Escape

Prologue

As my anger grows, I grip Andre's shirt tighter, my ring turns a brighter shade of orange. Every passing moment, my patience begins to wear thin and my irritation rises, changing my ring from a bright orange to a blinding shade of fiery red, pulsating from light to dark. A heat radiated through me filling me with a feeling as though I am being filled with boiling water.

My patience wearing thin, I drain my lungs of air as my words come out in one loud breath, telling Andre to shut up and listen to me. My eyes squeezed tight, hands balled up into fists, letting out my anger. I don't let my rage get out of hand since the last time that happened was not good. Also considering I am in Andre's face right now, I would not want to blow his head clean off his body.

As much as I love Andre, today he has crossed a line that he knows he should never cross. I think he is starting to realize that as well, and majorly regretting it. Putting his hands in his pockets, he accepts defeat and gives up, knowing he cannot win at this point.

This is how our arguments usually play out. Either we will fight for a while and one will give up, or one of us will yell at the other for a while and wear out. Either way, one will be comforted by the other and everything will go back to normal. We have a pretty solid thing going here that works for us. No point changing that now.

Today, it is my turn let him have it. Later he will apologize because he knows how wrong he was. I have been yelling so long my voice should have given out a long time ago and Andre's ears must be ringing. We're arguing about my birthday. Doesn't seem like a big deal right? Well, one of his closest buddies is one of my ex-boyfriends; a relationship that ended horribly. Andre is planning a huge--pointless--party for my birthday and wants to bring this guy, knowing fully well how much I disapprove. So here we are, an hour later, me still yelling at him for the mere thought of his horrendous idea, even though he gave in about thirty minutes ago.

I need to calm down before my head explodes. I leave the dorm and run through the courtyard. A while back, I had discovered this old treehouse hidden in the forest that surrounds the grounds. It's a cute little box I have managed to furnish with a few extra large bean bags. I am stealing some electricity from the main building to power a mini-fridge, and an old TV I stole from my parents garage a while back, but neither have noticed anything missing. I brought in a few of the millions of posters from my old room at home and somewhat decorated the walls. I come here whenever I need to get away from everything, or on some occasions to skip out on classes. No one else knows about this place except me, and Andre of course. Whenever he can't find me on the grounds, he knows he can find me here.

Someone is climbing up the wooden ladder, the rungs screeching with every step up. I turn around to look at the hatch, and of course Andre's head has popped up from under the rotting wood. We've gone through this so many times I have lost count. Andre walks in and drops down onto the large bean bag next to me. Wrapping me in a protective hug and pulling me close, he strokes my hair, repeating over and over again that he's sorry as I press my face against his chest, gripping his shirt and soaking it with my tears. Through the blur of my tears, I see my my ring glint as it changes color from fiery red to a depressing shade of grey as the anger seeps out of me, replaced with sadness and exhaustion. My mother gave it to me when I was little. It's just a simple small oval cut moonstone with a silver band. She said it will keep my eyes and hair from changing color with my emotions, so instead the stone changes color. So far it's been working.

We don't say anything as we sit there, for who knows how long, until I manage to calm myself enough and my ring reverts back to its clear serenity.

We spend the rest of the night in the treehouse. I have quite a large collection of classic movies hoarded up here so we pop some in the DVD player. We point out everything the filmmakers could have done better and laugh at what they did horribly wrong. The hours fly by as we sit there, frozen in time while the happenings around us pass without a thought. Before we know it, morning creeps up on us. We didn't want to think the night would end. Regardless, we don't leave. Eventually some time during the day, Andre passes out, his eyes red from staring at the bright screen for hours on end.

I rise from the beanbag slowly so I don't make a sound. Gently making my way to the ladder, I take one last look at Andre before climbing down. I jump halfway landing in a crouch, springing up and sprinting off. I don't know where I'm going, which direction I'm heading, but I don't care. I have to get out of here, for my own good as well as for everyone I hold close. I need a fresh start and the only way to get one is to run away. This place has been my home for many years, but it's time to move on. I need to walk away and never turn back. I run as fast as I can possibly pump my legs, cold tears roll down my face, blinding my vision, making everything look blurry. My ring has turned that shady grey once more as I get further away from the only place I have ever loved.

I will miss this place, of course. But it's time I start creating a new future and the only way to do that is to leave my past behind.