I was woken up by screams.
I sat straight up on the bubble wrap the me and Ivy had dragged from the storage room the night before. (I know it sounds weird, but it beats sleeping on the filthy concrete.)
"No! It can't be! It can't!"
The screams were coming from Ivy. She was tossing and turning relentlessly in her sleep, her purple and black dyed hair was getting tangled around her face.
"Ivy! Ivy wake up! Ivy, it's just a dream!"
She sat straight up, her ice blue eyes filled with terror. She was gasping and sounding as if she had just ran a full marathon.
I put my arm around her shoulder, feeling protective of this girl that I had just met. Ivy looked like she was going to cry.
"Shhh...." I said soothingly.
"It's all right. You just had a bad dream."
She was still shaking.
"Do you want to talk about it Ivy?"
She hesitated for a moment, and for the first time since I had met her, her emotions were readable. The mask that she had been wearing since I met her was gone. I could see how terrified she was. How confused and upset she felt. But that was only for a split second. Her expression was once again unreadable.
"No. I'm fine Emma." Ivy said glaring at me.
"Ivy, it's obvious that your NOT fine. I can tell. If you tell me then I could-"
"Stop it Emma! Leave me alone!" She was screaming now. "You don't know ANYTHING about me! NOTHING!"
"Ivy-"
"That's not my name! See?! You don't even know my name! You have no idea who I am, and what I've been through. LEAVE ME ALONE!"
With that final outburst, Ivy- Or whoever she was- got up and walked towards the storage room.
I knew better then to follow her. She just needed some alone time. When she came back a few minutes she had brought some canned food and a can opener.
"I brought these." She said softly.
She handed me one as if it was a peace treaty. She had an apologetic look in her eyes. I smiled at her and took the can. The label said that it was 'Fresh and Tasty California Pears!'
"How many are in the storage room Ivy?" I asked, hoping to start a conversation.
"I already told you." She said, not meeting my eyes. "That's not my name."
"Then what is it?" I asked.
She didn't answer.
"If you don't want to talk about it, that's ok." I hastily added.
"No. That's ok." She took a deep breath. "My real name is Kaytlin."
"That's a nice name. Why did you change it?"
I could tell from her expression that that was a touchy subject.
"Look," She said. "Here's the deal... I've been on the run since I was 10."
Her whole story came tumbling out. It was really sad.
It turns out that she had been in the foster system for awhile until she got adopted into a great family but she wanted to find her parents, so she ran away. She turned to shoplifting in order to get food and other things she needed. After countless dead ends, she eventually ran into a government website that could track people. She hacked into it and got her parents names. After doing research though, she discovered the horrible truth: her parents were criminals. When she finished her story, she broke into tears. I comforted her all the while thinking about just how lucky I was.
*~HopeForTomorrow~*
YOU ARE READING
Never Look Back
Aventura"You won't kill anyone else! I'll stop you!" "We'll see about that." Then he picks up his gun...
