Runaway

Chapter 2

"Hey. Get up." I felt someone shaking me vigorously.  

I groaned, then shot up immediately. The sun was peeking out from behind the enormous lilac drapes  that covered the windows. What time was it? I looked around sleepily from the bed I was now in, when my eyes landed on the boy from yesterday. He had his arms crossed, tapping his foot impatiently.

"I thought I told you to get out before 7 a.m? It's half past 7 and my parents are coming home in less than an hour. Get out." I silently nodded and began to walk out of the room.

I paused by the doorway, and mumbled "Thank you for letting me stay the night. I appreciate it." As I made my way out of the room, he stopped me.

"Wait." He strode towards his drawer and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a loose shirt. Wordlessly, he tossed it towards me.

"Put these on. I need help cleaning the house. Since your parents haven't shown up on my doorstep yet, I'm guessing you can stay to clean up. You didn't drink too much so it shouldn't be a problem helping me out. Follow me." With that, he strode out of the room and motioned me to follow him. 

"What should I do first?" I shuffled beside him, trying to keep up with his pace. He threw a broom at me and nodded his head towards the enormous living room.

"Clean that mess up, and I'll get the kitchen. Hurry though, they're not going to be happy with a dirty house." I just walked towards the living room, eyes downcast.

Why was I even here? What if he was a murderer? Looking at it in retrospect, maybe waltzing into a random house wasn't a good idea, hungry or not. Well, I was stuck here for the time being, so I just have to suck it up and clean.

With a sigh, I began sweeping up the room, frowning at the various smudges and empty bags of chips strewn on the floor. Teenagers were crazy. 

In the next half hour, we tackled every room in the house. I had opened a door, and was immediately greeted by the sight of two very naked people snuggling in the bed. I swatted them out of the room with the broom and accidentally whacked myself in the head with the shelf I was trying to clean. 

We met up back in the living room, the both of us sweaty and tired. 

"Good job." He tossed me a cherry popsicle and sat down on the couch, gazing out the large teal window.

"So what's your deal? Where are your parents?" He asked suddenly, sitting up straight beside me. I stared at him in surprise. He was being so direct with his question and it startled me. 

"I ran away from home." I mentally smacked myself in the head. Why did I tell him that? Gah, stupid mouth. 

His eyebrows furrowed and he let out a scoff. "Why would you go and do something like that? You should've just talked it out. What happened? Parents didn't accept your sexuality?" I glared at him.

"No, I'm actually straight, and I can't really talk to a mother who's dead and a father who comes home drunk just to beat his only daughter up, can I? Especially when said father believes his daughter murdered her mother." I felt a lump rise up in my throat, signaling the tears that were about to spill out, but I just pushed it back and stared at the ground. I refuse to cry in front of this boy.

He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms. "So whats your plan? Do you have a place to go, or did you just run away with no idea of what else to do?" I blinked in surprise, unsure if this boy realized what I had just said. 

"Um, no, I don't really have a plan. I was just planning on going somewhere far enough away from here." He rolled his eyes, and said, "You idiot. What if some random guy picked you up and ran away with you? Do you not realize how many child traffickers there are out there? Alright, that settles it. You can stay with me. No-don't thank me, I know I'm nice." I stared at him in disbelief, not understanding what was going on. Did he seriously think that I would stay with a random boy?

"No, it's fine. Thank you though. I'll just get going now." I crumpled the plastic wrapper in my hand and stood up from the couch, making my way back to the bedroom. He grabbed my arm and muttered something along the lines of 'what an idiot'. "Look, girl, obviously you don't have anywhere to go. I'm just trying to help you out, I promise I'm not a creep or anything. Just stay here for a few days until you figure out where to go." I looked up at him, and cocked my head.

"Why exactly do you want me to stay with you so badly? What about your parents? What'll they say?" I pressed, wanting to figure out what he wanted. "I just want to help you. It's no fun being alone, and if I let you go without helping you in some way, I'll feel really guilty. As for my parents, they'll be fine with it if I explain your situation. There's more than enough space for you to stay in." I thought about it, realizing that I didn't really have much of a choice. If he and his parents turned out to be crazy murdering psychopaths, it was still better than spending a night out in the dark, cold, alleyway that was definitely filled with creeps. Unless they were cannibals. Then it would be a lot worse. 

"Okay. Thank you for letting me stay. I'll find a way to pay you back." I relaxed, and grinned at him. He pulled me into a hug and mumbled into my hair. "It's fine, idiot." I pulled away from him, noticing a shiny black Ferrari pull up in the front driveway. "I think your parents are here. What should I do? Should I get the door? Or should I go and hide?" I stuttered nervously, jumping from one foot to another. He chuckled, and just went to open the door. 

"Hey mom, I have a question." He stepped away from the mahogany door as a gorgeous, tall, thin lady clad in an obviously designer dress materialized from behind it. She took her sunglasses off once she noticed me standing awkwardly inside her home. 

"Oh, hello there darling. Do I know you?" She stepped closer and looked at me curiously. I stammered out, "I'm Heather Tae-rin." She gave me a once-over, taking in the loose grey sweatpants and the oversized Nirvana shirt that obviously did not belong to me, and broke out into a huge grin. "Nathan, you finally got a girlfriend?" His mom gave him a hug and clutched my arm excitedly. 

"No, mom, she's just a friend. She needs to stay for a while because of her 'situation'". He air quoted, rolling his eyes. His mother's face fell, and she looked disappointed. I had to hold back a laugh; has he never had a girlfriend before? "That's fine then, as long as said situation is explained. As you probably have figured out already, I'm Nathan's mother, Beth Barnes. Depending on your situation, you can stay as long as you need to." She extended a hand and smiled at me. 

These people were very trusting considering that they were willing to take a complete stranger into their home. However, they were all I had, so I reached out and shook her hand. 

"Thank you for helping me." I said, relaxing a bit. Nathan gestured me to sit on one of the couches, while he went and talked to his mother in the kitchen. 

I sunk into the comfortable couch, running my fingers over its soft surface. I could definitely get used to this.