Run Away [Editing]

Chapter 3

I got up off the bench and followed the map on the back to the house. I was so thankful I didn't get lost on the way, I would really be screwed then.

The house was large when I arrived, it had a large sign above the front door reading, 'Beach House' in fancy lettering. I loved the fact that it sat a few metres from the beach, I couldn't wait to get into that blue water. I took a step closer to the blue front door and took a deep breath.

I was ready.

There was a sign on the door saying, 'come in' so I headed straight inside not bothering to take a look behind me to see what I was leaving behind. I was ready to move on from the past.

Inside was really pretty, it had a beach theme running throughout the whole room, with its pale blue and cream walls and the white stained wooden floors. It had pictures of the beach hanging on the walls and fishnets with starfish inside. There were a couple of benches along the walls with beach themed cushions and blankets. It was so homely.

"Hello," a warm soft voice said from my right. I turned to face the voice and saw a women sitting behind a white desk with a computer and telephone on it. "Hi," the woman with bright pink hair smiled at me with her pearly white teeth. "Have you talked to Mike?"

I was confused by what she had said, I didn't know a Mike. "Who?" I questioned.

"I guess you haven't, well that's okay you can talk about it with me. So you're looking for a place to stay right? How old are you?" she asked.

 "Seventeen," I answered for the second time today.

"That's cool. So what's your reason for coming here?" she asked.

"Um reason?" I really was completely confused now. What was this place?

"Everyone has a reason for coming here. Lots of them have been chucked out of their house; some need help rehabilitating from drugs or alcohol. We get the occasional runaway," she looked straight at me as she spoke. As she said 'runaway' I tensed. "Ah I know it can be hard but if you want you can stay here I'm sure you'd like it. Most of the people here have jobs or volunteer. Everyone I've seen come through those doors has come out a better person than when they arrived; I was one of them five years ago. I promise you if you stayed you'd love it here. So are you going to stay and tell me your name or are you going to go back to where you came from and slowly get on with your life?"

She let me have a few moments before I answered. "Ellie," I said quietly but I knew she heard as she wrote my name on a piece of paper.

"No last name Ellie?"

"Not yet," I said shyly.

"That's cool; I didn't tell them my name until I was here two months. I haven't been home since I was sixteen; five years of my life have gone fast. Now I'm married to Mike and having my first baby, three months pregnant," she said standing up showing me her stomach. "Mike has always been here he grew up with most of the people who come and go through those doors. He never thought one of us would actually stay but he was nineteen when I arrived I was turning seventeen I needed a place to stay. They let me. Then I got to know Mike and we fell in love. By the time I was nineteen I was engaged to him and wasn't going to move away. When you meet Mike and the others who stay here you'll understand why I wanted to stay it's hard to get away from here," she explained quickly.

"Oh right cool, so I'm allowed to stay?"

"Yes of course I don't think we've ever turned anyone down before Ellie, no matter how bad they've been. Oh by the way I'm Olivia. Why don't you stay with me until my Mike comes back he can show you a room, oh and you can decorate it however you like. I might ask him to give you my old room; I don't think anyone is in it.