Darkest Twists

Chapter 4

I looked at Lola and Zach. Tears were already coming down Zach's cheeks. Lola looked as if she were mourning me already. I hugged them both closely. I was really going to miss them. I was going to miss everyone, everything. I can't believe this is it. First my mom, now my dad, my friends, my home. I never had much, but I was happy enough with it. Now, I don't even have that. Where were they sending me? Who would even want me? Surely they haven't found a foster family yet, what was he doing here?

"We'll take you home so you can pack up your things, and we'll tell you more about what's going to happen." The officer said, trying her best to comfort me. "I want to come, too." My friends said in unison, almost as of planned.

Once we arrived my house, it no longer seemed like my home. It was now my palace of torture. I walked through the door and came to a stop in front of my mothers door. I lay my head against it, knocking softly, longing to hear her playful voice ring,"Who is it?" As a few tears ran down my cheek, Zach came and hugged me tightly. "I'm going to run to my room and pack. You guys stay here," was all I said before walking away. My room was always where I spent most of my time. Looking back now, I could have spent more time with them. I was always such a stubborn child, and I don't think that part has changed, or ever will. I grabbed my suitcase and started packing my clothes. Looking around my room, I started fiddling with the random things I had sprawled around. Most of the items in my room were toys from my childhood; things I never touched anymore. I considered donating them to charities, to people who lived like I had. It would be better than storage.

I picked up a small rubber ball and began to play with it. I guess I drifted into a daydream because all of a sudden, I felt a strange, yet all too familiar chill. I looked around and as I sat there, on the opposite room of the eery shadows, though I knew the sun was sinking below the horizon, the dim room surrounding me began to somehow brighten. My slow, engulfing descend to the fantasy realm others claim to be nonexistent quickly reversed as the harsh, yet currently welcomed, world of reality settled back into place. I told myself not to go back, that the shadows couldn't reach me in this world, but deep inside, I felt their piercing eyes still watching me. As I quickly stood, I watched the small rosy ball roll back into the dim corner, as if the grey shadows were the safest place to hide. The silver lining against the creeping darkness. A cold shiver ran down my spine and my eyes darted to all the exits. I hurriedly grabbed my stuff and walked through the nearest door, feeling instant relief as the light washed over me, an old habit I picked up as a child that never seemed to escape my ways. The place I once felt so safe in, has become my worst nightmare.