BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. I woke up with a headache from last night. Oh god what happened? Oh yeah now i remember i snuck out again. Recalling the events from last night I laughed humorlessly.
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"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU ? WE HAVE A FAMILY AND YOU'RE GOING OUT AND DOING THIS!!," i heard my mom screaming from downstairs. My dad responded just as angrilly with "YEAH WELL IT SURE DOESN'T SEEM THAT WAY... HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT THAT YOU WERE THE ONE WHO LED ME TO DO THIS ANYWAY?" Ouch I knew what was coming after that and sure enough i could hear my moms tears and the door slamming to her bedroom. That was my que to make my escape. Ok I was planning on leaving anyway but this gave me the perfect oppurtunity to do so without much hassle. Opening my window I quickly slipped outside closing the window most of the way before putting a thin book underneath it and letting it close on it. My room was actually a pretty perfect room in the house to escape out of.. wow mom and dad really didn't think that one through did they? Climbing out onto my roof to the edge and easily swinging down to the old oak tree. I was out. Landing on my back yard with a small thump, i brushed off my black skinnies. Doing on more check I jumped the back fence, lit my cigarette and popped in my headphones. It was about 10:30 pm and it was the fall season, which made it especially dark. I walked carefully down the familiar neighborhood to where there was all forest and a slight opening into the dense greenery. Smiling to myself I could see the light of the fire already. Easing my way into the opening I could hear the voices of the people i guess i called my friends. Finally I made it to the fire and looked around . Everyone greeted me with their loud "heys!!" and tossed me a drink. I took my seat on an old tree stump that was tipped over. I turned and was talking to Ronnie who was definitely a little bit wasted. It didn't matter to me though, it just made him sound like more of an idiot than he already is and i knew that by the end of the night i would be sounding like that too, so what the hell. We all had mindless conversations but it didn't matter to any of us. This was our escape.. The one place that we all came to, to just not have to deal with our problems. Well most of the time anyway.... I had been there for about an hour and Sheila, (Ronnie's girlfriend) was really starting to annoy me.. I mean I understand that she's a little bit drunk but nobody wants to see you guys feeling up on each other. Trying to tune out the random babble taking place around the fire, I started to go back into my mind. I was thinking about my parents and life in general. Wow I never recognized how shitty it really was. My mom is the typical mom who works as a nurse and my Dad is a banker. Oh yes the glamorous life.. not really. They aren't divorced, well yet at least. They try to act like normal parents and like we're one big happy family, but they can't fool me with their bullshit. For the past few months my dad has been cheating on my mom. She knows this but still manages to convince herself that it won't ever happen again, but I know my dad and he hasn't stopped. I am 17, a junior in my oh so fabulous high school, except for the fact that I skip most of the time. There really is no point of going to school when you don't pay attention anyway. There was a time when grades were all I cared about but that died a long time ago, ever since the incident.. I was 15 and known as one of the "preps" in school because of my grades and clothes. That's when the arguing between my parents started happening. I went to my friend Amanda's house on weekend because her parents weren't home. She decided that it would be a good idea to have a party. We both thought it would be so fun and that everyone would show up, and ohhh they did. Of course someone brought the booze and that's when it started getting a litle out of hand. We were freshmen so we couldn't drive, but there were some of our older friends who could. All of us had been drinking and didn't have a care in the world. One idiot; Zak decided it would be fun to go out to the zoo at quarter to 1 in the morning. Amanda was beyond hammered and wanted to go with them and begged me to go too. When she was asking me I just insisted that I would chill at her house with everyone else. I was definitley not with it but I didn't even really know those guys. I told her she shouldn't go but she wouldn't listen to me. After about 5 minutes of her persistent begging her, Zak and 2 other people I didn't know were heading down her street. An hour later there was a knocking at her door and I opened it to find two police officers standing there. It didn't take long for me to sober up because of the news they had to tell me. Everything seemed to happen so fast. Everyone in the house was ordered to go home before they toook them home in police cars. Because I answered the door and talked to the police they automatically assumed the party was mine, so I explained it was my friends house.The officers told me the news that they had been called because Amanda's neighbors called complaining about loud noise. On their way to her house the car that Amanda and Zak had been in had crashed into a tree, due to drunk driving. The thoughts had come rushing through my head. When they all left I knew Zak wasn't driving and didn't think the other guy was drunk! I could have never prepared myself for what he told me next...."I'm afraid the young lady who was in the car went through the windshield and hit the tree." Tears started forming in