Runaway

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Dad!" I exclaim as Justin quickly leaps off of me as I sit up on my bed.

"It's not what it looks like, sir," Justin began to explain.

"I don't want to hear it! Get out!" my dad yelled at Justin.

I gave Justin a nod, indicating that I would meet him tonight. He nodded back and climbed out of the window.

"Dad, let me explain," I started.

"No. I know what I saw. You expect to be having children at a time like this? At the age of 13?!" my father yelled.

"Dad, we weren't doing anything. I tripped over my feet and fell backwards and accidentally pulled him with me! There's nothing going on!" I argued.

"I told you to never interact with him!" my dad fumed.

"How can I not interact with him? He's one of my closest friends!" I shrieked.

"Yeah, friends with benefits I bet," he muttered.

My mouth gaped wide open. I couldn't believe he had just said that. My eyes watered. How could have he just said that? I looked away, fidgeting with my hair.

"The next time I catch you doing something funny with him, it will be the last of him!" my father scolded as he shut the door.

I scurried to the door and locked it shut. I hurried to my closet and pulled out a duffel bag and began to stuff it with clothes. I packed warm, dull colored sweaters, underwear, shirts, jeans, socks, and shoes. I quickly crept out of my room to get as much food such as canned goods, fruit, and goodies in the fridge. I didn't run into the wardens and I was super thankful for that. I ran into the bathroom and grabbed my toothbrush, toothpaste, body soap, and shampoo. I also grabbed 12 water bottles from the fridge and scurried to my room. I locked the door again and put everything in the duffel bag. I also put in a warm blanket.

I reached into my bookcase in the corner of my room and took out a map of the United States and put that in the duffel bag as well. I was ready to go. I suddenly heard footsteps approaching my door. I quickly kicked the bag under my bed and laid on the bed.

Someone knocked softly.

"Can I come in?" a voice asked.

I slowly slid off my bed and silently made my way to the door. I quietly unlocked the door and opened it just a crack. It was my mother.

I turned my back to her and sat on my bed, resting my head on my pillow and trying to control my breathing to deal with the talk that I felt was going to spark between my mom and I.

"Are you okay?" she asked, nearing my bed.

I didn't answer her. I was still in shock at how my parents had both acted with me this day. It was starting to turn into the worst day ever. I had barely gotten out of detention this afternoon to be shot with all this new and horrible information that would change my life forever without a single warning. I was in ruins.

My mother climbs on the bed and sits down right next to me. Her hand comes up to caress my face, but I just pull away and shift my head so all I was seeing was the small cracks of the ceiling. Whenever I couldn't go to sleep, I would always stare up at the ceiling and count how many cracks there were. The farthest I've gotten was 185. After that, I was so tired and sleepy, I couldn't even focus my eyes well so I just closed my eyes and slept.

"Joy, I'm sorry," she apologized.

I sat up and faced her with a glare.

"You slapped me," I stated emotionless.

"I know, and I shouldn't have. You have just been acting up lately," my mom murmured.

I looked down at my hands. Me? Me acting up? She has got to be kidding me. A small smile crept on my face thinking of how I was going to escape all this bullshit tonight. But I quickly wiped it off and faced my mom.

"I'm sorry too Mom. Well right now I'm going to rest a little bit so I think you should go rest too," I told her, hoping she would get the hint that I wanted her to leave me alone.

"Oh, of course. Sleep well," my mom said as she walked out of the room and closed the door silently behind her.

I shifted so I was laying on my left side. I was going to leave this place tonight. It's not like anyone was going to miss me. My crush was coming with me anyways so it wasn't a huge deal. I took a deep breath and got up and started to observe my room for the last time.

I tiptoed around in my socks at every little thing. I had a small room with red walls and white window curtains. I went to my bookcase first. I loved reading, getting lost in a fictional adventure where no one can find you. I touched the book covers, some with dust on them and some shiny new. My hand knocked down a small photo frame. It was a picture of me and my old best friends, Sammy and Bree. They attended a different junior high in another city while I was stuck here. We video chatted each other for a few months, but the talks became smaller, and the gossip was less. I haven't talked to either of them for a year and two months.

I fixed the photo frame and smiled to myself. We had the best times together. Going to different restaurants and getting ice cream on hot summer afternoons. We took silly pictures and posted them on social media websites, laughing at all the great memories that was within every photo.

I had to move on though. I couldn't grieve over people who left me alone in the stupid hellhole called junior high with weird and dramatic people. That experience taught me a lot.....to not depend on other people for the happiness of your life. Depend on yourself. Because as weird as it might sound, you can't really ditch yourself to go find another mind to take over. You're kind of just stuck with yourself and no one else. From there, my walls were built a little higher than they were before. And I was glad they were. It showed that I wasn't that easy on letting a stranger in on my own personal life.

Until I met Justin, of course. When I met him....it was just different. He was different. Justin had a special way of viewing the world, confusing me with his subtle ways of describing his dark and personal life. Of course, I shouldn't really describe his personal thoughts because they are too complex even for my understanding. All I can say is that he suffers from a massive heart break from the seventh grade. He still acknowledges the pain and can't budge from the position of accepting the fact that the girl he loved had moved on. He didn't still love her, but he was still hurt. I help him through it sometimes...but in the end, he just tends to push me away.

My heart swells at the fact that I have a wonderful person in my life that I can count on (Justin). And I loved every second I spent with him. I guess I fell for him for the way he just smiled and laughed when I did something stupid and for him just being him. He was amazingly funny and a great person with a huge heart. In my eyes, he was perfect.