Run

Prologue - Some Context

Life for me hasn't always been easy. Growing up in one of the worst slums in Lockwood, California would definitely make any average person's hair turn white. I've seen it all and I've done a lot worse. The name's Camila, my brother calls me Camy, but I go by Cam to my friends. My parents died when I was young, a random drunk driving incident when they were on their way home to me. I went to foster care for a few years until my brother turned 18 and was able to prove he was fit to adopt me and I've been with him ever since. That was 10 years ago. We thugged it in Barrio 4 until my brother got this amazing job opportunity my senior year of high school and moved us to this sick neighborhood named Rose Hills. Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself, I should explain.

Lockwood is a pretty large city. You've got the six Barrios that surround the outskirts of the city, right on the poverty line. Barrio 1, 2, 3, and 5, known as The Lockwood Quarters or 'LQ' for short, are more put together, if you live there, you're either rich or comfortable, whereas Barrio 4 and 6 are the slums. Thats where the crime rate stays up 95% every year. They called those two neighborhoods, The Bottom. I don't know why though, we had all the same problems. The economy was shot and if you weren't making over $100k a year, you were still living paycheck to paycheck. The only thing they had over us was safety. They still had crime, and they still had drugs, they were just better at hiding it. When I was young, I used to dream of living life not having to look over my shoulder or being looked down on. That all changed for me though all because of my brother. I just wish it would've stayed that way.

5 years ago

"Ayo Cam! Wait!" Adrian called after me. I turned slightly and rolled my eyes, picking up the pace of my feet, angrily stomping forward along the jagged sidewalk. "Fuck you, Adrian. Fuck you, man." I mumbled through breaths. He was so tall and lanky that catching up to me could be achieved in a few steps, whereas me, my short stubby legs and old raggedy sneakers can only go so far. His laugh barreled through the wind, almost knocking me over from its force as he curled his long fingers around the handle to my backpack, yanking me to a stop. "Stop!" I protested. I wanted nothing to do with him after the day we had. He turned me toward him, his smile almost melting me on the spot. He was so proud of what he did today and I hated him for it. "That dude was an asshole, you don't need him anyway." He said proudly, shaking me up and releasing me.

I clambered to the ground, letting out an exasperated grunt. "YOU DON'T GET TO MAKE THAT DECISION, I DO!" I said as I scrambled to my feet and stomped forward. I could see the bus stop in the distance, all I needed to do was get him off my fucking back for once. Sticking his foot out and tripping me, he crouched down over me with an even bigger grin on his face then before. "Too bad, I made it for ya!" He yelled, standing over me like the giant he is. I reached up and snatched him to the ground with me by his shirt collar, putting him in a mini headlock and tightening my grip on him. We had to look so ridiculous to people driving down the road but I didn't care. He was gonna pay. I squeezed and squeezed until he finally tapped out. when I released him, he let out a large gasp like I really was doing any damage to his airways as I rose from the ground. "You need a girlfriend. I'm tired of you cock-blocking me with every dude I even so much as smile at. It's dumb, you're dumb." I said, brushing off the gravel and dirt that accumulated all over my outfit and eventually helping him up.

"I'm in no rush to find a girlfriend, what's your excuse? You need to date outside of the Barrios Cam, none of these dudes are any good for you. Especially Stacks, he just got jumped in and there ain't no getting out." His face fell as he said that. I knew he wanted the best for me, but I don't ever see myself getting out of the barrios, I was prepared to die here. "You know we aren't getting out A, stop trying to sell me dreams," finally making it to the bus stop, I plopped down on the bench, defeated. "Besides, none from the LQ would ever be with anyone from The Bottom." I felt the familiar lump of emotion grow in my throat, burning to be released. I wanted to see the bright side of things like he does. I admire that the most about him. "Oh but you are. You just have to manifest it." He smiled at me, taking my hand and kissing my cheek, making me gag. "Alright, you're doing too much, get off of me." I whined, wiping my cheek and pushing him away.