One More Chance

Chapter 4

Dedicated to Laiba, one of my friends

Chapter 4

It was nigh time when I finally stopped at my destination. As soon as I stepped out of the train, a gush of cold air hit my face. It felt refreshing, as the wind cooled my hair and blew through my hair roots, which were hot due to 2 hours on the train.

The train had been full when I got on in London, but most people had got off in Manchester. There was only a family and two teenagers on the carriage I was in when I got off. The station was pretty much empty, and the click of my heels were echoed through the silent station.

I pulled my suitcase, and by the time I had walked 15 meters from the station, the wind no longer felt refreshing. My teeth were starting to chatter, but I held my head up and walked down this strange road in the middle of the countryside.

I looked up and saw a huge range of stars shining. Living in the city meant no stars, just streetlights. The colours of these stars varied from a golden yellow to a chalky white. There were no streetlight in this place, and the moon lit up my path. I passed giant fields, some of which didn't have an attractive smell. It dawned on me that I had never been to the countryside properly, just passed the corn fields whilst on the motorway.

The minutes passed and I was getting colder and colder, lost and lonely. Maybe it would take me days to find the nearest town, and I would stay here and die of pneumonia. But they wouldn't put a train station in the middle of nowhere, would they? Or maybe I should have turned left instead of right by the station. My situation was getting worse by the second, and I grew hungry. I realized I had not eaten anything for a while, except for those salt and vinegar crisps I had bought in the train.

I was about to give up and turn around when I saw a small array of lights, a little brighter than the stars in the sky. The lights were situated on top of something that looked like a hill in the moonlight. I grew hopeful, thinking that it could be a village. As my mood became optimistic, my pace quickened.

I wished that I could be back at home, curled up in my bed. But a voice in the back of my head told me that in a few days, I wouldn't be able to pay the rent or afford food. I could have stayed and got a new job. Maybe a different modelling agency would have wanted me, or maybe I could have got a different job altogether, though that would have been humiliating, seeing the employer's faces once they recognized me as the model who went astray. Nobody would want to hire an ex-heroin addict.

I thought back to how I was two days ago. Care-free and happy. I remembered the guy who chatted me up in the cafe, but I had forgotten his name. Already, I felt as though I was changing personality. Over the last two days, I had become more aware of what could go wrong. I didn't feel like Nessy Rose anymore.

I felt like Vanessa.

Vanessa, the girl I was when I was a child. Poor, little Vanessa, living in a run down house in Harrow, with no parents. Vanessa, whose mother ditched her in a car park, Vanessa whose mother died. Vanessa, who had nothing.

Immediately, my thoughts were thrown back into the old days, the days after my mom had died. I was chucked into a children's Home, where I was bullied. They knew about my birth mother, and how I was found.

The hospital named me Vanessa. My adoptive mother named me Vanessa Rhodes. The bullies named me Vanessa Volkswagen.

When the modelling agency asked me if I wanted to be known with a 'stage name', I leaped at the chance. To the world, I became Nessy Rose, the beautiful model. Vanessa Rhodes was long gone.

But right now, I could see something else in Vanessa. Vanessa was the girl who build up her life with her own hands, ignoring the bullied. Nessy used the power Vanessa created. The power belonged to Nessy, but if she lost the power, Nessy would be lost. If Vanessa lost the power, she could make it again.

And I made a promise to myself that if I did it before, I could do it again. And I would somehow get my life back on track, even if it was in this town. I became Vanessa again. And it was time to ditch the pink lipstick.

Suddenly, I heard a honk and saw that a Jeep had pulled over. I gulped, suddenly afraid of whoever it was.

"Hey, you!" called a male voice. I was taught about this way back in school, but I knew that if anything happened to me, I wouldn't be saved. Not in this place.

"Look, I won't hurt you! It's just that going up that hill's gonna' be damn steep," he said again.

"What do you want?" I asked, stopping, but keeping myself a safe distance away from the vehicle.

"I was gonna' ask you if you wanted a lift," he said. "I'm going to Pineham as well,"

I took a step closer and saw a young man sitting in the driver's seat. He looked friendly, but I knew better than to judge someone by their look.

"I'm allright, thanks," I said and carried on walking. I was hoping he would leave me alone, but he still followed me.

"Listen!" he called. "If I were to do anything to you, I could do it right now and no one would know...sorry, that's sounds creep, but what I'm tryna' say is that I've got a sister like you and I would hope that someone would help her out like this,"

I considered this. It was true. If he wanted to do something, he could have done it without getting me into his car. And he did sound genuinely kind...

I walked round the passenger side and got it.

"Thank you," I said.

"Chuck your bag in the back," he said and I followed his instructions. We were in silence for a long time.

"So...why're you going to Pineham?" he asked. "We hardly get any visitors,"

I shrugged. "Just...decided to check it out,"

"Where you from then?"

"London,"

"Ah...I've been to London before. Hated it. Too crowdy, can't even drive a car" he complained.

I chuckled. "What's wrong with walking?"

"After you grow up in a town where walking is everything, using a car might seem like riding unicorn," he said, grinning.

This guy didn't seem that dangerous at all. He was pretty funny, and I checked him out sidewardly. He looked tall, with dark hair. If all the guys were like that in this place, maybe I had hit the jackpot

"This town takes cars for granted?" I asked him. Already I felt myself feeling comfy around him, like we were friends.

"Yup!" he said. "Do you realize that the temperature is at 2 degrees and you had to walk all the way up this steep hill, on a muddy path that's five miles long?"

"Well...I guess I should feel lucky that you're not an axe murderer or a rapist," I replied.

We were inside the village by now and a few houses had their lights on.

"You don't know that," he said. "Anyway, where are we going?"

"The nearest hotel," i said, and felt stupid. How would a hotel be anywhere in this place.

"I'll take you to my mom's friend's Inn," he said and turned right into a road and pulled over. It was true about what he said about cars. I had only seen three vehicles so far.

"Guess I'll be seeing you around, eh?" he asked.

"I hope so," I replied, flashing him a smile. "Thanks for the ride,"

"I'm Jared by the way," he said. "And I'm a shopkeeper, not an axe murdered,"

"I'm Vanessa," I told him. "And...I'm looking for a job,"

Ok, finally finished! ;))

When I was writing I was listening to music, and when I was writing about the stars, Airplanes came on, so I freaked out about the coincidence.

Song Of The Week: Turn Up The Love- Far East Movement ft Cover Drive

Book Of The Week: Buddy's Blues- Nigel Hinton

Wattpad Book Of The Week: For Hating Me You Sure Are Possessive- JadeRein

So, goodnight!