my eyes uncontrollably. "We're sorry but when we got there she was dead." I was on the ground just sobbing, when her parents had showed up. The police called them on site when they found Amanda's identification. They walked in the door demanding answers and saw me. It was all so overwhelming. So many questions, crying, confusion. Then soon enough my parents were called to pick me up. while waiting for them to get there I also found out that Zak and one of the other upperclassmen were in critical condition in the hospital. The only thing going through my head was it's my fault I didn't try hard enough to convince her to stay home. When my parents picked me up that night , they didn't even say one word to me. We all walked into the house silently and I just wanted to go to bed. That wasn't an option though. My mom pulled me into the living room and asked me what happened exactly. I explained and after hearing all of this she had the most disappointed look I ever saw. My head was still buzzing, and everything was so much. Her and my father finally decided that I was grounded for 3 months. The next few days were just kind of a blur. I had to get over the massive hangover and going to school was just horrible. Everyone was so upset and some were giving me these dirty looks. All of my friends were being weird too acting like I had something to do with the accident. After that I just started to not care anymore, about anything. Looks, grades, what people thought of me. None of it mattered to me. And that's what got me to where I am today. Zoning back into where I was in the woods with Ronnie, Sheila and everyone else, I tried to forget about those painful memories. Now my life is completely different. I run with different people, don't really care about school, have different hobbies and sure as hell am not close with my family. Those things just aren't important to me anymore. We were all just sitting around the fire drinking beers when it started to rain. Of course it does. Everyone decides to pack it in even though it's only a little past midnight because of the rain. I was going to head back to my house but it was just pointless, so without even realizing it I was headed toward Cole's house. Out of all the things that happened in my life, Cole has been the one constant there for me. I walked up the three rickety steps to the back porch and slipped through the door covered in chipped yellow paint. Slowly closing the door behind me I started toward the stairs and up to his bedroom which I had memorized. I knocked on his door lightly and heard him shuffle around in his room. I pushed my way through and he turned his head from the TV screen where he was playing video games to the door way where I was standing. A smile lit up his face when he saw me, which made me feel a happiness that I only feel when I’m around him. "I was hoping you would stop by," he said as he paused his video game. I closed the door behind me, took off my leather and boots and curled up on his comfy bed next to him as I muttered "Well I was in the neighborhood anyway." I looked up at him and felt completely safe when I was looking into those wonderful blue eyes that I knew by heart. He looked back at me with a look of concern and asked " What's wrong Mar?, Were you drinking again?" At this point all I wanted to do was be with him and not talk, but I responded "Umm.... I just had a beer or two." But he could see right through me. "Were your parents fighting again?" Of course he already knew the answer to this. "Well yeah but is that really out of the ordinary?" I responded. He took my thin hand into his and looked at me with those amazing eyes and said, "Mar, I know you're parents are constantly fighting but you can't go off and be reckless every time they get into an argument. Just because they're ruining their own lives doesn't mean they have to ruin yours". I finally looked up at him and he said with a concerned knowing look "and plus you know what happens when you get drunk..." I knew Cole was right. When I drink I don't have control over my powers, so it can be really dangerous. Cole is the only one who understands me and knows about my powers. Tonight was different though. I had sat there at the fire letting the whole memory consume me to the point where I could still see everything happening right in front of me. It was too overwhelming. Most people now might see me as the girl who turned into a nobody after her preppy best friend died, and doesn't give a shit about anything. But they're wrong. Oh are they wrong. Maybe I don't care about the bullshit that these high school waste of space people spout about me, but I did care about all the looks I got after the incident, like it was my fault, how Amanda's parents looked at me at her funeral. and how my parents didn't even want to talk to me afterward. It wasn't until I came back to reality that I felt Cole's strong hand stroking a tear off of my cheek. This is why I love Cole. I just felt so alone , nobody there for me..Except for him. Looking at him I noticed how truly beautiful he was . His bright blue eyes that had worry written all over them. He had perfectly tanned skin that was offset by his dark chocolate brown, shaggy hair. "I'm sorry" I whispered. He looked at me and whispered, "You don't have to apologize, Mar." With Cole I could be myself and felt safe. So we just laid there on his bed for hours, talking until I sat up and realized what time it was. Getting close to 4 in the morning, but I could've cared less honestly. If my parents found out I left last night, the worst they could do would be to ground me. And that sure worked well when I sneak out anyway. So I fell asleep, in my best friend's arms.
