The Impostors

Chapter 3: Hurt

My body sat stiff in the driver's seat- my fingers white from the grip on the steering wheel. A bewildered look smogged my face in the familiar way it had when I stepped off the bus to see my parents throwing bags in the trunk of our car for the first time. I was only 9, it was a sudden spur of the moment thing, we only packed enough stuff for a few days, leaving everything and everyone else behind.

My eyes scanned the 20 foot bus from the back to the front. I had never rode on a bus before- at least I didn't ever remember riding on one.

"Ava!"  Her beaming voice made me flinch backwards- who was she? 

"Your in my class, remember?"  She looked at me skeptically, her big bright blue eyes were full of life, unlike mine. I didn't recognize her but I nodded my head and smiled. 

"It's your second day right?" Her questioning eyes were glued to me. I just wanted her to go away.

Again, my head nodded answering her question. The bus was loud- to loud, all of the little kids were screaming and taking things from each other. Some were even hitting their heads on the seats in front of them.

"Were in 4th grade we shouldn't have to ride the bus with all of the-" she stuck her tongue out and folded her arms, "-little babies." All of a sudden the bus came to a halt. My eyes scrunched together and my eyebrows furrowed, "Why'd the bus stop?" Before she could answer my question my eyes shot to the side bringing my house in full view.

She tugged my arm and pulled me up from the seat, "Hurry." Why hurry? And how did he even know where I lived? My thoughts dispersed as I stepped off the last step and into the sun's beaming rays. The wind added a breeze wrapping my hair around my face. I tugged it away as I heard a car door slam.

"Ava, honey," my mom smiled at me, but hehind her smile was something else, "Go inside and grab your teddy bear and come get into the car." 

"What are-"

"Hurry along now, we have to go."  My head cocked to the side as she disappeared back into the house. Moments later, she walked back out with my teddy bear and my dad who locked the door behind him.

"Ava," My mom tugged me to the car and strapped me in. 

"Where are we going?"  She smiled at me and patted the loose strands of my hair down, "Somewhere nice."

I twisted the metallic key in my ignition shutting off the rusty old engine as a sigh escaped my mouth. How could I let myself slip this time? A frown stumbled across my face revealing creases in my forehead. 

I slipped by letting the idea get in my head that since we have lived here for almost four consecutive years that maybe just maybe we'd stay here, that just maybe I could actually have a life for once, but of course, I was wrong. I was more wrong that I even let that idea sink into my head when I had pushed it into the far confines of my mind so many times before. 

My hands trembled on the steering wheel, making it rattle from the missing bolt. To bad I can't leave right now and never come back to this....'family.' As much as it hurt to think that, it was true. My grip tightened on the steering wheel making the rubber squeak beneath my tense fingers. A tear fell from my eye and rolled down my cheek before it's life ended in the creases of my mouth. I clenched my eyes shut- Don't cry. You have to be strong, Ava. 

Living a normal life is something that will never be possible for me. I never should have became comfortable here. My head dropped onto the steering wheel creating a thud that filled the silence. The day I move wont even phase anyone that I know at school except for Erik, who has plenty of other friends. I wiped the perspiration that formed in the center of my palms on my jeans and sighed. Maybe, in reality, there is nothing that I'll actually be leaving behind.