into the darkness // matt espinosa

chapter one

I am nobody.

I'm also Renee if you didn't know. And I'm also on a plane at the moment. A plane to hell. I'd be happier if the plane plummeted to it's death and we all died right about now. I am so not ready for Virginia. Washington was so nice and small, and even though not a lot of people were nice to me, at least I was used to being tormented. Now I'm about to go a school full of stuck up snotty kids. I'm not ready.

I'm moving here because I have been emancipated from my parents. It basically means they don't want me anymore. Virginia is where my grandma lives, and she's the only tiny bit of family I have left now. The fact that I'm leaving my parents doesn't really bother me. They were horrible parents. They never understood me, and usually any fight that we had ended up with me getting hit with something. Sometimes a lamp, sometimes someone's fist. But the last fight we ever had gave me a hit of something else- reality.

"Flight 507 now landing for Richmond, Virginia," the intercom on the plane bellows from above. I close my eyes and breathe in. Here we go.

My grandma sees me coming out of the terminal. She smiles as I walk closer. "How have you been?" She asks. "Could be better, I guess." I reply as we head to the baggage pickup. "Snickers can't wait to see you." Snickers is my grandma's cat. The ends of my mouth curl slightly as I pick up the 3 suitcases. "Sorry it's a lot of luggage," I explain as we walk back to the car, "If I'm leaving them for good then I have to take everything." I sneak a glance over at my grandma who is currently carrying the other 2 suitcases. We load them into the back of her car. I'm surprised it all fits.

Virginia is just as ugly as I thought it would be. The first reason is because the sun is out. When the sun is out, my pale skin usually turns red in a matter of five minutes. The roads are also very windy. It's annoying.

We reach my grandma's ranch after 20 minutes. It's situated on the western side of Woodbridge, definitely not where all the mansions are. I sigh as she unlocks the front door. "It's okay. You're going to end up liking it here," she tries to assure me as I walk up the stairs to await my new bedroom.

My bedroom has a balcony? I did not expect that for a house this small. "This was your mother-" my grandma stops as soon as she realizes what she is saying. "Sorry," she says quietly and then walks downstairs. I open the balcony door and there is a little deck outside. It looks like it came straight out of a Romeo and Juliet scene. I come back inside and spend 2 hours unpacking all of my stuff. In 2 hours, it actually looks habitable for me. I plug my phone into the wall and check it. I text all my fake friends from Washington and say "hey." None of them respond. Exactly what I thought they would do. I go to the photo album and look at old family photos. I delete every single one. If I am moving to get away from my family, then I want no reminiscence of any of the shit they've put me through. I smile when all of them are gone.

Now I just have to be mentally prepared for school in Virginia, which starts in 5 days. Shit.