No Place Like Home

1

Finlay Adela. Nov, 4ᵗʰ

Every night was like this for Finlay. The sounds of her parents yelling from upstairs. They did this so often, It was like they hated each other. Finlay wanted to know so badly, but they would say everything was fine. Most nights Finlay’s father would sleep on the couch downstairs. They never seemed to get along well with each other. They were never ending fighting. The muffled sounds of their voices came up through the vent next to Finlay's bed. They didn’t realize that she could hear them.
“Nick, why do you always have to do this to me!”
Lisa yelled with pain in her voice.
“Lisa, I-I’m sorry I just didn’t…”
“You just didn’t what! What didn’t you just do!”
Nick was at a loss for words. He didn’t know what to say. It was obvious that Nick was in the wrong. He just didn’t want to admit to it.
“Look, Lisa, I know that-”
“No, You don’t get to say anything anymore!”
“But-”
“No! I don’t want to even see you. Get away from me!”
Finlay lay in her bed. Staring at the ceiling her hands interlocked on her stomach. She wanted all of this to stop but it was too much. They were too loud. The yelling was still going and she just wanted it to stop. Until it did. The yelling was over. A door slammed somewhere downstairs. Then there were footsteps going upstairs. Usually, after the fighting Finlay's mom would go upstairs and check on her. The door creaked open and Lisa peered around the corner.
“Hey kiddo, how are you.”
“I’m a good Mom.”
Finlay was quiet but kept her composure. It was hard living like this, watching your parents fight each other. Tearing themselves apart.
“That’s good, I’ll be going to sleep. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight Mom.”
Finlay said trying to give a genuine smile. She could feel her eyes well up in tears. She would cry herself to sleep most nights. It always seemed so hard to find peace among chaos. Lisa left the room leaving the door open. Finlay sighed as she took the blanket off of herself. Standing up she can feel the cold air brush against her legs. Extending her arm she lightly closed the door by pushing it a bit. But not too much to where it would make a sound. The latch was very quiet though the flooring was a different story. The house was old and almost any type of pressure would cause the floor to make a sound. She got used to it and knew mostly where to step to get around without making a noise. As she lay back down she took the blanket and put it over her body. Taking the pillow next to her she brings it to her face and starts to cry. She cried till she couldn’t anymore. Her eyes were red and puffy. She grew tired. Resting her head on the pillow with her face down. Still sobbing just a bit. She succumbed to sleep. The next morning was quiet yet cold. The window had been left open and a draft was coming through. She could hear people downstairs. Looking over at the nightstand she saw that it said 8:32 A.M. She slept in. This terrified Finlay. Her parents hated it when she slept in. They always complained that it’s not polite to waste time like that.

