Arkham's Crazies

The Forest

                                                      November 23, 2008

              I walked down the roughly carpeted trail that led to my room. The light bulb placed in the ceiling was running out of fuel and would die at any minute. Dad was still out at the bar and would be home soon, probably with another "friend". I wanted to run over to Jerome's house, but he's probably busy with his mom or something. Walking into the small jail cell I've learned to call my room, I saw a picture of my mother and I before she passed. When my dad was still sane. My heart was full of emotions and tired of carrying anymore, so I let it out. Screams of agony escaped my lips, salty tears escaped my eyes. My fist once again met the plain white pillow that lingered on my messy bed. One punch. Two punches. Three punches. I figured three would be enough, but my pain was never satisfied. I sat and cried until I heard a knock at my window. Giving the poor pillow a break, I stared at the window seeing my favorite person in the world.

"Jerome?" I asked running over to the window, opening it and letting him inside. "Jerome, what happened? Are you okay?" I asked, inspecting Jerome's face, fresh with tears.

"She happened, Jess. My mother brought home another clown and they started hitting me with their beer bottles. I can't take it anymore! Someday I'm going to break down and kill her." He said as he let out some more tears.

"Why don't we go take a walk?" I asked, extending my hand to him. He smiled and gleefully took it.

Jerome and I spent the last two and a half hours walking through twisted paths full of dirt and sharp rocks, little worms sliding their way through the grass. We kept talking about who someday we would escape and be together. Just him and I. Ever since we met in sixth grade, I've developed a fantasy of my own of him. This crush that started out as a small little bubble has now turned into this massive bubble that holds all my dreams of him. I still don't understand why his mom beats him and nags him. He's an angel. After a while, we stopped in front of a large tree, that at the top held what looked to be an abandoned home. We began to climb the ladder that laid on the side of the trunk. Jerome being the kind gentleman he is, told me to go first and he would follow in case I were to fall, which in my opinion only made me fall harder for him.

"Wow..." I sighed breathlessly as I gazed intently at the old abandoned furniture.

"What was that gorgeous?" Jerome asked as he made his way inside the home.

"Look at this place, Jerome! It's beautiful." I whispered in awe.

I began to start wandering around this small home, studying every inch of the house. Wooden walls surrounded us, with several rugs covering the floor. In the main room held two brown dusty couches, a small coffee table, and a small area that held some kitchen supplies. Walking into the next room, a king sized bed laid in the middle, a small closet on the right side of the wall, and more rugs with different patterns covered the floor. Two small windows were on each side of the room, showing the delicate leaves of the tall trees. Jerome grabbed my hand and gently squeezed it, causing me to look at him with a small smile. As he smiled back, he lead me into the other room that was completely empty except for one window, a small closet, and the rugs that covered the floor.

"We could stay here, Jess." Jerome said with a determined expression. "I mean when our parents are drunk and we have nowhere to go. This could be our place." He said with a little excitement and a little bit of determination.

"I love it. This place is just... what's the word? Amazing! And... And cozy!" I said with so much excitement, it didn't even sound like me.

"How bout it, doll?" He asked as if we were going house hunting, thinking this was our perfect home.

"Yes!" I said jumping up and down. We examined the closets, receiving four blankets and two pillows. We plopped onto the king sized bed and eventually fell asleep, Jerome's arms wrapped around my stomach. I eventually fell asleep after I finally wrapped my head around the fact that this was no dream, and that the innocent boy I had come to love's, arm was wrapped around my stomach. 

*How is it guys? Let me know in the comments and if you have any ideas for future chapters! Thanks! ~Jessie*