Just Walk With Me

Chapter 1

Running to the park, I didn’t care that my hair flew all over my face, I reached the playground as the tears started to flow.  Exhausted from the run I sat on one of the swings and sobbed. Things at home were worse than ever, all I did was get yelled at, it felt like a prison and I needed to escape.  It was starting to get cold and I cursed myself for not taking a jacket, but then again I had bolted for the front door the second things started to get out of hand, not caring where to go, but my feet somehow found the way to the park, the only place I ever felt free, where I could read and listen to music with nobody interrupting me.

I didn’t notice the strange boy that sat on the swing next to me until he said Hello. My head whipped up as I tried to wipe the tears with my hands, “Hi” I said with a weak smile and just looked away embarrassed by how horrible I must look. 

“ Are you ok?” he asked and when I looked at him the first thing I noticed were his eyes, deep green, filled with concern. I couldn’t help but stare until I remembered his question.

“yeah, I am fine” I said and tried by best fake smile, but I was sure my teary eyes gave me away.

“You don’t look like you are fine” who was this boy? He looked roughly around my age, auburn hair with a few curls sticking out of his beanie, a predominant jaw line and perfectly full pink lips that suddenly made me wonder what it would be like to kiss him. “are you cold?” his question suddenly brought me out of my day dream and I noticed I had been rubbing my hands on my arms to keep warm from the winter wind, he took off his jacket and handed it to me, a tattoo of two birds just under his collarbone were noticeable from his low-cut white shirt.

“thanks” I muttered as I put his jacket on, it was extremely big on me, but warm and smelled like a combination of vanilla and  aftershave, I sniffed in the scent as I swung back and forth. We stayed in silent for what seemed like eternity as a million thoughts rambled through my mind and tears threatened to fall from my eyes again. The boy got up from the swing and stood in front of me.

“Get up” he said in a husky voice.

“Where are we going?” I said standing next to him; he was probably half a foot taller than me

“Just walk with me” he said with a sweet smile showing off his cute dimples

We walked for about a minute when he finally asked “are you gonna tell me whats wrong then?”

And I told him, I told him about my mom’s drinking problem and her habit of blaming me for everything that went wrong in the house, I told him about my dad leaving us 2 years ago to go marry some ex-stripper, I told him how my brother Scott had been  in jail for the past 3 years because of an armed robbery, how I had to provide for my mom and was afraid that if I left her I had nowhere to go. All those things combined were destroying me. I poured my heart out to this stranger whose name I didn’t even know, but something about him made me trust him.

As I talked and talked I didn’t notice it had started to get dark out, we walked around the park a couple of times, the boy listened to me with caution, a slight nod here and there, when I finished talking we were right in front of the swings again, and I was emotionally and physically drained, tears were falling from my eyes again as I tried to cover my face when his strong body collided with mine, he held me in his arms as I cried in his chest.

He held me there for I don’t know how long as I sobbed and sobbed until I ran out of tears, I pulled away and chuckled looking at his stained shirt.

“I ruined your shirt” I said drying my eyes, with the sleeves of his jacket. “It doesn’t matter” he said with a small smile playing on his lips.

I sat back on the swing and he sat next to me. “I don’t want to go back home” I said breaking the silence.

“Where will you go?” he asked with what I guessed was his thinking face.

“I don’t know…. Anywhere but home…” I bit the inside of my lip thinking of where I could go. “I am 18, I can move out whenever I want, I just have nowhere to go” and once again I felt a lump starting to form in my throat. What was it with me tonight? I was never this sensitive.  Suddenly he looked up to me, a big smile on his face with his cute dimples showing.

“Come live with me, I have an apartment not far from here, if you really want to leave home I have a spare room and I’ve been looking for a roommate for a while” I felt a grin appear on my face as he said those words. My life could finally change for the better, this was a chance I couldn’t pass up, I didn’t care that I had met this kid only a couple of hours ago, I didn’t care I didn’t even know his name, all I cared about was that I had an opportunity to re-start my life and I wasn’t going to give it up.

“YES!”  I said as I got to my feet, he did the same and I hugged him. “Thank you so much!” I said pulling away and he laughed.

“Well… go home, get your stuff and I’ll be waiting for you right here”

“OK!” I said as I started to walk back home in a better mood than I expected to be when I first ran out.

“WAIT” his yell stopped me and I turned around “I am Ezra by the way”

“ Megen” I said with a nod and ran back home.