An Unexpected Friendship

Chapter 2

I wake up at 7:37am Saturday morning to find myself laying against Luca. We were watching 'The Hitcher' late last night and must've fallen asleep on the couch. I decide to be a good friend and let him sleep in instead of waking him up.

Since I can't sleep, I decide to go to the kitchen and make myself a cup of coffee. To my surprise, Luca's dad Aaron is in the kitchen reading the newspaper.

"Good morning," he says with a smile. "Morning," I say rubbing my eyes. "How'd you sleep?" he asks. "Okay considering we crashed on the couch last night," I laugh. "That's good. Are you two up to anything today?" he asks. "I'm not sure what Luca is up to, but I have to go home at some point," I say. Jack smiles sadly, "You know you can always leave some stuff here. Maybe Pam and I can also convert the guest room so that way you have an actual room here." The thought of having a stable home again makes me feel happy and cared for. "I couldn't possibly ask you to do that. Your family has already done too much for me over these last six months," I say.

Before the conversation can go any further, Luca walks into the kitchen half awake. "I hope you're not lecturing her about her choices again dad," he laughs. "I just want her to know we care!" he says. "Trust me I do," I say smiling.

I decide to leave Luca's just after noon and head home. His dad offered me a ride but I knew that walking home was the best decision. I only lived a few blocks away so it's not like I'd be walking for miles to get home.

As I walk toward home, I can feel myself becoming anxious. The feelings and emotions I had experienced six months ago were starting to flood my body again. Memories from the accident  flash in my mind making my heart sound harder. I can hear the screams and the shattering of glass as if I were right back in the moment. I struggle to catch my breath as I continue to stumble down the street. Eventually my legs give out and I collapse into a front yard. I look up at the house in front of me. My house. Somehow I've made it home and I find myself more terrified of stepping inside than of what I just experienced.

I somehow make it to the front door and with hesitation, I open it. I'm met with nothing but silence. This house used to be so loud and lively. A family of five that spent every morning and every night together. A family who shared every laugh, every cry, every up, and every down together. A family who loved each other to the fullest. A family who opened their arms to each other and everyone in the neighborhood. And now my family of five no longer exists.

I make my way over to the living room and collapse on the couch. The only thing I can think of to distract myself from what I'm feeling is to watch USWNT highlights. The highlights always cheer me up, and maybe get me slightly too excited. My dream is to see them play here in Massachusetts. The closest venue to Massachusetts that they usually play at is either in Philadelphia or Harrison, which is too far for me to attend. However, venue changes were made for a few upcoming friendlies and now the team is playing here at Gillette Stadium in a few weeks. I'm praying that I'll have saved up enough money to get a last minute ticket, otherwise my dream is ruined. It doesn't take long for the emotional exhaustion to set in and before I know it, I'm passed out on the couch.

A few hours later I'm awoken by a loud pounding on the door. How could I be so careless and let myself fall asleep! I start hearing a women announce who she is and what she wants.  I didn't need to hear it though. It was Karen from the Department of Children and Families. She's been trying to find me and place me in DCF's custody. Little does she know, I'm not going anywhere with her. I have to get out of here and fast!