The Valley

Chapter 1

Casey ran.

She ran until the cold air struggled to make it smoothly in and out of her lungs. Until her legs ached in every way. Until her eyes were becoming fuzzy with tears. Until she was able to forget about the horrible past behind her.

Then she stopped. She fell onto the cold snow beneath her. She buried her face into the gloves covering her hands. She wasn't going to cry, she determined. Not here. Not now. Maybe not ever again.

She thought about her best friend, Alex. What was he doing now? Was he aware she was gone? Or did he even care? Casey felt her cheeks burn red. Alex.

She sighed. What was next? She knew where she was - just less than a mile away from home. She quickly checked her backpack, her phone, a laptop, chargers, blankets, pillows, three-hundred dollars, some snacks, and plenty of other things. She didn't know what her plan was. Maybe she could survive until she died a peaceful death alone somewhere she had always wanted to go - The Valley. Or maybe she would just be gone for a little bit. Maybe she would return.

Casey got up on her feet. She was unstable at first, but easily began making her way around. Everywhere was familiar about this path. She had been here many times before. She had been memorizing this area since three years ago.

She was ten, frustrated and sad and confused all at the same time. Her mom had remarried, to a jerk - Max. While her mother was at work, she was alone with her awful step-dad. His breath often smelled of beer, his white t-shirt always stained, and his hair undone.

He was always yelling at Casey, slamming her against walls, commanding her to do things. And all Casey could do was take it and cry in her room for hours on end afterwards. Maybe even call Alex to listen to him rant about how when he was older he would take Max on, beat the life out of him. And it almost made Casey feel better. Almost

So ever since then, Casey planned her escape. She memorized paths and places. She didn't tell anyone about her plans - anyone except for Alex. Of course she told Alex. Alex never judged her, never laughed at her no matter how silly her ideas were. She kept walking.

The Valley was far away. It was a warm place, families on picnics, smiling so hard it looked like their faces hurt. The kind of smile that everyone thought was dumb and cheesy, but Casey secretly wanted to be as happy as they looked. A dumb, cheesy smile plastered on her face with her friends and family and not caring about what anyone thought. No one at all.

Something she would never be able to do back at home. She would never be able to walk down the halls and not try and pull her shirt over her thighs because she thought she looked fat. Or tug on her ponytail because she wanted to feel it was as long as everyone else's, because she chopped it off to donate. And the only reason she donated was because she knew how it felt to not be normal and wanting to fit in all the time.

She felt another burning sensation in her chest. It wasn't the aching of running too hard or too fast. It was a longing feeling. A feeling Casey couldn't quite grasp. She sighed. 

She glanced over at a tree, making her way to it. She focused on her footsteps, watching as her feet sunk through the snow, her toes wiggling, grateful to be protected and warm. She sunk down the trunk of the tree, shouldering off her backpack. She took out the first water bottle and took little sips. Each sip was short, but it made her feel much better. She stuffed the bottle back into her bookbag. Casey checked her surroundings. Trees popped up everywhere, there was a road just a little bit away, and it was becoming dark.

Casey made her way over to the road. She got to the sidewalk, and cars rushed past. She hugged onto her jacket and made her way. The air was colder, the sky was darker, but the number of cars decreased. Maybe it was because everyone was going to their families. Christmas was in six days.

But Casey was missing nothing. Her mom could barely afford to keep the lights on, let alone get her a present. Her mom was always at work - she would miss Christmas too. There was no way she was spending time alone with Max.

She thought about her real dad. Casey knew a bit about him. His name was Baxter, he had blonde hair, soft, green eyes, and a warm smile. Everyday on the week before Christmas, they baked a new type of cookie. Casey's favorite had always been the classic chocolate chip one. Her dad like the Christmas Trees, but Casey never cared for them. She just ate them to please her father.

She thought about how much she wanted a chocolate chip cookie at the moment. A cookie that she could sink her teeth in and feel the chocolate chips melt in her mouth. Feel the tingle in her body the warm cookie gave. Then to wash it all down with cold milk.

She sighed. Cars became scarce and her eyes became droopy. Casey decided it was time to stop. She descended into the forest, deep into the winding trees and soft snow. After stopping at the core, she layed down a few blankets and took off her boots. With a sigh, she slowly curled up on the blankets, throwing one or two over herself before closing her eyes.

She drifted off to sleep.