part four

8 1 1

by mmmmiaaaa

by mmmmiaaaa

George dropped his bag onto the ground as he collapsed onto a wooden bench which was positioned facing a few small shops. He took a minute to catch his breath, knowing that he would have to carry on running soon. It was cold outside, you could see his breath forming clouds in the fresh air. He didn't recognise his surroundings- that was a good sign, but he did feel rather intrigued by the book shop opposite the road from him. He was surprised that it was open this early. Not knowing exactly how long he'd been gone for, he took out his phone to check the time.

04:15 am

New message from: Dream
New message from: Dream

Shit. He was so caught up in running away that he forgot to answer Dream.

Dream

22:06 Great! You wanna play tomorrow? I'm around all day :)
02:45 George? Are you okay?

George didn't know what to say... why did Dream care all of a sudden? He pressed the off button and let his phone fall to his chest in his hands without answering.

The boy finally got up and began making his way towards the bookshop. The owner was a sweet lady with light brown hair held back in a messy bun with a pencil through the middle of it. She greeted George with a polite smile and then continued flipping through the pages of her book.
There was a small navy blue sofa in the corner of the shop, with piles of books arranged in no particular order stacked beside it.

The smell of the old books reminded George of his childhood, when he was happy. He wasn't a popular kid, but he had a couple of close friends who would meet up with him at the library every weekend, sometimes, if it was a particularly nice day, they would borrow the books and take them to the park down the road and read all afternoon under the shade of the trees. Other days, they would sit by the huge window and read whilst the raindrops raced down the glass and the wind danced with the ivy that outlined the window frame. George had always loved the library, and so did his friends. However, soon enough, his friends grew up and they didn't want to spend their time indulged in books anymore. So they left George, but he would still go every weekend. The library was the closest thing that George had to a home. It was lonely, but that was a feeling that comforted George. He could always rely on being alone.

George was snapped back to reality when his phone pinged again. He had tears sliding down his rosey cheeks at just the thought of his life before his mom died. He sniffled and wiped his face with his hoodie sleeves.

04:33 am

Dream

04:33 George i can see that you've read these... What's up? Why aren't you answering?
04:34 I'm fine Dream. Don't worry.

Incoming call: Dream

"Dream I told you, I'm fine." George lied.
"George where are you? Why can I hear cars? It's really late and I'm worried!"
"It's not a big deal, I'm f-fine." George's voice broke. Why did Dream care? This was the first time they had been in contact for months... so why did he decide now was the time to give a damn about George's feelings?
"I'm at a book shop... somewhere in Florida... I ran away."
"GEORGE! Why would you do that??"
Dream sounded angry, George had never heard him raise his voice before.
"I- I'm sorry George, I didn't mean to..."
Dream didn't know how to finish his sentence. "I'm just worried. Why would you run away?."
A tear rolled down George's face, he was so, so tired. He looked up at the lady who had noticed what was going on...
"17th Burbey Road" She nodded towards the phone in George's hand.
"Uhh, 17th Burbey Road, Dream... that's where I am." George's voice was brittle, cracking on almost every word. He didn't know what would happen next, and he didn't really care, he was away from his father and that's what mattered.
The call ended and George's phone slipped out of his hands into his lap, he didn't have to energy to hold it anymore. He felt so weak and his eyes felt so heavy, struggling to keep them open, he let his head fall to the armrest of the sofa and pulled his feet up off the floor. Within minutes he was fast asleep.