The Bunny Followed Me Home From School Today.

18

"I just wanna, one day, pack my bags and move....away....far away,"

"You actually wanna leave Homewood?" I brushed his shoulder trying to get into the position where I was fully lying to face him - him looking down at me.

"No one leaves Homewood," I spoke again.

He grabbed me playfully by the shoulders, shaking me lightly to what he thought was a joke, "and why is that, Miss. Homewood?"

I didn't think long before answering, because I knew people aspired to be wealthy - to move into this sort of neighborhood, in which we reside, to have the money they didn't when they were younger, struggling to survive in brutal, America where you have to fight for your born rights. But, here, in Homewood you are born into this wealth, where high school education is the only education you need, and that's because you absolutely have to - orange doesn't look good on our parents.

"We don't leave, because beyond these gates there's nothing for us that we didn't already have."

Mason's entire demeanor shifted, from cheerful to something more somber, quiet, as did mine.

"There is life outside of here, Sydney, you couldn't possibly believe that this is it?" He scuffed, throwing his arms up before pulling me up, closer into his arms to where I could name cologne he had bathed in and see the mustache he had shaved, recently. We never kissed even though that's all I seemed to want to do in the moment, his messy long hair was slightly curled at the tips that,nearly, brushed his shoulder - the mole above his lip, right of his Cupid's bow distracting, almost taking my focus from the real issue - Mason didn't wanna leave Homewood.

I intertwined my fingers with his to pull myself all the way up, "but we'll eventually grow and do things we said we'd never do."

I shrugged in disagreement, but still holding tight to his hand.

"We could go together," he smiled a cheeky smile, his teeth glistening in the light from the moon.

"No, no, noooo." I whispered.

"Yes, yes, yesss!"

We laughed in sync, and I was falling for this guy who wanted so bad out of Homewood, but how could he leave once he made his mark on me because crossing that bridge that separated everything else from us, he'd still be here, in my thoughts, my heart, and my mind.

He's the type of guy who would change his plans to accommodate yours, hold your hand just because, hold the door for other ladies at the grocery store before walking in behind them, complimenting you no matter how much weight you've gained during exam week from the stress of failing because he's the type of guy who knows what he's in a relationship for and why he loves you - so even if he does decide to leave he'll always be apart of me, where I know half of me will forever await his return.

"And I've lived here my entire life so I'd like to thing I've grown,I understand that there's a quote-on-quote beautiful world outside these gates, outside of Florida even,but there's nothing I wanna experience or feel I need to."

"You're coddled within these gates, babe. Sorry, but you will never really get to know who you are until you leave!" He barked - by this time I was standing unattached from him on the opposite end of the room.

Sometimes I fail to recall that Mason and his mom are fairly new to our society - being that they are from small town, Concord, even though it's in Florida, Homewood is a lone city, a sort of stand-alone-state, a country of its on, so it could be possible he didn't understand a life built here can only die here.

The money. The love. The beauty - are just some of the few things you get inside the gates of Homewood.

"NO ONE LEAVES!" I ripped the covers off the bed and my eyes seemed to open once I rolled off finding myself on the floor where Mason was gone - the sounding alarm for the big nurses who came rushing through the cold metal doors that hadn't been opened for days, in hand their their big needles, yet again.

"Hold her down!" Someone shouted, before my arm was yanked onto the bed and firmly, attached by a belt to the bed.

"What are you doing!?" I yelled,swinging with my free hand, that wasn't free anymore after I swung.

"Why are you doing this?!" I cried out, thinking I'd a get an answer, my heavy breathes preventing me from screaming so I was trying a more sympathetic approach.

"We just got word, Mrs. Jones, in the morning were moving you into solitary where you'll be held until questioning."

"Questioning for what?!" I yelled, right before the cold metal slammed shut.

"The murder of Emerson Porter."