Adelaide Dove Hindley is a young woman with too many problems to bear. After an abusive episode with her boyfriend, she runs to the pier. She just wanted to escape her life and have some peace but when she finds herself about to jump she doesn't kno...
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TW: Suicide attempt
After my ordeal at the bookstore, I decided to get some hot chocolate and pastries to boost my sullen mood. I walked into my favorite cafe hearing a bell jingle. I ordered my food and drink and sat down to take in the calming ambiance of the small cafe.
I looked up at the cafe's clock seeing it was 12:34. Damnit I have to get home soon. My boyfriend Will wants me home as soon as possible so he knows I'm safe.
That's what he says at least.
I always dread going home but I love him.
"Order for Laney!" The barista calls breaking me from my thoughts.
I've always loved that name Laney. That's what my friends call me... If I had any. But a girl can dream.
I sip my hot chocolate as I walk down the busy streets of San Francisco.
I soon arrive at my small apartment and unlock the door only to get a strong whiff of alcohol slapping me in the face. My face cringes with disgust at the familiar smell. I walk in locking the door behind me.
"Where the fuck were you?!" Will yells at me sitting on the couch with a half-empty beer in his hand. "I went to Alberts to get a book." "Another one of those damn things?" He asks sipping his beer while mindlessly watching the TV.
"You know you're the reason we live in this shitty dump!" He yells slamming his empty beer bottle on the floor. I feel tears prick at my eyes as he looks at me with cold eyes I once knew.
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It happens every single time. I come home, he's drunk on the couch, he blames me for something, I defend myself, then he tells me to apologize in the form of sex. I feel powerless. But can't leave him, I love him.
The word 'love' always puts a bad taste in my mouth. He once loved me... I think. I lost my virginity to that man. That's not something you can take back. It feels like he owns me. Nothing is ever enough for him, he always wants something. And he will do anything to get what he wants.
The only time I feel like myself is either when I'm reading or at the ocean.
I can feel the wind blowing my clothes as I walk deeper into the pier. The moonlight is the only reason I can see the feet in front of me. The sounds of the waves guided me to the edge. I peek my head over the wood railing to see the waves crashing onto the shore and on the pier's poles covered in barnacles and seaweed.
The salty air swirls through my lungs burning them in the process. The deep blue water looks like a dream as It moves with grace.
The ocean has always been my happy place, my solace. I grew up in California and had a house within walking distance of the beach. Whenever I felt lonely or misunderstood I would walk to the beach and talk to the waves as if they were my best friend. As if they were alive.
In my mind, they are. Especially when the moon used to guide the waves to my feet letting me have a sense of feeling. Just a splash of reality when I wasn't doing well.
I now realize I've climbed onto the ledge. I have never wanted to jump more. The water looks too mesmerizing to not. I feel my hands reach out trying to grasp the water that just can't be touched.
Unless I jump.
Just as I was about to let go a pair of large hands grasped onto my waist pulling me away from the ledge. My heart pounded in my ears and tears slip down my face. I was crying?
Why do I always have to cry?
I stare blankly at the ledge in front of me. "Are you ok?" I hear a gruff voice ask. Snapping me out of my trance I look up at the person who still has their hand on my waist. I look up at the man with teary eyes.
His face is morphed into shock and worry. His black hair flows with the salty wind as his deep blue eyes examine me. I can see his tightened jaw and tense body his veins sticking out of his tattooed skin.
