Runaway- CaptainSwan AU

• Chapter 1 •

Hey guys! Here is the official first chapter for this book! It's a bit intense, but there's more to it then it seems, I promise! If it seems like you all like this, I'll continue on with it. If not, then I guess I won't. Drop me some comments! Enjoy :)

Day 1:

It's been three days since I ran from my old placement. The lady at the police office put me in the system in this town. They're sending me to a new placement now. They're making me go to the high school here, too, for my last two years. I don't really care if they make me go to school or not. I just hope this home is better than the last.

"Emma!"

Emma stoped writing in her diary, snapping it shut abruptly the moment somebody neared her room.

"Emma?"

"Yes?" Emma answered, avoiding the eyes of the social worker who was here to ship her off once again.

"It's time to go. Are you ready?"

Emma rolled her eyes. That was always the question. Who could ever be ready to live in a new home with new people who only ever wanted her for the money? Who could ever be ready to face a new life every day without knowing if they will be hurt when they get home?

"Yeah, whatever," Emma muttered, lifting her singular bag over her shoulder after slipping her diary into it. She pushed her black-rimmed glasses further up her nose, then followed the lady.

Her blonde hair spilled over her shoulders, confined by a ray beanie, and remained almost statically still from the lack of bounce in her step.

Half an hour later, Emma was standing at the porch of her new 'home' with her social worker's hand on her shoulder. She rang the doorbell.

"Don, get the door!"

"I'm going, Britt! Shut the hell up!"

Emma gulped. She could feel her body tensing up as somebody approached the door and opened it.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?"

A large, burly man with little patches of curly brown hair, caterpillar eyebrows, and a bushy mustache eyed Emma suspiciously. His face contorted in disgust.

"Someone who doesn't smell like kitty litter," Emma muttered, cringing when he leaned in close.

"Excuse me?!" He bellowed.

"This is Emma," the social worker cut in. "The child you agreed to foster?"

The man's demeanor shifted within seconds. He straightened his posture and flipped his attitude with time to spare.

"Emma! Ah, yes, yes of course! Emma, Emma what a pretty name! Come right on in," he said with a fake smile, giving Emma a glare as she slipped into the house without another word.

"I'll come back to check in on things in a week or so," Emma heard the social worker say before the door was slammed shut. She could already tell the way things were going to go around here.

The large man approached Emma, towering over her as he glared into her eyes. From a nearby door, a slim and also tall woman appeared with a thick head of blonde hair and way too much botox.

"My name is Don Barkley. This is my wife, Brittney Barkley. You shall address as as either Mr. and Mrs. Barkley or Ma'am and Sir. Understood?"

Emma gulped.

"Yes si-"

"Did I give you permission to speak?!" Don raged. Emma shook her head.

"You shall be silent unless otherwise advised by either of us. You will remain in your room and if we think you're worth it, we might just feed you. You will go to school and come right back home. No excuses! Or you'll be punished," Brittney said in a shrill voice.