She heard clashing plates and pots and pans downstairs. Finlay was late for breakfast. Putting her slippers on she rushes out to the stairs. Getting into the kitchen she sees her mother cleaning dishes at the sink.
“You issued breakfast.”
She said not even turning to look at Finlay. She was stone-faced. Her eyes were fixed on the sink.
“Where is my breakfast?”
Finlay asked looking at the table.
“You don’t get any, you missed it.”
Finlay’s face faded. She was hungry.
“If you want to eat you can make it yourself.”
“But the school I have to leave for school in 15 minutes.”
“That’s not my problem. You should have woken up earlier then.”
Finlay looked up at the clock on the wall. 8:40 A.M. Time went by so fast. Like she skipped forward in a movie. Opening the fridge there is almost nothing. All there had been was a lunch bag and a water bottle for her school lunch. Taking them out of the fridge she slowly made her way to her backpack that was hanging off of the wall. She didn’t want to move too fast to make any sudden move. She didn’t want to upset Lisa any more than she already had. In the living room, the TV was on. Some gameshow was playing. The yelling of celebrations reminded her of last night. Putting her things inside of her backpack she took it off the hanger and went back to the fridge. Opening it up she put some extra food inside. After closing the fridge Finlay goes back upstairs and sets her bag down. Taking off her slippers she picks up her shoes. A pair of black and worn Converses. She had them for a few years. Once she tied her shoes she stood up grabbing a piece of paper before writing on it. She thought about what to put for a while. After writing she folded it putting on her bed. In clear view of anyone who walked in. She wanted it to be that way just so they would know. So maybe they would understand what she is about to do. Finlay just wanted to be free and happy. Not yelled at for every little thing. Picking her stuff up Finlay started to go to the front door. Heading downstairs Finlay sees her mother go to the living room. It gave her enough space to leave the house without having to say anything to either of her parents. She quickly left the house. Trying not to make a sound. She kicked the wall. It left a mark. She froze.
“Finlay! What was that?”
“Uh… Nothing Dad.”
Finlay tried to say but he came out into the kitchen
”What’s that on my wall?”
He said looking down at the mark. He scrunched his face and furrowed his eyebrows. Looking down at Finlay who was scared he lifted his arm. She ducked and held her hands above her head. It was no use, he he slapped her across the face. Her cheek turned red.
“Ow!”
“When I get home later I better not see that there!”
“Ok, dad…”
Her voice was shaky. She didn’t want to get hit again. It stung like a wasp. He turned towards the door before walking out with the car keys. He didn’t say anything else but slammed the door on his way out. It shook her. He always seemed so angry. Her mother pretended like it didn’t happen. Standing up she watched the car drive away. Standing up her legs shook. Usually, he would hit a lot more, and a lot harder. As she got to the door she looked outside. The car had driven off now. Most of the time Nick would drive her to school. He was to angry to drive. Finlay felt a sense of dread. Thankfully for her she was leaving. Going to the front door and opening it she was hit with a rush of cold November air. The bus stop wasn’t far, just around the corner of her street. The walk would be difficult because of the snow but Finlay was desperate. She wanted nothing but to be gone from the house.

Walking down the path of the house her feet left prints in the snow. The wind kept blowing on her face. Her hands turned red and numb. Finlay didn’t have any mittens. When she was at the store she could have bought some but didn’t have enough money. No matter how many things Finlay did for her parents they never paid her. But she knew where they stashed it. In the shed. That was her first stop. Getting to the shed through the deep and tall snow the door was hard to open. The snow made it hard to get through. After some vigorous turning and pulling she opened the door. The money was on the shelf up on the wall. The jar was behind some old paint buckets. Inside the shed was warm, insulated. The walls were laced with fibreglass.
“Ok…”
She mumbled to herself as she took a stool and put it underneath of herself. Standing on it she tried to grab the jar of money. The jar was too far back and the paint buckets were in the way. As she tried to grab it she knocked the shelf down and fell off the stool. The lid of the paint spilled on her black jacket. A big white blotch stained to the side of her jacket. If she was seen with the white stain people would be sure to tell who she is. The jar shattered on the ground. Cash and coins everywhere. Scattered along the ground. Getting on her hands and knees she starts to pick up the money. Her breathing has increased. The last thing she wants to happen is for that shed door to open again and her mother be standing there. Finally she picked up most of the money, some coins were still underneath ofsome furnature. Getting up from the floor Finlay peeks out the door of the shed to see if her mother was there.  She wasn’t. Opening the doors fully she makes a dash for the road. The snow made it hard to get there. She falls from the snow face planting. Lifting her head the snow stuck to her face. After only a few seconds she could feel her face freezing. Like having her face in cold water. Her hands were buried by the snow aswell.
“Oh no. Oh god.”
She said as she stood up looking down at her hands. They were red like a tomato along with her face. She started to rush to the bus stop. It was in sight. Just a little bit away. But so was the bus, she could see and here it coming. Smoke coming out of the exhaust at the top. Like a big black cloud. Finlay started racing to the bus stop. Tripping as she ran towards the stop she barely makes it. Grabbing onto the signs pole she looks up as the bus slows down. She sighs of relief. As the bus stopped infront of her the doors open. Screeching as they do. The driver looks at her with a lit cigarette in his mouth.