Stockholm Syndrome | h.s.

One

It was the beginning of summer when it all began. I can remember that night perfectly, as if it was written on the back of my hand. The moon hung in the sky and the air had slowly started to cool off from the sun's absence. I was driving down the dark stretch of road that led to my destination.

Suddenly, my phone began to buzz loudly next to me, signaling that I was getting a phone call. I picked up the phone with one hand, and I kept the other on the steering wheel. I raised the phone to my ear after accepting the call, not even bothering to check the caller I.D.

"Hello?" I answered as I continued to drive.

There was a long pause.

"Hello? " I asked, not sure who was on the other end of the phone. Finally, a familiar voice spoke.

"Chloe, where are you? You told me you were going to be here 5 minutes ago." I heard my little sister, Avery, say through the phone.

"I know. I misplaced my keys, but I'm pulling in the parking lot now." I replied as I turned into the parking lot of the movie theater.

"Okay, good. I'm waiting outside." I heard her say before she hung up the phone.

I pulled in front of the building after spotting Avery and stopped the car as I waited for her to open the passenger side door.

"Took you long enough." she mumbled as she closed the door and fastened her seatbelt.

"Well, didn't that guy wait with you?" I asked her as I put the car in drive and pulled away.

"Well, he- he um..." she quietly said, trying to get words out properly.

"He didn't stand you up, did he?" I asked and turned towards her only to see her nod her head 'yes.'

"That little prick. Oh Avery, I am so sorry." I continued to say as I took her hand in my own and held it.

I felt so sorry for her. She had been so excited to get asked out by a boy in the grade above her. She also didn't fail to mention that he was the most popular guy in his grade. She wouldn't stop going on about him. I was so proud that my little 15 year old sister was going on her first date.

"So what did you do? You didn't see a movie all by yourself did you?" I asked as I pulled onto our street.

"No, I called Liz and told her what happened, so she said she would come see a movie with me." she said as she stared out the window and took her hand back from me.

I put my right hand back into the steering wheel and continued to drive up the street until reaching our house. Stopping the car, I pulled the keys out of the ignition and turned to look at Avery, who was still looking out the window with a sad expression on her face.

"Avery, listen. Guys can be-"

"Yeah I know. All guys freaking suck and I should never get my hopes up of finding the perfect guy. You tell me this all the time." she mumbled still staring out the passenger side window.

"Avery, that's not-"

"No! Don't 'Avery' me!" she raised her voice as she turned to look at me, a frustrated look on her face.

"Listen, I know things have been tough and all since dad left but-"

"Tough? Just tough? Chloe, our own mother died in a car crash and then our father left us on our own because he couldn't handle raising us on his own and you think that's just tough?" she screams at me before opening the car door and running to the front porch.

I quickly hop out of the car and followed her figuring that I could corner her there and calm her down. But then she reached for the front door and opened it with ease.

'Strange. I thought I locked it.' I thought with a puzzled expression on my face.

Brushing it off as just me being forgetful, I continued to follow her into the house.

"Avery. Please, just calm down, okay?" I said as I walked into the kitchen and placed my purse and keys on the small kitchen table.

Since our mom's accident 5 years ago, things had gotten hard. Dad became so stressed out and had to take on two jobs to make the money to support us. At 16, I got a job as well and tried to be the positive one for all of us, especially Avery who was just 10 at the time. It got hard at times and I often kept my negative emotions recorded in my diary.

Thoughts of how much easier things might be if mom were still alive swarmed inside of my brain. I felt an immense amount of guilt because if she hadn't been on her way to pick me up from school, she would still be here with us...

Things only got worse when Avery and I returned home from school to find dad's car missing from its usual place in the driveway. He was always home when we arrived home from school. We searched all over the house for him, but he was no where to be found. Avery had started to cry and after calming her down we walked over to the neighbors house to explain what happened. She called the police and they searched the house after asking us a series of questions such as, "Did your father ever hit or hurt you?" and, "Was you dad ever really tired or upset?". The truth is, he never hit us. He had no reason to because Avery and I had always been well-behaved and he always seemed mostly happy but overwhelmed with all everything.

The police found a bunch of empty hangers in the closet and there was money missing from the safe he kept in his bedroom. They found a note that we had overlooked sitting on the kitchen counter. I still read it to this day....

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Dear Chloe and Avery,

I know you may not understand why I left, but I can't bring myself to do it anymore. I see your mother in both of you. From the way you look, the way you talk, and especially your bright blue eyes. It's making me remember too much when I just need to forget. I left $500 in the safe for you as well as the keys to my other car. I'm sorry girls, but between the jobs and your mother's death, I haven't been the same. I love you both and hope you understand.

Love, Dad

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I was only 17 when my father left. However, I felt responsible for Avery. Our aunt stayed with us until I finished my last year of high school and got a job to support the two of us. Now, at the age of 21, I felt like a mother most of the time rather than an older sister. But somehow, despite the hard times, Avery and I managed to get by.

"Avery." I called as I headed towards the stairs. I climbed the stairs, skipping every other one so I could make it up faster. As I reached the top, I was surprised to find that the hallway was dark.

"Avery? Are you up here?" I asked warily as I approached her bedroom door, which had no light coming out from under it.

I slightly opened the door and whispered into the dark, "Avery? Answer me right now. This isn't funny."

I flicked on the light switch as I opened the door a little more. There was Avery, standing in the middle of the room. I was about to speak, but as I opened the door all the way my breath suddenly hitched in my throat. There was a man standing next to Avery. He was tall, very muscular and was dressed in cargo pants, a black jacket and boots and his head was bald.

He smirked at me as he spoke in a low, menacing voice, "Welcome home, Chloe."

I heard footsteps approach me from behind and before I could turn around, something hard came down on the back of the head. And that's when everything went black.
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Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading chapter one! I hope you add this to your libraries and comment and vote please! Thank you so much!! Also, for the role of Chloe I'm thinking of Ashley Benson and for Avery the 15/16 year old version of
Taylor Momsen :)