bleeding out.

i.

“A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world.”

-Lois Wyse

chapter one;

Jane's Point of View.

I was barely managing to keep my breathing as peaceful as I could manage at the moment. My knees were pulled into my chest and my arms carefully cloaked around them. The tangles in my hair were draped all around my face, and I began to feel an itch forming its way toward my nose. There was not enough space around me to reach as high as my nose to scratch, so I wriggled it in attempt for the burden to disappear.

“I know you're in here!”

I immediately produced a hitched breath as I noticed two worn boots approaching their way across the woebegone wood. I suppressed a giggle but tragically failed. That's when I felt two arms wrap around my body pulling me up. The curtains gracefully slipped back into their normal position, and I felt then brush against my cheeks.

“I found you. Why must you always choose the obvious places?” Harry let out a quick scoff and turned around.

I stammered and looked down at my feet. “I-I like this spot. This way, I won't get hurt. And it. . . never mind. Let's play a new game.”

“One that you won't lose?” He retorted. Just as I was about to stick my tongue out, I heard someone's presence in the doorway. I turned around only to notice my father entering the room with his eyes locked on the papers in his hands. His defined crinkles on his forhead were fully compressed, and he looked as if he had seen a ghost.

My question came out much quieter than I had intended. “Father? Are you alright?” He simply glanced up as if to acknowledge my presence, and then moved his eyes back down.

“Jane, darling, would you mind telling me where your mother might be?” His tone was strained, as if he was hiding something. Harry looked over at me with confusion in his face.

“I believe she in the barn. Is everything okay?” I spoke with a tone of hesitancy and darted my view to the document. “What is that?” My voice came out laced with confusion.

“None of your concern, dear.” He kissed my head gently and began to walk out of the room. As he left, Harry took my hand and started running toward the front door.

I looked at him questioningly as he dragged me out, “Where are we going?

Harry looked at me as if his next sentence were obvious, “Wouldn't you like to find out what all of that was about?”

I scoffed and started to turn around, but he grabbed my shoulder. “You heard my father. It was not my concern.”

“Oh come on, we can keep a secret. It'll be fun,” the smile on his face got brighter as my mood changed slightly.

I sighed and turned back toward the direction we were originally headed toward. “Alright. But no one can find out about this!” He nodded, and without hesitation, he decorated my hand with his, and I poked his dimpled cheek. He let out a breathy laugh as we ran toward the barn.

As our destination became closer and closer, Harry began to slow down our steps until we reached the very outside of the dulled red creation. Softened sounds could be heard from the many animals that lay inside, but I detected my father from the corner of my eye. He started to whistle while pulling his tall hat off, and searched for my mother. I slightly nudged Harry in the arm, and when he noticed the figure getting nearer, his face stiffened and eyes glazed over with fear. He dragged me across to the horse's stall to make sure we didn't get caught. I could tell he was alarmed, and his thoughts were filled with ideas of what to do next.

My mother called out her way from the back of the barn. “Charles! I'm just finishing, give me a minute.”

He replied with a simple, “As you wish.”

After a few moments, he started to tap his foot and continue his whistling while looking around at every square inch to most likely admire his handmade structure he had built many years back.

Harry whispered rather urgently in my ear a quick “Move down!” and I looked up to see him holding a massive blanket to cover us both from being seen. The horses would surely notice our presence soon, and that would only lead to us being exposed by their cries. I tried not to shriek in terror as I saw many spiders accompanying us in the cold corner. The only thing that managed to come out was a short and very high-pitched cough that earned me a quizzical look from Harry. I only widened a grin showing all my teeth on display and strained my neck bones to push against the skin. He shot me a quick wink, and began to pop his head out of the blanket. I did the same.

As promised, my mother returned to see my father by the entry. She ran her fingers through her hair and rubbed her eyes with a quick motion. My father turned as she cleared her throat and his eyes lit up. He walked over and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. She smiled and her gaze traveled to the item in his hand.

“Something came for me today. It's not good news,” his breathing became heavier and his voice weaker. “They have sent out men to search for the unfree. They need more slaves to take. We have a week, at the most. I have found a temporary home for us to move to. It's not much, but we'll be safe.” He looked around the room again, his eyes moving at the pace of a steady twitch. “I am so sorry.”

My mother cupped her hands around his cheeks to life his face up to meet hers. “It will all work out in the end. We will be fine. Where must we go to?”

Harry pressed his lips in a thin line, and cautiously watched the two converse. I noticed his body starting to shake in the chilling temperature, despite the protection from the blanket. He quickly turned to me and shot me a reassuring look, then continued his stare at the two.

Charles took in a deep breath, and replied by saying, “Our dear friend, Henry Patel has offered me his previous home in Illinois. It has a few furnishings, but we will have to supply everything else, for the most part. I think it safest for us to leave our things here to not rise suspicion the night of our departure. We can being to pack up our most valuable items tonight.”

She nodded. “When shall Jane know?”

“As late as possible. We have too much to lose, and as lovable as Jane can be, she talks much. I cannot risk everything being leaked to the town. If anything gets out, there will be danger ahead for us all.”

I rubbed my hands up and down my arms to spread warmth and create a small friction. When I looked over, Harry was doing the same. His mouthed the words, “Don't go,” and I could see the moisture in his eyes and emotion painted on his face.

At that moment, I realized the meaning of the letter. The burden I felt on my shoulders was of a monstrous proportion.

author's note:

hiiiiiiiii. just want to say a MASSIVE thank you to you all who got me to 100 reads! i have big plans for this story! also, thank you thank you thank you to @mumfrd for editing and just being you. stay golden, elicia.

and i'm planning on giving dedications out to commenters. so yeah. that's pretty cool, i guess. 

please vote, fan, share and anything else your heart desires to help the story! i love you all so much, and hope you enjoyed the chapter! xxxx