Lauren’s POV:
I woke up to the annoying sound of my alarm. I turned it off and looked to the clock, it was 9:30 PM. Which means my work starts after 30 minutes. I work as a waitress in strip club, of course this is not the dream job I’ve dreamt of but I have no other choice, I have to work, I need the money, not for me but for Jack, all my money goes for buying his beers.
Yes, I need things too, I want to buy clothes and stuff but I can't, all the money goes for him, nothing to myself. Sometimes you have to give up on what you want to survive. Girls at my age usually think of boyfriends, clothes, parties and all the other normal stuff. While I’m here, working in a strip club and getting beaten up all the time for no reason. I’ve always wanted to try the feeling of being loved and wanted, I want to be loved by someone, I want to be wanted by someone. I'm not asking for too much, I just want what all the girls want, a guy who appreciate her, a guy who loves her, a guy who can draw the smile on her face all the time even when she's about to cry. As they say: “where there is love, there is life..”
I have to get up and be ready in 10 minutes. my workplace isn’t far away from my home, it’s 15 minutes away on foot. I got up and went to the bathroom. I looked again to my face, the blood was dry and my eyes were so puffy, I decided to take a fast shower. I turned the cold water on and took of my clothes. the water was running down on me as I scrubbed my hair, my face and my whole body so hard in order to get rid of the dry blood which was covering me. when the blood was gone and I felt fresh I got out of the shower. I wore my clothes and applied some make up to cover the scars on my face. I took my bag and went downstairs. while I was heading to the door I saw Jack sleeping in the coach, he was snoring and holding empty beer bottle, I stopped for a second, yesterday’s ideas came again to my mind, I remembered my decision.. I have to do it now or I’ll stuck here forever.. I slowly walked to his room, the door was closed, I opened it gently, went inside and closed the door behind me..
His room was totally a mess, empty bottles everywhere, dirty clothes on the floor.. I didn’t care about all of that, there was one thing I wanted to find, I scanned the room quickly and my eyes fell to the closet, all the doors were opened except for one. I hurried to it and tried to open it, it was locked, I knew it was what I’m looking for so I searched for its key. I looked everywhere for the key but it wasn’t there, I have no time, I have to find it.. I kept searching and searching but found nothing.. I sat on the bed and looked in front of me, I wanted to cry so hard.. My dreams and life are just a step away from me yet I can’t reach it..
I felt weak, I felt hopeless, why this is happening to me? why I can’t have a normal life? I just want to be safe, happy, I want to be alive! I don’t deserve this life, tears started rolling in my eyes while looking to the wooding table which was covered with papers.. I walked to it, removed the papers and found a small box..
I opened it, and I found a small metal piece,it was a key.. the thing that can change my life is just a key ! I grabbed it and went to the locked door, I bent in front of it and inserted the key in the lock.. I turned it slowly, and heard the door opens, my heart skipped a beat..
I tried to control myself, I have to be fast, I glanced inside the door and found a small box, I didn’t waste anytime and tugged the box, opened it and started exploring the stuff inside..
I found a lot of pictures for Mariah, Jack and me, we were so happy, there was a lot of family pictures, I couldn’t control the tears which was falling on them, our life was happy, we were so happy together, and we lived in peace, but life decided to turn all of that into memories, but again„ this is life.. we can’t change anything, we are here now we have to find our way out, we can’t just stand in one place and watch, we have to live it, we have to deal with it, we have to make it through,no matter what, life will go on..
I believe that life is hard, everyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing to do, but I don’t want to give up, I want to fight back, I know that the sun will shine again one day..
I looked at Jack’s picture, he was so different, he’s eyes was full of love, unlike now.. now they are just full of hate, after Maria’s sudden death I kept thinking that he might come to his mind again, maybe it’ will last for a time but I was wrong, everything got worse..
I found a picture for me when I was about 3 or 4 years, I looked so small, a smile appeared on my face while holding the picture, I realized that t was from the orphanage, I turned the picture to the other side and found something…
"Lauren .. 4 years old.. Olive Crest orphanage"
Olive cast orphanage.. this is the name of the place I grew up in, that’s all what I need, I breathed in relief, put the picture in the box and started returning everything to its place, when suddenly I heard the sound of glass hitting the floor and shattering……
Note: I'm sorry because of my English, I know it sucks, English is not my first language..