Manage Me, I'm a Mess ON HOLD

Prologue

Prologue

Delicate, feathery white vapors filled the inviting cobalt sky with a magical, mysterious sensation. The warm seawater from the sweeping, unyielding waves sprinkled small crystal droplets across a young girl’s face. She had solid, pure white hair that fell elegantly down the length of her back and vivid violet eyes that held within them a strong yet loving expression. She was clutching within her soft slim hands the head of the man with whom she would have died to protect. Instead, it seemed as though he had decided to protect her from everything, even death itself. Her eyes had welled up with elegant, graceful tears of mournful loss, and with a heart wrenching sob, she finally allowed the first tangible proof of her grief to fall onto her fair skin.

She cried then, and painfully allowed the loss to sink deep down into the depths of her soul, consuming her entirety. She kissed the soft, tired skin of her father’s forehead and vowed to never again be the cause of such tragedy.

 ~~~

I was running, my bare feet padding against the worn pavement as I painfully tried to suck in as much oxygen as my intense pace would allow. All of my senses were on fire with adrenaline, causing my body to explode with the need to rest and yet I could not allow myself to quit for fear of the consequences.

‘You’re tiring too fast,’ I said to myself, but there was hardly any other alternative. If I moved any slower they would surely catch me. I was figuratively backed up into a corner.

I could hear the sirens of squad cars on the hunt blaring their sickening death wail as they searched the streets behind me, but my slim form just kept whizzing down the barren street as if the devil himself was on my trail. It was before dawn, and I silently thanked the heavens that the streets were void of any signs of life. When I could feel the vehicles begin to catch up, I skirted off the path and immediately felt the rush and delicacy of cool dewy grass beneath my toes.

My breathing was labored and it was clear I wouldn’t last much longer at this pace. I had to find shelter. I had to survive.

But what shelter was there for a wanted criminal?

I ignored the thought, made my way to small brick wall separating the garden I was currently standing in from the house behind it, and immediately began to climb over it.

After successfully landing on the other side of the wall, my ears perked softly at the sound of sirens nearing the area, and I immediately tried to staunch my heavy breathing by holding my breath and hurriedly clasping my hands over my mouth and nose.

‘Valissa, shut up or they’re going to find you,’ warned the voice inside my head, the one who had appeared the moment my life went to hell.

I listened to it, since it had gotten me safely this far, relatively unscathed.

Soon enough, the sirens passed and I finally let out the breath I had been holding deep within my lungs.

I took a few moments to get my bearings on reality and glance down at myself. It was pathetic, really, that they had convicted a nineteen year old girl for murder. Especially one who wore green bunny pajamas to bed.

My body heaved, sickened by my choice in nightwear, and ran a hand through my now mussed and tangled hair. Then I discreetly made my way over to the pool that was located in the backyard of the property of which I was currently trespassing.

My toes dipped hesitantly into the water, and I almost moaned as the cool water soothed the raw and worn flesh. “Thirty six hours.” I mumbled, whispering the amount of time I had been on the run.

My soft, slim fingers pulled open the small pocket located on the breast of my pajama shirt and I glanced inside it. The money was still there, thank God. At least that meant if all went well I would be in Vegas by the afternoon.

Good bye California. Welcome to my life, Vegas, where the only thing that’s normal in the morning is the coffee.

~~~

A/N: Thanks for reading and a BIG thank you to SkyeAzarael for the cover. :) Isn't it fantastic?