Salem (ON HOLD)

Chapter 1

{Editing Status: Unedited}

"Hurry up, loser!" Liana yelled from in front of me. Trees streaked past in a hazy green blur as we sprinted. My legs were aching as I tried to keep up with her, but she was too fast. The wind was loud in my ears.

"Slow down, Liana," I huffed, my chest tight with exhaustion.

Liana slowed down to a walk in front of me, and laughed. "That was fun," she grinned, slightly breathless.

I elbowed her in the ribs. "Show off," I muttered, running my fingers through my knotty hair.

"You're just jealous," she laughed, playfully punching my shoulder. I loved my younger sister, but sometimes I wanted to strangle her. In an attempt to catch my breath, I sat down. Liana sat beside me and re-tied her hair into a high ponytail.

"I can't believe I've never been in this forest before. How did you discover it?" she asked me.

I shrugged and picked a small, red flower that was growing out of the soil. "I'm not sure. I just came by it one day," I answered, picking the petals, one by one, from the flower, and sprinkling them onto the ground; a flutter of red.

"It's quite scary, though. Don't you think?"

I looked around. I hadn't really thought about that. I loved coming here, when I needed some fresh air. It was quiet and isolated. I never really thought of it as scary. The trees were so dense that they blocked the sun from coming in; only some streams of light filtered through the thick canopy above. It was dark, and shadows seemed to cling to the trees. I liked it; the darkness calmed me.

"Yeah," I said. "It is."

Liana leaned back, so she was lying against a tree, and she sighed. "It's nice to get away from Mom for a while."

"I know. You musn't listen to her, Liana."

She rolled her eyes and picked at a nail. "It's hard not to listen to her when she's screaming at me," she muttered.

"You know it's been hard for her to bring up three girls by herself..."

"Ivana, don't stick up for her. She doesn't have a right to shout at me like that. Why doesn't she shout at you and Aurelia like that? What is it about me that she doesn't like?"

"She loves you, Liana. I know she does. She's depressed, that's all. And you know she's bipolar. She can't help shout sometimes."

Liana sighed. "I guess."

I stood up, and offered her my hand. She took it, and I lifted her up onto her feet, then brushed my dirty hands on my jeans.

"Let's get going. We don't want Mom to be mad," I said, rolling my eyes.