Smoke

1 | The Run and Go

༝ 7-9-16 ༝
Smoke — The Run and Go

Location - Maple Valley, Maine
Date - August 18 | 11:52 pm
Narrator - Alina

Everything comes down to this moment. It's late Thursday night and I'm pacing my room, waiting for the call from Chloe to signal her arrival. We planned for her to be at the park by my house at midnight. I would climb through the window with my things, which may prove to be a challenge, and meet her there ASAP. Chloe bought me a black suitcase and a matching backpack to take with me, since I had no reason for a suitcase before. That left little room for storage, but I'll make do. I've barely done anything all day; I've been so nervous. Chloe and I talked on the phone twice to make sure everything was in check. I really hope this goes as planned, because if we get caught, I'm basically grounded for life.

im at the park. A text from Chloe pops up on my phone.

okay, be there soon. I reply.

I go to the window and open it all the way before taking out the screen. Then, I grab my stuff and shove them through the opening. I give my room one more glance and smile to myself before going through the window myself. There's a ladder on the side of the metal awning, and I make my way towards it. I don't allow my mind to drift to thoughts that contain regret or grief or even longing. I just focus on getting down this damned ladder. It isn't really surprising how difficult climbing down a ladder with a heavy suitcase in my hand and a backpack strapped onto my back is.

I finally land onto the fading concrete and discreetly make my way away from the house. My parents never stay up past 10:30 so they're probably out cold by now. I decide to sent Chloe a quick text:

two min away.

She sends a "thumbs up" sign in return and I stuff my phone into my back jean pocket. Once out of range from my house, I break into a slow jog. My long, dark hair blowing against my face doesn't make matters any easier when I almost drip over the steps leading to the park. I see Chloe in a long coat waving to me. I manage to stick my hand up and send some sort of distorted signal back before mom-walking over to her.

"Hey," I breathe, suddenly out of breath.

"Wow, long journey?" Chloe jokes.

"Funny. Now can we go? I'm kind of paranoid that my parents heard me."

"First off, I doubt they heard you; you're practically a ninja. Second, yeah my car's right over there." Chloe gestures to where her black Mercedes-Benz is parked. Chloe's parents a filthy rich, hence why she travels around the world, has killer style, a fancy car, and a huge lake house. We load my stuff into the trunk before I hop into the front seat.

"You okay?" Chloe asks, once she starts the engine and we're officially on the road.

"I will be once we get out of here." I answer, looking straight ahead into the pitch black night.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

We've officially arrived in Portland, Maine. I don't have the time or the nocturnal vision to look around, but from what I can tell it's pretty fucking amazing. A large portion of the buildings are lit up, even at this time of night. I start to wonder what's going on in the dimly lit offices...you know what, never mind. I don't need to thing about some old creepy boss getting it on with his PA. I read Fifty Shades of Grey once, which I deeply regret, and I don't need a real life repeat. I shudder, shoving the disturbing thought out of my mind before following Chloe to the airport.

I can't help but marvel at the place. No doubt there are nicer airports out there, but holy shit. There's escalators everywhere; I've only ever read about those (I know, sad). Flight attendants scatter, people rush so that they're not late for their flights, even a few policemen scour the area. Is that normal? We check in our bags without any problems then make our way to security.