The girl who ran

Chapter 1: Run

Chapter 1: Run

I ran. I ran until my lungs burned and my body was numb. All I had with me was a backpack full of necessary items, the clothes on my back, and a stolen wad of emergency cash that had about two grand. I had to get away from my house and back to my true family. No, I wasn't kidnapped or anything, It's... Well... It's complicated.

Taking a right on Ace St, I made my way to Main Star gas station.

Opening the door, I heard someone call across the store to me, "Welcome to Main Star gas station." Looking over at the counter, there was a lady who seemed to be in her early twenties, her name tag said Lydia. I made my way to the back and got an orange Gatorade then mountain trail mix from the snack isle.

"That will be $4.78." The lady from behind the counter said politely. Pulling out a ten and handing it to her, I complimented on her golden hair put neatly into a fishtail braid.

"Thank you. $5.22 is your change." Lydia said and putting cash in my hand then the change and asked if I wanted my receipt. Declining her offer, I opened up the drink and took my snack, making my way out the door.

My pace didn't slow one bit as I continued to run, avoiding all the pain searing through my body. My feet felt numb, needles were stabbing my chest, my lungs burned desperately, my back ached from my backpack, and my knees cried out in pain. Not thinking about it helped the pain not be there. It was going to be dark here in about four hours but I haven't traveled far enough yet for one day, but had traveled enough to take that gas station break. I pushed my body to go faster and past my limit which I didn't think possible.

I pulled out my phone, made sure my location services were off, and checked the time.

2:30pm

Well then I have only three more hours of running to do if I wanted to make it to my rest stop. Speaking of rest stop, she was calling me right now.

"Hannah?" I asked. Memories flooded through my mind, seeping through the tiniest of cracks. The nostalgia was so immense I stopped running in fear of falling.

"Hey Cal where are you?" My eyes wandered to the street sign for a brief moment before flicking back to my surroundings.

"Uh somewhere on South peach avenue." I was on time thankfully.

"Well if you want I can meet you on Michigan boulevard."

"Seriously?! That would save me like four hours!" Hearing this news made my heart beat faster with joy.

"Yeah, I mean you are my best friend." Then the tears came. Even after four years of not speaking, she agreed to let me stay at her place, and still considered me her best friend. It was so foolish of me to push her away when I needed her most. She was and still is my everything. When my parents stopped fighting and were perfect again, they forced me to say goodbye to her. They forced me to say goodbye to everyone. My hands connected with my face as they wiped away some of the tears that never made it to the cement.

"Thank you so much that means a lot to me!" I ment that with every aching fiber in my body.

"Haha your welcome. I gotta get back to driving. Bye cal."

"Bye Hannah banana." Those were the words of which my mouth dreaded to say.

My thumb had shakily reached the red but she had hung up first.

That's what we've been calling each other since third grade. We met on the swing set at school; having a competition on who could go higher. When my swing wouldn't go higher, I flew off face first planting the ground, while her swing flipped over the top and she fell at seven feet landing on her side; causing a now small scar on the left side of her face near her ear. Good times, good times.