Gone

Chapter Four

I wake up to the annoying and repetitive 'beep' of my phone alarm going off. I reach for my phone and take it off of the cold wooden side table and unlock it, turning off my alarm. I then drop my phone screen-first on my stomach and stare at the plain ceiling. Today is going to be an interesting day.

After laying and staring at nothingness for a while, I sit up and swing my legs over the side of the bed. I then shuffle over to my dresser and open the bottom drawer, grabbing a pair of black running shorts and a light blue tank top and changing into them. I move over to my bathroom with a brush in hand. After taking my hair out of a very messy bun, I brush out the tangled mess that I call my hair. I then comb it back into nice looking high pony tail. I snatch my toothbrush and toothpaste and scrub my teeth until my mouth tastes like strong mint.

After I am finished, I jog down the stairs and into the kitchen. I check the time on the microwave clock: 7:02. My sister and grandma won't be up for another hour. I get and apple from the fruit bowl in the middle of the island and a small water bottle. I take a large bite of my apple and grab my phone and ear buds from the counter and head towards the front door.

Once I unlock the door and open it, a warm breeze immediately hits me. I sigh and close the door behind me. I walk slowly down the steps and begin stretching, preparing for a long jog to get my mind off of things. I then put my ear buds in and turn on my running playlist. I then walk to the front gate and push a button that unlocks it, the metal door swing open slowly. After locking it again, I take off in the direction that I went yesterday to get to the beach, loving that I finally have a nice peaceful time to myself to think about all of the things that has happened in these last few days. At least, that is until I feel the presence of someone else behind me. I slow to a stop to "take a break" and take a sip of my water, glancing behind me. Nobody. I screw the lid back onto the bottle and take off again, still feeling like someone is following me. I mean, I am on a road where no one is around, so it could be the quiet that is bothering me.

My heart suddenly begins to race and an adrenaline rush hits me and I pick up my pace. My jog begins to turn into a run and then into a full out sprint. I close my eyes and then run into a large mass. The mass and I tumble to the ground and a large grunt comes out from it. I slowly open my eyes and find myself looking into the vibrant green eyes of Joshua.

"We have got to stop running into each other and knocking one another down," he says with a small laugh. I blush and climb off of him, and he stands up.

"It's just you," I mumble with a sigh.

"What do you mean it is just me?" he questions and raises and eyebrow.

"I w-was just scared that I was getting stalked," I stutter.

"Trust me, I am no person to stalk." I then send him an icy glare.

"Then how did you know I was here? On this road?"

"I, um, saw you passing by. You must have not seen me because you, um, had your headphones in," he says, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Likely story," I mutter and walk past him. He starts walking after me. "So you were following me?"

"No, it's not like that. I just saw you pass by and I wanted to talk to you so I..." he stopped talking, but I finished his sentence for him.

"Followed me."

"Well, I guess, but I wasn't stalking you."

"Aren't stalking and following the same thing?"

"No it isn't. Let's just move on from this topic." He tries but I continue to pester him.

"No. I want to know why you were following me."

"I'm telling you, it was just a coincidence."

"I do not believe you one bit."

"If I told you the real reason, you would not believe me. Can we just drop it? I will tell you more when I get to know you more."

"No I want to know now! What is the big deal?"

"Just drop it!" He finally breaks out of his cool attitude and yells. I flinch at his tone of voice and become quiet. I stare at him with fear in my eyes. He notices this and his face becomes soft again. "I-I'm sorry."

All I can do is stare and think about what happened years ago, before mom died. He yelled the same exact thing in the same tone as my ex did before he hurt me.

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"Alec, please just tell me the truth," I plead my boyfriend, staring right into his anger-filled eyes. I need to know what he is doing to himself.

"Cam, I just need you drop it before I do something I regret," he says through clenched teeth. He turns his body to walk away. I grab his arm.

"Al, please-"

"Just drop it!" He says turning and shaking me violently. I let out a whimper as he pushes my body down to the ground. I quickly stand back up and attempt to run away, but he snatches my arm and flips me around and smacks me across the left cheek. I crumple to the ground and begin to cry as he starts kicking my sides. I turn my face so I am looking at his and I see the dark red veins and bags underneath his once beautiful blue eyes. Little did I know that this would be the last time that I would see his face.

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He ran away the following morning. I will admit, I cried. But it wasn't because I was heartbroken. It was because I was frightened and enraged with what he had done to me. I was frightened that he would come back for me and hurt me again or even worse, kill me. I was also angry not only for what he had done to me, but also because he never told me what was wrong. I had wanted to help him but he had just been so goddamn stubborn.

And a week later, my mother got diagnosed with cancer.

"Cam?" someone says, causing my whole body to shake. I turn my head to the voice and see Josh, completely forgetting that he is here. "Hey, what's wrong."

"I-It's nothing. I-I t-think I will be on my way home," I stammer, turning away.

"Wait," he pleads, clasping his hand around my arm gently. "I just wanted to say sorry for the way I acted today and yesterday. It was completely rude of me to ask you about the party in the way I did and I am sorry for making you upset. So, can we start over?"

I am taken aback and I nod before I can even process anything. He takes a small step forward and extends his left hand. I take it, hesitantly, and we shakes hands.

"Hello, my name is Joshua," he says with a smile. I shake my head a little to bring me back to reality and smile at him.

"Hi Joshua, my name is Cameron, but you can call me Cam. It's a pleasure to meet you." We release hands, staring into each other's eyes for a little while longer.

"Well, I will be on my way then," I say. "Nice to meet you Joshua."

"Wait, can I, um, come with you on your walk." He asks, scratching his head.

"Sure, if you can keep up," I say before sprinting away from the area where we were standing. I hear him laugh a little bit before chasing after me. My heart continues to race, and not because of the adrenaline rush.

It's racing at the thought of Joshua's hand that held mine moments ago. And I don't know why.