Dreaming of Tomorrow (on hold)

Chapter 6

The sound of music from my phone fills my car as I try to forget about the mysterious boy. Why can I not stop thinking about him? I hum along to the upbeat tempo as I come around the corner into my neighborhood. The bright yellow of my house sticks out like a sore thumb. While my mother was still alive, she was set on painting the house yellow. To her it showed happiness, which she said we all need in a world like this. I smile at the memory as I pull into the crumbing driveway. The car comes to a stop and I am quickly matched with silence from the obnoxious noises of my car turning off. I open the door and gather my belongings from the car and walk up to the brightly painted house. I pull the keys out of my cluttered bag and try to unlock the door in the most quiet way possible. I don't want to deal with David. My day has been stressful enough. The door creaks open and the smell of smoke hits me like a punch to the face. I try my best not gag from the stench and enter the house. I scan the kitchen and living room, he doesn't appear to be here. I slyly move across the smooth, dusty hardwood floors and my foot reaches the first stair when I feel a strong grasp on my shoulder. And I thought this day couldn't get any worse. I turn around slowly to find David too close for comfort. "Where the hell were you?" he hisses, the smell of alcohol consuming me. I swallow hard, trying to fight the urge to throw up.

"I was at school, it was the first day of my senior year today," I tried to say in my most confident voice, mostly succeeding to conceal the slight quiver in my voice.

"School? It's 5:00. Where were you? You weren't avoiding me, were you? You know that doesn't work, Autumn," David growls, a slur slipping in and out of each sentence. He steps closer and I, on instinct back up, moving up the stairs. He moves up and blocks me up against the railing.

"D-David, stop. I have homework. I really need to go to my room. Can you move?" In my head, I curse myself for stuttering. Stuttering shows weakness. I can't show weakness around David or-

"D-D-D-David," David mocks me in a fascetto, whiney voice. "I have homework. You don't have homework you little bitch, it's the first day of school. I know you're trying to get away from me. That's ok. Whatever. You can go. But just know that I was thinking of you today when I saw the receipt from Eleanor's treatments. You know, she could've gotten a treatment that would've saved her." I freeze and I feel the blood drain from my face.

"Wh-what? What are you talking about? You're lying." I force out, in a state of shock.

"Oh, yeah. Your mother could've been saved, but she told me not to get the treatment for her. She wanted to save money for you to go to college with. So, yeah. Go up and do your 'homework,' but know that Eleanor's death? Your. Fault." Apparently exhausted from his speech, David stumbles down the stairs and falls into his armchair. His snores begin almost immediately after, leaving me alone on the stairs in a state of complete and utter shock. My mom died because of me? It's... It's my fault. I try and tell my brain that it's a lie and David is just trying to hurt me, but despite my efforts, I feel the tears roll down my cheeks slowly at first, and increasing in multitude as I start running. I run through my house, out the door, to my car. Once in my car, I start the engine and go, knowing instinctively where to go, even with tears streaming down my face and splashing onto my worn-out jeans the whole ride there.

It's all my fault. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. The words repeated themselves over and over and over again. My vision was blurry due to the hot tears running down my face. I finally reach the destination of the only place that I can call home.

My hideaway.

I bring the car to a stop in the dusty, overgrown, abandoned parking lot. I yank the keys out of the car and slam the door shut. The sky was starting to fade into a pinkish tone as I ran towards the opening in the rusty fence. The tall grass itches my legs as I run through the open field, towards the waterfall. I reach the edge of the forest, the trees guarding the oasis within it. The sounds of crickets fill the air as I start to calm my breathing and walk down the slim worn down path, deeper into the woods.
I begin to hear the sounds of rushing water and the woods start to clear out, hints of the blue water peaking peaking through the trees.
The waterfall is my favorite place to be. The sound of the water was soothing and the rocks surrounding it provided many places to think, which I do a lot. The trees surround the waterfall, acting like a shield from the outside world. Flowers cling the stones, giving the area a bright and happy appearance.