𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟎𝟕

𝐍𝐨 𝐄𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳
𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗸'𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

"𝐔𝐠𝐡," Noah groans as she holds the handle of her comb between her teeth. "Damn it."

The teen takes the comb out of her mouth and slowly runs it down a section of her hair from the root to the end. She puts the piece of hair back and picks up another section, smoothly brushing the dye over the strands. After hours of lighting her hair, she's on her last round of dye.

"Noah," Derek says behind the bathroom door.

"Derek, I'm not done, which hasn't changed since you asked me twenty minutes ago!" Noah says as she focuses on her comb.

"We have to be there at three," the man says.

"And I'll be there, but, please, let me focus."

Noah doesn't hear a reply, so she assumes that he's listened to her. She continues with her hair and once she finishes the last section, she lets her hair sit and cleans up. She grabs some toilet paper, wiping the dye that she spilled off the counter. She takes off the gloves she was using and throws them in the trash.

She walks out of the bathroom and into her bedroom right next door. She looks through her closet that's still extremely disorganized. She grabs a pair of black jeans and a red ribbed tank top that was Emily's. She walks around the mess that's covering her floor, accidentally stepping on something and limping the rest of her way out of the room.

Noah closes herself in the bathroom again and slides her pajama shorts off to slide the jeans on. She listens to music in the bathroom until the timer on her laptop goes off. She turns the sink water on and tips her head over, rinsing out the dye in her hair. When she's done, she dries it with a towel and runs a brush through it, but the strokes eventually slow. She looks in the mirror, furrowing her brow at the sight of her hair.

With the new color, she thought she'd look different. But she looks like herself, tired and depressed, but with red hair.

"Noah!" Derek calls from the kitchen. "We're gonna be late!"

The teen quickly throws the tank top over her head and swings the bathroom door open. She goes to her room and looks for her shoes, finding one in the corner.

"Really?" Derek asks as he watches her pick up the black Converse from the floor.

"JJ said it was the only color they had, I didn't really have a choice," Noah replies as she slides the shoe on her left foot.

Derek walks over to her nightstand while Noah slides her shoes on. When she's finished tying them, she goes to walk out of the room.

"Nice try," Derek says as he stops the teen from leaving. He wordlessly holds his hand out, revealing a fluoxetine pill in his palm.

The teen rolls her eyes and takes a deep breath. She grabs the pill and puts it in her mouth, grabbing a random water bottle on her desk and using it to wash down the pill. She shows Derek under her tongue and shoots him a glare.

They walk to the front door together and Derek opens it, allowing her to step out first. They take the elevator down to the first floor and when the doors slide open, she's met by the natural light flowing into the small lobby. She takes a deep breath as they head toward the door, squinting her eyes at the bright light from the sun.

When the first blast of the early June humidity hits her skin, it sets a fire in her chest. She feels her heart pound and goosebumps rise on her arms. It's the first time she's truly been outside since she moved into Derek's apartment.