Fault Line [Completed]

Chapter Thirteen

After debating for hours of when to go, I finally decided to leave within the day. Lana will just have to survive without me. How I get out of here . . . I don't know.

I hear the attic door opening. Guess I don't have that much longer. I quickly grab my backpack that now carries everything I had laying out. I carry it by hand as I move along the edge of the boxes, into a small corner that is completely unseen from anywhere but where I was before. I should know. I made it.

Aunt Mallory stands near the door of the attic and I fall silent, not even breathing. She slowly examines the attic, looking for something. No, not something. Me.

She moves over to where I was before and opens up a box. She begins to dig deeply into the box. I stand and hop over the boxes without making a sound. She didn't close the door, so I can get down without her noticing as much. She lifts her hand, which is holding something, and turns it around. I freeze when I hear Aunt Mallory gasp. I turn my head to her direction and see that the object was a mirror.

I quickly turn to the stairs and rush down them. I make down all but four of the steps and just drop from them. I fall to my knees but quickly stand up and sprint down the hallway to the stairs leading to the lower lever.

I run down the stairs quickly and go forward down the long hallway. I make a quick left and then another and another, to get back to the hallway. Running down the hallway, I get to the far end and enter the living room. Little did I know that Aunt Mallory is a lot faster than I expected. She was only a few seconds behind me and is now quickly making her way down the hallway.

I turn to my left and right, looking for more ways out. But there are none. I look at the bookshelves. I could throw books at her.

Aunt Mallory stands in the doorway, blocking the exit. But it's not the only exit. I turn and run to the glass door. Sorry again, door. I smash through the glass and as soon as my feet touch the ground I run forward to avoid falling.

I rush down the street that I did before when I was being chased by the police. I stop near the bushes I was at before and looked behind me. She's not following me. That's a relief. But what if she's calling the police right now? I don't have anywhere to go anymore. I'm stuck here. With no home to return to.

Or . . . maybe I do

***************

I walk down this familiar road that I will never forget. It's been forever since I walked here. I pass the almost dead maple tree that no one wants to cut down, for it's the oldest thing in this town, and they don't want it to die. And neither do I.

I pass the Browns' house. They never appreciated what they got and spoiled their children and pets. They are a big family. I never really liked them.

I pass the park where I did my first cartwheel. And also where I made a best friend for life. And where my sisters could be happy while their mother sat on the bench helping a younger Jane with her homework. Tears come to my eyes and I blink to push them away. Stupid memories. Go bother someone else.

I stop in the middle of the street. The sun is setting and casting just enough light on the house to give it that look like it's empty. But it's not. A new family lives there now. They took my home away from me. All of the memories I had in that house. Where I took my first step. Where I learned to speak. Where I played hide and seek with my father. Where I dreamt of princesses and dragons. It's gone. It dissolved when she died. They're just memories now. They'll never be anything more than that.

I run into the yard of the neighbors house. They're gone for vacation so I can pass through their yard. I open the small part in the fence surrounding my old house and close it softly. Sticking to the dark parts of the yard, I run along the fence to the oak tree in the backyard. I reach the tree and climb up the wooden ladder leading to a small tree house that Dad built for me and Jordan.

I reach the top of the ladder and push the wooden panel over the opening away. Lifting myself up into the tree house, I put the panel back over the opening and look above me. I find the crack in the ceiling and jump to open a secret panel. The panel jumps upon the impact and it thankfully doesn't go into its normal position. I jump again and grab the edge of the opening. I use all of my upper arm strength and finally I'm in the smaller room of the ceiling.

Jordan had bribed Dad into making this because he wanted a place where I couldn't find him and bother him. It took me five excruciating minutes of 'pleases' until he told me where he went to every so often. I promised him that I wouldn't go up there with him. But then a couple months later he started doing football in the fall, basketball in the winter, and baseball in the spring and throughout the summer. He forgot about his younger sister who would do anything to get his attention.

He then graduated high school and got a scholarship for his sports. Bye-bye Jane, hello school. Have you had a person that who look up to, who you would do anything for, just leave and forget you or just stop being themselves. Well, that's what happened to Jordan and I. We were the closest and best of friends, then he started school and we grew a little apart, then came the last years of high school and he could barely remember the times when we would stay up late making shadow puppets or making funny faces at each other.

I replace the cover and let my backpack drop to the ground. I quickly lay out a blanket and a small travel sized pillow. Grabbing one last blanket, I lie down on the poor excuse of a bed and close my eyes. I need to get some sleep tonight.

As I try to sleep, my mind goes through some of the memories I had with Jordan. And then the cold hard truth hits me. He's grown up . . . and that's something that I can try to do but will suffer a lot for trying.

If there's one thing I would like to have back . . . is Jordan and our deep friendship.