Always

02| chapter one: the accident

CHAPTER ONE

ALEXIS

The memory of that night flooded my mind like water rushing into a sinking ship. Waking to the sound of glass shattering. His hands tighten lethally around my neck. The sound of myself choking and crying out for him to stop. The back of his hand across my face, and the stinging pain that followed.

It wasn't hard to recall. Afterall, this was my life; I run, he finds me, he gets his revenge, repeat.

I looked over to where my sister was sitting. The classroom was small; she was only a row down. Her features were easily distinguishable, and she was definitely my sister, that was for sure. Strands of her soft black hair framed her slender face, which made her seem almost angelic as the sun shone through the clear window, and formed an almost perfect halo. I glanced down at my phone, the corners of my lips perking up slightly. I was just as pretty, and damn anyone who said that I wasn't. Compared to my sister, I had snow-white hair which enhanced my pale blue eyes. I blinked, and smiled.

The worksheet that laid in front of me was almost completed. I didn't find school massively difficult, and so I passed pretty easily. My pencil scratched softly on the paper as I finished the sheet, hearing the sound of the bell echo around the school halls. I slang my bag over my shoulder, stuffing my homework messily into my satchel. I heard Carina's light footsteps approaching, and I looked up to see her clutching her stuff. Since the rain was pouring down today and we had no umbrellas, walking was no longer an option. We had no option but to call him.

"Cat, call Brady." I shoved my hands in the pockets of my leather jacket as my sister called our foster father.

The man couldn't take care of a hamster, let alone us, but it seemed that no one was aware of this. Sometimes, I wished for his demise to come, specifically with my hands around his neck. I was realistic, however, and knew the day would never come.

I sat down on the pavement in front of school. It took a while for the man to arrive, and by the time he finally did, everyone else had left. Like always, he looked drunk, so I wasn't shocked to see the car slide a little. I gripped the straps on my bag, looking at my sister as she called shotgun. I sighed, slumping down dramatically and frowning at her. She just grinned back, and pulled me to my feet. I made my way to the back of the car, eyeing Carina as she reached a hand out to open the front door.

I barely managed to get my bag in the car, then my body, before the man in the driver's seat sped off. I let out a small squeak of surprise, and pulled the door shut with a slam, narrowly missing my feet. The car raced down the street, the wind flying fast behind us. Brady didn't slow; the car felt faster and faster by the second.

I vaguely heard Carina start screaming at him to stop, and I joined in. Brady didn't seem to hear us. Either that, or he was purposely ignoring any noise we made. It was like he had wax in his ears. I glanced with terror at my sister, then back to the street. We had passed our home already, and were headed down a main street.

One moment the road was there, wide open and safe, and the next it wasn't. It was the smell that hit me first; acrid ash, burnt rubber from the car doors, smoke billowing out into the air. I knew that I must have been in incredible pain, but my body was so numb to the world that it didn't register until minutes later. I moved my head slightly, wincing at the stiffness, and saw the truck spiral to the other side of the road. It had hit us.

There was blood on my body, in the car, sticking to the seats and creating a sharp metallic smell. I could taste it in my mouth, staining my teeth, dripping down my throat. Carina was still stuck in her seatbelt, with her head hanging limply, her mind in shock. I tried to reach a hand out to place on her shaking shoulder, but couldn't control my muscles. I was stuck.