To Hell and Back

Chapter 1 - Runaway

Chapter 1

1 week ago...

I am so tired of school and people around me. Everyone is so nosy and irrelevant to my life. I don’t even have any friends anymore. I mean…I do have friends but they’re more like acquaintances. You say your ‘hellos’ and ‘goodbyes’, nothing sincere or special. Just a plain same old routine with every face you meet. I used to have friends, the real close ones where you have sleepovers, talk about boys, share your deepest secrets. Secrets…they can either destroy or make your friendship stronger. Well you can guess my case. This one big secret pushed my dearest people away. Just when I needed them the most, they turned their backs on me and shielded themselves as if war was to come.

I was awakened from my daydream by a knock on my bedroom door. ‘Come in’ I said just loud enough so the person could hear me. I stared at the white, tall door slowly creak open. A head peaked from the gap and a bright grin flashed on his face. It was Tyler; my wild older brother whom I loved the most in this world. He was my escape from reality; he was the only one to give me hope at the darkest hours of my life. ‘Chin up Mel!’ he said as he walked towards my bed. ‘I’m fine Ty, why are you here anyway?’ I tried to sound convincing. It worked. ‘Just came here to check up on you’ he blabbered out with a smile on his face. ‘Why?’ I asked confused. He never usually comes to just ‘check up on me’ unless something crucial happens. ‘Well I heard him talk on the phone to someone and he mentioned something about going to sort her out…I assumed that her is you’ he whispered with worry in his eyes. Shit. I need to get out of here NOW! ‘Open the window Ty’ I pointed to the window next to my desk. I’m going to have to jump for it. I’m lucky Ty gave me a head start. I got my back pack; I put my phone, snacks, jumper, and keys into the bag and quickly grabbed my shoes. I quickly ran to the window which was now wide open for my escape. Gave Ty a rushed kiss on the cheeks and prayed in my head that I will be fine once again. I climbed through the window onto the window pane and without any hesitation jumped to meet the hard ground. I’ve done this enough times to know the routine. My legs were shaking; heart was racing as I was sprinting for my life. How will Ty deal with it this time? Will he endure the pain? Will he cope for long enough? He’s my brother; I can’t just leave him there. With that thought I felt my legs give out. I was slowing down until I fell to the concrete flat. Will he be okay? Will I be okay? My vision blurred, I closed my eyes and exhaled.

Urgh…what is this smell? Rotten egg and old sock combination. Yuck! Wait…where am I? Wet drops attacking my skin, hard concrete floor digging into my skin. I try to open my eyes but it’s painful. I firmly press my palms against the floor and push myself up with force. It is pitch black. Judging from the trash bags and wall surrounding me, it was an alley. How did I get here? I remember running but from what? Ty...where’s Tyler? Not again. I am so tired of running. Why am I too afraid to face my problem, to face him? Why does he hate me? What did I do to deserve this treatment? I crawled deeper into the alley and sat against a cool brick wall. I took a deep breath and exhaled as I stared into the darkness in front of me. It was the end of me.