Always Love You: A One Direction Adoption Story

Chapter 4

Roselyn POV:

I woke up that night, shivering. I had no way of knowing the time, but I could tell it was really late.

I yawned and sat up, wrapping the blanket around my thin shoulders. I walked around the house, littered with cigarettes and bottles as I had expected, but my father still wasn't home. He couldn't even keep the place clean for one day. I grabbed a bottle of water and went back onto the couch. Sitting down, I took a few sips slowly, the water itself too cold to down any quicker.

Then, I heard a lot of commotion outside. I stood quickly and headed over to the window. I saw flashing lights and a lot of police. In the midst of it all, I saw my father in handcuffs. I stifled a gasp as they walked him towards the front door.

Quickly, I pulled back from the window, hoping no one saw me. I heard them pounding on the door, complaining about how my father didn't have a key. I knew I couldn't let them find me, so I ignored them, jumping into action.

Instead, I headed to my backpack, dumping out my few school supplies. I quickly stuffed a few clothes into it, such as underwear and a few pairs of pants, and I layered on as many of my shirts as I could so I would have more space. I was glad I hadn't changed out of my shoes yet, as to save time. Running into the kitchen, I grabbed a few bottles of tap water, as well as the can of spare change I'd hidden under the sink.

The police kept pounding on the door, calling out for me to open up. I could hear my father's slurred speech, trying to convince them that there was no one here and that he lived alone. But the police knew better and threatened to soon kick down the door.

At that moment, I was incredulously afraid, but I knew I had to keep moving. I headed over to the bedroom, where there was a window that led to the fire escape. We were on the ground floor, but the alley was a dead end, and I'd have to rush past the cops to get out. The only way out was to go up and hope I could hide somewhere.

So that's what I did. Pulling open the window, I crept out of it as quietly as I could. After a few tries, I managed to jump onto the fire escape, and just as I was scurrying up it, I could hear the policemen burst into the apartment. Moving quickly, I hurried up the escape, but I knew it was only a matter of time before they checked the bedroom and noticed the open window, and there was no way I would make it to the top of the building in time.

Instead of continuing up the escape, I decided to hide on a balcony a few floors up. From the look of it, no one had been out there in a while, and all the windows were closed. I crawled under a table, hoping all the police commotion wouldn't wake up the people inside. Plus, if the police did go to the roof, they wouldn't be able to find me up there either.

~~~

Some time had passed, and I didn't hear the police anymore. I must have fallen asleep because the sun had begun to rise again. I knew I had to keep moving though.

I looked down the balcony, making sure there were no signs of flashing lights or police chatter. When the coast was clear, I slowly climbed down the escape once more. I stopped by the window, which had been shut again. Still, I could make out the silhouette of my sleeping father on his bed. Somehow, some way, they had let him go again.

I realized now that I had no other option but to keep moving. It's not like I much wanted to stay with my father anyway.

I knew that I could get some food for cheap at the gas station, but I didn't want to spend all of my money so soon.

I headed back out to the front of the apartment, where the door was still ajar. I couldn't believe my stupid father had lazily left it open. Even after the police burst in, it wouldn't have taken him too long to push a chair against it or something. Still, this was my opportunity.

I crept in, quietly, and began scourging the area, grabbing as many beer bottles as I could hold. I stuffed several into my backpack, and rushed back out, in fear of getting caught.

Following the same path as yesterday, I headed to the recycling center. I was going to need all the help I could get if I wanted to have any chance of surviving out here at all.

I took my time, walking slowly. Today wasn't as cold as the day before, and my extra layers of clothing helped. Plus, I was in no rush. I had given up on going to school, since the police would easily find me there. And, I wasn't learning anything there anyways.

The man at the recycling center handed me a $10 bill, which I stuffed into my backpack. He was looking at me all funny, probably because I smelled like I hadn't bathed in a while. Which was true, but still kind of rude. I ignored him and decided to walk around for a bit to clear my head and figure out what I was going to do.

I crossed the street into Central Park, making sure to look both ways this time. I enjoyed the scenery as I walked, still being careful to avoid eye contact with people. I tried to appear confident in where I was going, as I didn't want to come across as homeless, although I guess I was. Yet, I still wanted to be somewhat reserved - not inviting people to start a conversation if you know what I mean.

As I was walking along, a man came up behind me and grabbed my arm.

"Hey pretty girl, where are you going?" he whispered in my ear. "Do you need someone to take care of you?"

He smelled horrible, like booze and filth, like my father, and I tried to pull away from him. "No! Leave me alone!" I struggled against him, as he kept pulling me backwards and towards him, his hands wrapping around both of my shoulders.

"It's okay sweetheart, I wont hurt you...very much," he mumbled, as he kept dragging me.

My heart beat loudly in my ears, and I couldn't concentrate. I kept writhing in his arms, but his grip was too strong. "Somebody help me, please! Help!" I said, but my cries were drowned out once he put a hand over my mouth.

He kept pulling me along, whispering expletives in my ear as he held my mouth closed, while I kept trying to cry out for help. Suddenly, I heard people yelling and running towards us.

"Hey, leave her alone!"

"Get off of her, you creep!"

"What the hell are you doing!"

And so on. It was all a blur at this point, and before I knew it the man had been chased off and I was sitting on a bench, trying to catch my breath.

"Hey, love, are you okay?" someone asked me, and I shakily lifted my head up to meet them. 5 pairs of eyes stared back at me, two of whom I'd seen before.