The Clear Waters

The trip begins

"Bye Layla. Bye Joey! See you in a week!!" I wave as me and Max get to the top of the cliff,they wave back as we turn away and walk through brush.

"How long is the walk?"

"Six hours"

"Great"

Trudging through the hot air for the past three hours was bad enough; not to mention all of Max's dirty jokes and his cocky remarks.

"Hey why did the elephant cross the road?"

"I don't care Stupid." I sigh and plop onto a rock. My feet are killing me. Max tossed me a water canister and a box of something. Opening the box I realize they are crackers, haven't have these since I was thirteen. I chow down on them and chug the water. "I'm tired" I complain, honestly I just don't want to walk. Lifting my arms up to signal him to pick me up, I give him the face a three year old would give their mother for a cookie. He hesitates, probably thinking something like 'uh what the hell? I thought she hated me', but he picks me up bridal style and swings my back pack over his. I wrap my arms around his neck and snuggle my head into his chest and close my eyes. Even though it appears that I hate him, I'm just being stubborn. The only thing I have against him is his attitude and his cocky remarks.

~~~~~~~

"Harmony. Harmony. Wake up" a hushed tone gentle shakes me as I feel their chest vibrate. I peel my eyes open to meet Max's bright green eyes.

Groggily I reply, "where are we max?" I ask as I bury my head into his chest.

"We're here" he chuckles.

"Already!?" I practically jumped out of his arms, only to land on my butt. I laugh at myself and get up. Wait..... I freeze in place and look up into his eyes, "you carried me for three hours!? What?! Why the hell would you do that!? You should have woke me up! What is wrong with you!!" I jab my index finger repeatedly in his chest. He just laughs at me. "Why are you laughing! It's not funny! I feel bad now! You know how heavy I am!" I shout again. Geezzz. People these days. He just continues laughing at me.

" a simple thank you would be nice. And you don't weigh a lot" he chuckles at me. I just huff at him and mumble a 'thank you'. I take a moment to actually look at my surroundings. For the past four years I haven't seen anyone besides Joey, Layla, max, the Red waters, and the Deep waters. Which is only about thirteen people. There are hundreds of people huddling the streets, other cars are driving around, people yelling, talking, it's so loud. Whoa.

"Let's go inside." Max places a hand on my shoulder and leads me in to a giant hotel. An actual building! We enter into a lobby and Max checks us in. He comes back with a key and takes me into a elevator. I hate elevators. I clench onto Max's arm as we go up tens of floors, avoiding all the weird looks we're getting. We are probably messy, only in our bathing suits and me in a large shirt to cover the bathing suit to mid thigh. The elevator dings and we exit quickly. We find our room- 316. He unlocks the door and its like nothing I remember. One giant bed covered in green silk sheets and tall lamps. For once I'm not cold inside of a form of shelter. A dresser and desk made of matching red oak wood. The walls were a deep purple and had black trimming. "Whoa" is all I can say.

"I know" Max laughs. He throws the back packs on the floor as I run and throw myself onto the bed. Soft sheets,no stiff mattress, pillows with goose feathers in them- it felt like heaven. I grab the sheets in my fists and bundle myself up in something like a cocoon. So soft. "Some ones having fun. It's like you haven't seen a real bed in years" he chuckles.

I sit up, "you really don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" Max questions sitting on the foot of the bed.

" oh gosh. Well I might as well explain the whole thing. Me and Layla ran away at the age of thirteen to the beach we stay at now. The reason is what kills me to tell anyone. Not even Joey knows," I inhale but continue, " at twelve, my mother passed away in a car crash. My father didn't take it well, I was forced to be the stronger one in the family, for my little brother Charlie's sake. My dad couldn't take it, he beat me and Charlie. Charlie tried to protect me one day. My thirteenth birthday. He said that I didn't deserve to be beaten at all. That he should be. But I wouldn't let Charlie. Dad couldn't handle our arguing. At the moment we were in the living room. He-he grabbed a lamp and was about to hit me on the head-Charlie- he pushed me out of the way resulting in him being bashed on the head with the metal lamp. I can still see it as if it were yesterday. My Dad bashing my nine year old brother on the head and yelling at him for pushing me out of the way. I remember seeing my brothers eyes just stop moving, his sobs stopping, his screams for me to run... just stopping. I knew he was dead as soon as my dad looked up at me with the lamp held high in his right hand as he got off of Charlie's dead body. I ran up the stairs and into my room. Locking the door Before packing a minimal amount of things in my bad before jumping out the window. I ran. I ran for about an hour as fast as I could. Where? To Layla's. I found her where she always was- under an abandoned train track. She didn't have a family. She instantly agreed to run away with me. We spent weeks lost in the hot musky wilderness before we come across the beach we now call home. We built the hut we have now and about a year later Joey came with a story just as sad. To sad for me to tell you though. We instantly took him in and became friends quickly." I finished and felt drips of water on my bare legs. I knew I was crying. I cover my face with my hands and fall back onto the bed sobbing into my hands. Max's arms around me are all I feel before I fall into a sleep filled with dark nightmares of my father.