Never Letting Go

Chapter Six

Chapter 6

The house was completely still when I woke up. I pulled on some clean clothes before grabbing my bag, making sure it was completely closed this time, and slipping down the stairs. The living room was a complete mess. Food and trash were scattered across the floor and Derrick seemed to be passed out on the floor. Considering it was only 6:12, I was surprised that most of his friends were gone. Just two were zonked out on the couch.

I quickly grabbed an apple of the kitchen counter and made a mental note to make a trip to the store later. I was heading for the door when the bathroom door opened and someone stumbled out.

"Look who we have here."

I took a step back and grimaced. Adrian was the worst of Derrick's friends. He was constantly drunk and was covered in the stench of beer. And unfortunately, lately, he seemed to have taken an interest in me.

"What's with the frown, doll face? Not happy to see me?"

I turned around and headed for the back door quickly. My hand had just enclosed around the doorknob when he roughly pulled me back.

I refused to look at him and just tried to tug away. Thankfully he was still fairly drunk so he was wobbly on his feet, not making it too hard to break free of his grasp. Before I could fully get away though, his fingers dug into my shoulder, making me wince and bite back a cry of pain.

"One of these days you're gonna realize what you're missing out on," he spat into my face.

I ripped away from him and ducked out the door, getting away from the house as quickly as I could.

I pulled back my sweater once I arrived at school and could see a bruise starting to form. At least it was on my shoulder this time, making it easier to hide. There were days when I just wanted to run, leave this town and never look back. But something inside wouldn't let me. Something was telling me I had to stay. And thinking about it practically, I couldn't leave yet. Once I graduated high school I could go far away. So if I enduring 8 more months of this would mean I never had to come back, I would.

I settled down by my usual tree and pulled out a book. School wouldn't be starting for 47 more minutes so I had plenty of time to kill. People most likely wouldn't be arriving until closer to seven so it would most likely be quiet until then.

Though looking out from my spot, I could see someone down on the soccer field. After a second of studying the person, I recognized them. I slipped my book back into my bag and walked down the hill.

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. Colton normally wasn't out of bed by 6:30, let alone at school by then. The earliest he was here was 7:10. Now I was curious why he felt the need to be practicing before school.

He dribbled the ball around on the field for a while before taking a shot. His growl of frustration for missing could clearly be heard from my spot a couple yards away from the side line. He kicked the ground several times before looking up and calming down when he saw me.

"Isn't it a bit early for you to be here?" he called out, attempting to put a smile on his face.

I frowned. He typically was all chipper and smiled but right now he just looked drained. I walked up closer to him, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... why?"

"Because. You're panting like a dog and you look exhausted."

"Well... I've been out her for nearly an hour."

Now I was astounded. "You've been out here since 5:30?"

He nodded, "I need the practice. I couldn't sleep anyway."