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I sat up looking around and put my phone on silent...Stupid alarm. Trying not to wake Cole I moved around and Oh shit!!! Next thing I know I'm falling off the bed and hitting the floor with a thump. I was still hoping Cole didn't wake up but like his predictable self he is sitting up looking over the edge at me kind of confused and when I glare back at him the goofiest smile appears on his face and he started laughing. I get up and straighten my clothes out. By now it's around 8:30, and it's a Friday. He finally looks at the clock and flips out! Damn! We're late for school!! Looking questioningly at him I repeat "We?.." He runs around his room looking for something to wear, while I just watch him completely calm, except for my killer headache. "Yes. WE! Comeon Mar don't you want to go to the last Friday of your Junior year? They're gonna have a picnic at lunch!!" he tries to convince me with his pleading voice, but I can't help but snort at his thought. "OMG, you're totally right!!! Why wouldn't I want to hang around all of the lame preps talking about their new bathing suits they bought and cruises their families are going on??." I respond sarcastically. " I think I'll pass, besides we're not actually learning anything!" (like i have all year I think to myself). Cole was pulling on his favorite tee, which I doubted was clean and walked over to me and said "Well then what are your plans for today then?" Suddenly I felt nervous because originally I probably would've just hung out in the woods by myself doing the usual. So instead I responded with " Well you know, Hang out and such". He looked at me with a blank look and said something that surprised me with a goofy smile, "Well then what are we doing?" Once again "We??". He nodded, pulling me out the door with him. We walked down his street and started walking towards the lush woods. Once we got through the bushes we took the worn pathway that had been walked on many times by me, so much that it almost looked like my shoe prints were engraved into the dirt. Taking the path as far as it would go I heard Cole ask "How the hell do you know where you're going? It all looks the same!" Wow I thought, he definitely was not the woodsy type. "Just follow me and stop asking questions" I replied after taking a cigarette out of my pocket and lighting it. Turning behind me to make sure Cole was keeping up I could see the disapproving look on his face. Cole didn't judge me because we were so close but still didn't like seeing me hurt myself by smoking. Once we were at the end of the path, all there was in front of us was a small area that was cleared of tress and where you could hear the water from a nearby creek running. Taking a right at the clearing I carefully maneuvered my way through the trees where there was no path now and guided Cole. I knew these woods like the back of my hand so I was able to find exactly the spot I was looking for. About 5 minutes more of walking and Cole and I were standing in front of my favorite spot in the woods. I heard Cole gasp as he looked up at the amazing sight before us. It was a small area that was surrounded by trees almost in a perfect circle and there seemed to be almost a canopy over the whole thing made of vines and leaves from the trees. It was shaded except for the spots between the leaves where the sun leaked through.
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Soo yeah. That basically concludes chapter one. It's not extremely long but then I wouldn't want to give everything away in the first chapter! Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this. Also if anyone was wondering about The Escape, I'm sorry I have not been able to update it in a while, what with school, friends, family and all but I am still working on it. It's been hard to just have time to sit down and write but now with summer here and having free time I should be updating that soon! Well I hope you guys enjoy what I have so far!! (: <3
