Intertwined

Prologue

She watched as the water turned brown, and red swirls danced towards the drain. She could heard the muffled pitter-patter of water droplets pounding against her back, and a high pitched ringing in her ears. The bathroom was filling with steam as the water grew hotter with every minute.

She sat in the tub, holding her dirtied knees to chest. She stared at the dirt underneath her finger nails, seeing flashes of rocks, dirt and trees.

Her head dropped and her hair fell like a waterfall in front of  her face, creating a dark silky barrier.

She could faintly hear her mother speaking frantically with her brother in the other room.

"She can't stay here."

"She can't just pick up and move to New York, Ben! She has a life here."

"What kind of life is she going to live? Everyone around here will know what happened by the end of the week!"

There was a moment of silence and she could just imagine the two. Standing in front of each other, with her mother's face burried in her hands and her brother desperately trying to hold himself together. She tried to speak out, but couldn't form any words.

Let me leave. Don't make me go back.

"Mom, please try to understand. She can't go on with a normal life if she is stuck here. She won't be able to move forward. You know as well as I do that it won't go well."

"I don't want to lose her."

A lump rose in her throat as she squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her aching jaw.

You'll lose me if I have to stay.