Wanted [REWRITE]

Chapter 1 - Memories

Your head leaned against the side of your car seat, rocking gently with the movements of the vehicle on the highway. Your dad's music played softly on the radio, and through your closed eyelids, you could see the passing lights from the street lamps as you drove by.

"Y/n, look! That's the sign," your mom's voice called from the front seat. You blinked your eyes open, focusing on the colorful letters approaching on the side of the road.

"'Welcome to San Fransokyo'," your dad read for you. "We're almost home."

You smiled at that, then promptly closed your eyes and laid your head down again. Between the steady rocking of the car, the music on the radio, and the general exhaustion that came from spending the last two weeks in New Paris with your parents, it was a battle to stay awake. No amount of excitement could keep your eyes open for more than twenty seconds before you were dozing off again. You felt yourself just seconds away from falling back into unconsciousness when--

The car lurched to the side. Your eyes snapped open just in time to see two headlights surging towards your car.

You didn't process any of the words your parents yelled in the next few seconds. You could only watch as the car plowed into yours, throwing you and your parents forward in your seats, seatbelts cutting into your chests.

You screamed, not sure what else to do. The pain in your chest from your probably bruised--or maybe even cracked--ribs was enough to make tears well in your eyes. You looked forward, trying to blink your vision into focus, but all you could see was your dad's form hunched over a white blob--probably the airbag. You could only guess that your mom looked the same way in the seat in front of you.

You stayed there, frozen in shock, for several minutes. Honestly, you weren't sure how much time had passed before sirens approached the scene. Everything was a blur as your car door opened and a few EMTs helped you out of your car seat.

You tried to turn and look back as they carried you away, but the one holding you kept a hand on your head, preventing you from seeing much of anything. They kept whispering, "It's okay. You're okay. Don't worry." but you didn't believe them. You didn't feel okay. You were in pain. You were tired. You were terrified. You still didn't know what had just happened, but you noticed one crucial detail.

You were the only one who had been carried away from the scene.

~

You gasped for air as your eyes snapped open. Your arm shot out, reaching for something, though you weren't quite sure what. After a second, reality returned to you, and you dropped your arm back onto the bed. You weren't at the accident site. You were in your room, in the orphanage you had been calling home for the last several years. It was just a dream.

Well, maybe not just a dream. The memory was real. So was every emotion that went along with it. But in the moment, you were safe, so you allowed yourself to relax.

You pushed yourself into a sitting position, rubbing your face as you checked the clock next to your bed. 7:03 AM. You might as well get up now.

As you kicked off your blanket, you saw the figure in the bed next to yours begin to stir.

"Are you okay, Y/n?" B/f/n asked, blinking her eyes open. "It sounded like you were having another nightmare."

Of course she knew about your nightmares. She was the only one you really told about them. B/f/n had been found as a baby, so she never knew anything about her family, but she loved hearing about yours. Even though you only knew your parents for four years, you told her everything you remembered, and now that you were seven, you felt like B/f/n was the closest thing you had to a sister.

"Just the usual, but I'm okay now," you said, careful not to wake any of the other girls up as you started getting dressed. "I'm gonna take a walk." You would have asked if B/f/n wanted to come too, but she would never be caught out of bed before noon.

"Have fun," she said, already closing her eyes again.

You pulled on your shoes, then made your way to the kitchen for some breakfast, glad that no one else was really awake at this time. Skipping over all the other food options, you grabbed a f/f and went straight outside.

The morning air was cool, but not so much that it would be uncomfortable. You sat down on an empty swing and started eating, your eyes staring off into space the way they always did when you were trying to get your mind off a dream.

You stayed like that long enough to finish your f/f, and then long enough after that for a few of the other girls from your room to start making their appearances in the garden with you.

"Hey everyone, Y/n's staring into space again," an all-too-familiar voice sneered.

You held your breath, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Who wants to guess what she had a nightmare about this time? I'm betting it was her imaginary boyfriend, finally dumping her." Shelby, one of the girls you didn't get along with, smirked. You didn't know why, but she always seemed determined to make you upset. As if she had nothing better to do.

She walked right up to you. "You know everyone can hear you crying at night, right, Y/n? It keeps us all awake for hours. That's so embarrassing for you."

You stood up so she was no longer towering over you. You glanced around, trying to see if B/f/n happened to be up yet, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, look at me when I'm talking to you." Shelby pushed you backwards, causing you to trip on the swing behind you and fall to the ground.

You stayed there, frozen, until Shelby decided you weren't worth her time and walked away.

Once she was gone, you took a deep breath and got back to your feet. You looked around, wanting a place to be alone and collect your thoughts where Shelby couldn't come back and torment you again.

You took one more look around to make sure none of the staff were looking, then swiftly climbed over the fence. You just had to get away right now.

You followed the sidewalk path until you reached a park. It was nice and open and lined with trees, so you figured it was the perfect place to relax for a while and get your mind off things.

Sitting in the branches of the tree, you realized this park looked familiar. You tried to think of why, and soon remembered that your parents had taken you here once before. It was right before the three of you had gone on your trip to New Paris. They had set up a blanket to have a picnic, and you remembered that that was the first time you tried f/f. That was a good memory.

The more you thought about your parents, the more you had to fight to keep back tears. You couldn't help but imagine what your life would be like if they were still here--how different everything would be. You wouldn't have to worry about Shelby bothering you. You wouldn't have nightmares about them. You could have your own room, anything you wanted. You could have a real family.

You didn't have anything like that at the orphanage.

For a moment, you lingered on that thought. The orphanage didn't give you what you really wanted. What you needed. You kept thinking. What did the orphanage have? You had nightmares there. You were bullied. You didn't have anyone there who you considered family.

Well, except B/f/n. She was your best friend in the entire world, and you knew you were hers. If there was anything or anyone keeping you at the orphanage, it was B/f/n.

You sighed. Peeking through the branches of the tree, you saw the sun high in the sky. You guessed it was around noon. You were going to go back to the orphanage, but not yet.

You stayed there, just stalling until you knew you would have to go back, until the sky turned orange. It was almost time for dinner, and you still hadn't eaten since that morning. You were hungry, thirsty, a little tired--it was time to go.

Slowly, but surely, you climbed down the tree and followed the path back the way you came.