room. There's old wallpaper on the walls and a lightly stained carpet rug in the middle of the floor. The bed sits next to the wall with a small pillow that reads, "Live, Laugh, & Love." How typical. I turn the pillow around so the words aren't shown and look up at the empty walls around me. It's not a castle but it's not the street either. I place my bags on the floor beside my bed and sulk into the pillow. One minute. I'm allowed one minute to feel sorry for myself and then I have to get back up. That was the plan anyway.

The next morning.

"Knock knock sweetie! There's someone I want to introduce you to," Aunt Joyce shouts through the door, interrupting my one minute. Sunlight shines through my window as I realize it's not nighttime anymore. I grab my phone and check the time. I don't even remember falling asleep. I groan as I slowly get out of bed and make my way to the door. I walk past the door and through the long hallway Dave had led me through before. I rub my eyes, attempting to wake myself up, when I hear a familiar voice coming from the kitchen. I turn the corner only to see the same guy from the bus yesterday. Our eyes lock immediately and now I can see there's no question about what color his eyes were. They were a deep green color. He held his gaze strongly; eyes staring through my soul. They look sad. "Shawn, this is Mai, my niece I told you about." Joyce smiled coyly. It's seriously way too early for her to be this happy.

Shawn takes a few steps towards me and holds out his hand for me to shake. "I think we've met actually Ms. Joyce," he says with a smirk on his face. I grip his hand and shake it gently, noticing the veins on his arms stick out. His hand is warm and comfortable. So accordingly, I pull away. What is wrong with me?

"So Mai? Where'd you come from?" I couldn't tell if he was just being polite, or if he genuinely wanted to know.

"Washington, D.C." I tell him, avoiding eye contact.

"Hmm. And what are you doing here?" He says, in disbelief. As if this was the worst place that could ever exist. Trust me there's much worse than a safe home with people who love each other.

"I ran away," I say plainly. I'm too tired to sugarcoat anything.

"From what?" He began, "...or who?" He watched me carefully, waiting for a reaction. I wasn't going to give him one.

"Right well anyways," Joyce interrupts, attempting to break up the tension. "I introduced you two because Shawn goes to the same high school you will be attending. I thought it would be nice to have a friend before you started!" It was a nice offer and she seemed fairly proud of herself, but I definitely did not want to be friends with this guy.

"I'm sorry Ms. Joyce, I know you mean well but I don't do friends." And just as quickly as he came, he walked out the door. I might not have gotten out much, but I knew that was weird.

"Thanks anyways Aunt Joyce," I said flashing her a reassuring smile.

"Of course! Now, I made eggs for breakfast and Dave can drop you off at school in 30 minutes," she tells me. I nod in agreement and start to head back to my room before she adds one more thing. "He's not that bad once you get to know him. Just a little damaged," she says, referring to Shawn.

Damaged? Aren't we all?