Hero

Chapter 1

The world has gone dark.

It's wet. Cold consumes me. Everything is dark. The wind fiercely tugs at my clothes. My long red hair flies wildly in the air.

The world has gone dark.

My clothes were soaked through. My skin was ice cold. My whole body shivered but I didn't know if it was of cold or fear.

I stepped up onto the ledge. High schoolers were making their way out of the school. Going home from a long day of classes. All of them wore coats and held umbrellas to protect them from the chill. "Maybe I should wait till they're gone?" I thought.

I looked straight down. My breath hitched in my throat. The drop was deadly. If someone were to jump from here they would surely die. Good.

The world has gone dark.

My life is a miserable mess. My best friend died in a car crash two weeks ago. She got herself drunk at a party and attempted driving herself home. No one stopped her. She was found in a ditch the next morning. Carol was the only one who understood me.

The kids were thinning out. My time was coming soon.

My boyfriend broke up with me the other day. He didn't like how mopey I was and how I wasn't "sweet" with him anymore. He'd changed so much from when I had met him.

We'd met six months ago. I'd gone to my favorite cafe after my grandpa's funeral. He was my waiter. He comforted me and we quickly became friends. He asked me to be his girlfriend shortly afterwards.

None of that matters anymore.

The kids had all gone home except a few stragglers. Now was the time.

My parents had it rough too. My dad was a truck driver. He was always distant from the family and never came home till late. I'm pretty sure he's having an affair on Mom.

My mother never has time for me or dad with the three little ones she has to take care of. They take up all her time. They are the ages three, four, and seven. I had to learn to be independent at a young age and keep my feelings tucked away.

The world has gone dark.

Tears flow down my cheeks mixing with the raindrops. I spread my arms out embracing the strong, cold wind. My senses are named by the icy wind and rain. Three or four kids are becoming curious now.

My life has gone dark and now I was going to end it.

_______________________________________

I jump. My eyes are squeezed shut. I'm scared.

I don't want to die.

I fall back onto something soft but my breath is still knocked out of me. Arms are wrapped around my stomach, hugging me close.

I'm not dead.

I start sobbing as the thought consumes me. I'm not dead. I'm  not dead.

The person below me that had cushioned my fall, sat up. They wrapped me into hug pushing my head into their shoulder. I felt secure and safe and warm.

I looked up at the guy who saved me. He had long blond hair. His wet bangs clung to his forehead. His eyes were a water blue color. They were out of focus like was day dreaming but for some reason I could tell they starting at me. His lips were rounded in constant pout making him resemble a young child.

His first words to me were, "That was stupid of you."

I looked away from the stranger ashamed and embarrassed of what he had saved me from. Myself.

"Don't you have friends and family waiting for you. Wouldn't it be selfish of you to take your life away from them. Did you even think of the consequences of your actions?"

"My mom would be relieved and I don't have friends anymore." I muttered.

The Blondie gave me a strange look, "well then, I guess I'll have to be your friend."

I shook my head, "You wouldn't want to be my friend. Like you said, I'm selfish."

He laughed. How could he laugh? "I'll take all the friends I can get. I'm new here and I'll need someone to keep me company."

I was confused. How could he year me so normally after what just happened? Was he bipolar?

"Come on now." He grabbed my hand. "You're going to catch a cold."

_______________________________________

After the little incident the Blondie let me change into his dry him clothes and drive me home. My mother didn't ask me any questions when I got home late like: "Where were you at?" Or  "Why are you home so late?"

She was fussing over my baby brother, Devin. He'd had a cold for the past two days.He wouldn't sleep at night and got angry during the day.

My seven year old sister marched up to me. "Sky, can I play one your phone? Mom wouldn't let me on hers."

I shook my head, "No Cleo. If Mom doesn't want you on hers that probably means she doesn't want you on mine either."

Cleo friend but knew it was true. She looked out the window and saw the Blondie pulling out of our drive and decided to pester me in some other way. "Who was that? Was he your new boyfriend?"

"No." I felt my mouth curve into a smile, "He's just a friend."