Tell Me A Lie

Prologue

My heart was pounding. My breathing was uneven. As I sprinted into the forest, I found myself unable to think straight. All I knew was that I needed to escape. I needed to get away from them.

I kept running with no destination in my mind. My legs were sore, but I barely noticed it as the roars of my parents voices rung in my ears. They were who I was running from. Them and how they made me feel daily.

I gasped suddenly and made an abrupt stop. Bending over and holding onto my knees, I began gasping for breath. My throat was sore and my legs ached, but I was away from them. That was all I wanted as of now.

Closing my eyes, my mind went to what had happened. My drunk dad was screaming at me. He was calling me useless. Stupid and ugly too, which was everything I learned to believe. As I stood there taking the insults with no reaction, my mom suddenly appeared. She joined in with him, and then suddenly they began fighting. Not a normal fight either, a viscous one that I knew would end up physical. I had run off before I could see that happen though.

Useless. The word suddenly appeared in my mind, being said in his tone. That was what I was to him. And maybe I was that. Maybe I was useless. I scowled, knowing at least I wasn't an asshole like my dad and a bitch like my mom.

Standing up straight, I sighed. I wiped sweat away from my forehead and thought about the little time I had away from the hell I called home. My parents would be furious that I ran off, but I didn't care. It wasn't like they treated me any better when I obeyed them.

I took a step forward, wanting to explore the forest. It was silent. Peaceful with its lack of sound and beautiful greenery. That was completely unlike my home, and I was suddenly intrigued to explore it.

Walking off, I grabbed the hair tie I always had wrapped around my wrist and tied my long black hair back. Just looking around at the tall coniferous trees had my heart calming down.

As I walked, I suddenly spotted the trunk of a tree. A trunk so huge that it was the width of three of me. My eyes widened at that, and I jogged over to it. I had never seen a tree so large.

Placing a hand on the rough bark, I looked up. Straight up, which made my jaw drop. The tree was truly huge. It surpassed any other tree and it seemed to never end. I was amazed by the old tree.

Staring up at it, I thought about climbing it. Reaching the very top of it and looking at the area that surrounded me. And that was when a darker idea popped into my mind.

I could climb up the tree, feeling more free than ever, and jump. Just jump off and feel weightless before landing on the harsh ground, ending my life. The idea sounded appealing. As usual, the idea of ending my life sounded appealing.

Looking down quickly, I reminded myself to ignore such ideas. As much as life sucked, ending my life didn't sound that thrilling either. Sometimes it did, but then I reminded myself that there was no afterlife. Only darkness after death, and somehow that kept me alive.

"Scarlett."

I jumped. My heart stopped as I froze in my spot, thinking it was my dad. But after replaying the voice in my head, I realized the voice was an unrecognizable one. A low, husky voice I never heard before.

Turning around, my eyes landed on a brown haired boy sitting on a tree stump. I squinted my eyes at him, wondering who it was. He looked familiar, but at the same time he didn't. Knowing I needed glasses, I stepped forward.

That was when I recognized him. Sitting on the stump wearing a black leather jacket and skinny jeans was Jai. Jai Reynolds, who was new to my school. No one knew much about him, except that he was hot.