Vodka, Vemon and Violet Skies

Sea, Sand and Cigarettes

I ran. As fast as my legs could move on the bumpy ground, tripping over rocks and nearly falling on my face multiple times.
"You won't get away, you little slut!" A voice boomed through the darkness and I covered my ears to block out the harsh words.
That's what he thinks.
Anyway, by the time he sobers up, he'll forget he even had a daughter. Daughter. Ha, I was anything but a daughter to him - fathers don't normally treat their little princesses the way that beast treated me.

Gasping for air, I slowed down and leant against a wall, sliding to the ground. A sharp pain stabbed at my side and I winced, clutching my waist and taking deep breaths. Ow. I ran a hand through my hair, feeling the beads of sweat dripping down my face.
I think I was far enough away now for him to give up and stumble back to the house.

Sighing, I rummaged through my tattered backpack.
Spare clothes, underwear, bottles of cola, packets of food, my "dad's" credit card, £200 in cash, a few packs of tobacco, a lighter, hairbrush, phone.
I felt relief.
I had finally ran away and I didn't plan on ever going back. Ever.

But, where do I go now?
Looking around, I could see no cars and very few people. I hadn't thought about this.
Gritting my teeth, I struggled to stand up and stretch my legs. My calves felt as though they were on fire.

Uncomfortable and still nervous, I forced my legs to move. Step by step, I unstuck my feet from the ground as though they were attached with superglue until I reached the bus stop. Closing my eyes, I rested against the pole and waited patiently for fifteen minutes. Finally, the bus arrived, blinding my eyes with the bright headlights and slowing to a stop right in front of me.
I fumbled with my purse and gave the driver my money, scanning the passengers.

That's when I saw her.

The most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my entire life sat in the back of the bus, feet resting on the chair beside her. She had jet black hair that flowed down in loose curls that reached the small of her back and bright blue eyes and she was staring out of the window.
"Please go and sit down," muttered the bus driver and I realised that I had just been standing there, awestruck. Self-consciously, I started to walk to a seat that was close to the pretty girl but not too close that I seemed like a stalker.

As I sat down in a window seat, I glanced briefly at her and she was studying me closely, eyeing me up and down. I turned to look out of the window, trying to pretend like I didn't notice her watching me.
Rain pattered on the window, creating little droplets that fell peacefully. Mesmerized by the patterns the raindrops were forming, I almost jumped out of my seat in pure fright when I heard a voice over my shoulder whsiper "boo!"

I turned quickly and saw that the girl had slid into the seat behind me, a smirk plastered across her perfect face.
She stood up and swung into the seat next to me and smiled sweetly.

"Hi, my name's Alexia but people usually call me Lexi," she said, looking into my eyes as if she was trying to figure something out.
It took me a moment to speak.
"H-hi, I'm uhh, Hayden," I stuttered.

I watched intently as she reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of vodka. Swiftly, she brought it up to her lips and took a mouthful before holding the glass bottle towards me. Nervous, my eyes darted to the driver but he seemed oblivious. I drank some of the liquid, feeling the familiar warmth slide down my throat.

"So," she began, "who are you running from? What's a girl like you doing out at two in the morning?"
I handed her back the vodka. "I don't want to talk about it," I replied.
She shrugged, "alright, at least tell me where you're headed to?"
I sighed, shaking my head. She nodded.
"I get it," she whispered, "you're not sure where you're going. Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to the PebbleBeach. You coming?"
She looked at me excitedly. And before I could utter an excuse, she pressed the bell and dragged me up and out of the bus.

Lexi grabbed hold of my arm and lead me to the beach, lying down on the sand. Awkwardly, i lay down next to her, staring up at the night sky.
You would think the silence would have been eery and filled with questions but somehow I felt comfortable.
Lexi dug back into her bag and retrieved the vodka, drinking the alcohol with ease.
"Right, Hayden, tell me about yourself," she said, almost like an order.
I frowned, "i don't know where to begin."
She laughed. It was a gentle laugh that echoed softly. And, God was she beautiful.

I searched in my backpack and took out the packet of tobacco, rolling myself a cigarette.
"Want one?" I asked politely.
Lexi nodded and I handed her a fag. The light from the flame illuminated her facial features and I began to wonder just how one human could be so surreal.
Breathing in the musky smoke, I started to spill out my story.

"Well. My name is Hayden and I'm 15 years old. I'm running from my 'dad'. My mum died of cancer when I was five and since then my dad became an abusive alcoholic. He blamed me for mums death and took out all his anger on me. He would hit, kick, punch and slap me and that was all if I was lucky. Other days, I wasn't so lucky and he would touch me in places a young girl shouldn't be touched and even raped me many times. I didn't know what to do. I stopped going to school when I was six and spent all my time either hiding in my room or laying on his bed. But I put up with it. What else could I do? And then when I was fourteen, I started stealing some of his money and saving up so that I could run away from him. Thats what I did, I ran."
I didn't notice the tears that streamed down my face until Lexi reached out and wiped them away.

"Well, you're safe now. No one will hurt you as long as I'm around," she whispered softly. I felt comforted by her presence.
"We're the same age," she continued, "and with similar backgrounds but my dad got put in jail years ago so I live with my mum now. Hey, do you wanna come back to my place? You don't have anywhere else to go and I can't leave you by yourself. Plus, you're such a pretty girl and I enjoy being around you already. I can tell that we're going to be close friends."
I smiled. Something told me that we were going to be more than friends...

A/N Hey, this is the first part of the story and it kinda sucks but oh well. Criticism is welcome. Update will come shortly.