𝑪𝑶𝑳𝑫 𝑻𝑹𝑼𝑻𝑯 || 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑶 𝑴𝑨𝑳𝑭𝑶𝒀

i

Kiernan gathered all of the things she could carry, along with a single photo of her mother. It was the only thing she had that belonged to her because her father locked away everything else. Sometimes he does not understand that she is a part of both of them, not just himself.

After she had rummaged through all of her things, choosing only that of utmost necessity, Kiernan wiggled her way back out of the room and made sure not to leave a trace behind her. She knew that her father didn't care whether she lived or died, only using her to keep the house clean and, although he wouldn't admit it, to keep himself company. He was never nice to her, that was very clear, but she was all he had. Her father should have realized sooner just what he was taking for granted and now it is too late to take that back.

The sporadic teenager carted her suitcase quickly down the street, making absolutely certain that her father didn't know where she was going. Hell, she hardly knew where she was going. She did speak truthfully when she told her father about her plans on visiting her friend and that was going to be her first stop.

As the girl made her way into town, she had met up with her longest friend, Tobi Lovell. She was not in town often because she attended a boarding school that was super far away, but when she came back for holidays and such, her first stop was visiting her best friend, Kiernan. It had been ages since the two girls had been together and Kiernan was nearly chomping at the bit when she realized how close she was to getting to see her friend again.

Tobi Lovell was definitely the most quick-witted person that Kiernan knew and something about Tobi's view on the world had really interested her. She was also the most logical, always talking Kiernan out of doing something that she knew they both would get into trouble for.

Kiernan made her way around the corner when she noticed her dear friend, sipping a cup of coffee in the diner where they usually meet up. She was still pretty far, but could definitely tell it was Tobi from her long, almost white hair; this was something that always seemed to catch her attention first. The girl sped up to get to the small, retro-themed cafe and, with her suitcase in hand, she stumbled over the large curb that had clearly gone unnoticed. This was not the first time that she had tripped on that curb, she had been there plenty of times with no recollection of it being there each time. As the girl fell over, her suitcase jolted open and her belongings scattered across the cold concrete behind her. Her caramel face turned a light shade of pink with the embarrassment that she had been feeling as people walked past her, plastered on the ground, her bra and underwear laying right atop everything else and being the most visible for all of the passersby to see. Luckily, Tobi had noticed the girl quickly and rushed outside to help her.

'I am so sorry I hadn't noticed you sooner! Are you alright?' Tobi asked enthusiastically, while gently grabbing hold of her friend's arm in an attempt to pull her up. This did not work in her favor as Kiernan quickly pulled Tobi down next to her with a prominent giggle and a sad smile across her face. 'I'm fine! I just missed you so much. Ugh, why do you have to go to school so far away.' Kiernan exclaimed as she helped her friend get up, as well as herself. She quickly noticed that her knee had been bleeding from basically gliding across the concrete after her boot collided with 'that bloody curb'. It didn't help that her shoes began to fall apart because of how old they were.

Tobi helped Kiernan inside of the small cafe, slinging her arm around the back of her neck to help her take some of the pressure off of her bleeding knee.

When the girls got in, the both of them had realized that the suitcase was still out there. Having already picked everything up, the cafe owner swiftly rolled the case down the long, smooth aisle and Kiernan sighed in relief as she thanked the kind old woman for doing such a nice thing for her. Nobody really did nice things for Kiernan so when they had, she felt extra grateful. Those close to her only knew how this would affect her in later relationships. The girl opened up the suitcase to make sure all of the money she had saved up was still in the small pouch where she left it. Thankfully, it was and she let out another sigh of relief. She needed that money to buy herself some place to sleep that night and she was extra grateful that the kind old woman had brought it back to her for that reason. And, of course, her mother's photo.