Chapter 4

24 0 1
                                    

I woke up and Chris was sitting next to me. He was sleeping soundly. I looked at the digital clock on the wall and it read 7:00 AM. My head was throbbing when I pushed myself up. I groaned and got off the couch.

          Quietly, I went to my bedroom and grabbed my shoes and jacket. I snuck past Chris and quietly opened the front door and left.

The early morning breeze was cool. I pulled my jacket around tighter. I’m hoping Melody is home. She was really the only person I could trust.

          I reached her house and went up to the door. You must be insane a voice in my head said. I knocked on the wood door. Noise came from inside the house and the door opened.

          “Adam?” A voice asked.

          I turned and faced the person. “Melody,” I whispered. “I need to talk to you.”

          “Yeah, uh, let me get dressed real quick.”

          The door closed and I was alone again.

“So what’d you need to talk about?” Melody asked.

          “Jeremy and his group came over last night. Greg was with him.”

          Melody looked at the ground sadly. “Adam, I didn’t know.”

          There was a silence between us. The trees blew as the wind sang. I sighed, feeling tears reach the surface of my eyes.

          “I’m running away.” I finally said, warm tears falling down my face.

          “You don’t have to.”

          “I know. But I can’t stand my brothers anymore. They’ve gotten on my nerves and crossed the line.”

          “If you wanted to, you can stay with me.”

          “I can’t do that.”

          “Why?”

          I didn’t bother responding. Melody stopped and she turned me to face her. I felt her wipe my tears away. She let out a sweet smile and looked her eye to eye.

          “I can’t take the pain anymore. It’s getting too hard to hold.”

          “Look, I know a place. It’s an old abandoned church in Junction. If you stay there, no one will be able to find you. Take the freight train to Lexington and get off there. Walk about five miles north and there it will be. I’ll come and find you when I get the chance.”

          “Thank you.”

          “No problem.” Melody sighed. “I gotta get going. I’ll see you there in a day or so.”

          I nod. “Sounds good, but what if my brothers ask?”

          “Tell them you were staying with me for a while.”

          “Okay.”

          Melody smiled and gave me a hug. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”

          With that, she left and I was left out in the drizzling rain.

I took the directions Melody had told me. I saw the church not too far ahead. She was right. It was abandoned.

          The windows were boarded up and the paint was chipping to reveal a grayish colored paint. My head was still throbbing. I took out the boards and climbed in. Cob webs and trash littered the place. I took down the cob webs in front of the window and felt my legs collapse underneath me. “Pull yourself together.” I whispered to myself.

Grey SkiesWhere stories live. Discover now