Addicted

Chapter Five

I threw the truck door open and slid off the seat. My eyes didn't leave the door. Numb with shock, I forced my feet to carry me forward. I stood on the doorstep and peered I side, a strangled sob escaping my parted lips. Furniture was pushed out of the spots they were supposed to be in. Papers were laying all over the floor.

Slowly, I stepped through the front door, into the living room. I looked around at the ransacked room. How could this have happened? No one could get in unless they had a key and the only spare key in existence belonged to me. I studied the lock on the door. It didn't look like it had been tampered with.

I stood there, surveying the mess of what was once a completely spotless room, racking my brain, trying to think of what could have happened. My eyes widened as a thought dawned on me.

I didn't lock the door. In my hurry to get to work, I had forgotten to turn the lock before shutting the door. This was my fault. Someone had entered my aunt's home and completely trashed the living room. I walked through the rest of the house quickly. No other rooms were touched. It made no sense to me. Why break into someone's house and only ransack one room?

Nothing was missing as far as I could see. They must have been looking for small things. With a cry I started pushing the furniture back into the correct places. My feet slid papers and broken glass out of the way.

"Woah. What happened here?" I didn't have to turn around to know that Harry was behind me. I recognized his voice. When I looked over my shoulder, he was standing in the doorway observing the mess.

"Please leave." I sighed and turned around. I bent down and started collecting glass. Suddenly, he was there, taking the glass away from me.

"You're going to cut yourself. Let me do it."

"I told you to leave." He shook his head.

"I'm helping you. Although I don't understand why you'd do this considering how your aunt treated you today." Harry said. I scoffed.

"Today? You mean everyday?" He looked up at me, pausing his task of picking up the shattered glass.

"You mean you go through stuff like that every day?" I shrugged and started stacking magazines. I could see him watching me from the corner of my eye.

"Not this bad." I said quietly.

"Don't do that." He said. "Don't try to defend her. Not after what she did to you today."

"She's never kicked me out, but yes. I deal with that every day. She's controlling. She never lets me do anything I want. I'm pretty sure she keeps me around because I do work so she doesn't have to. I know she hates me. She even pays me less than everyone else!"

"Then why would you bother cleaning this up? If she treats you so bad, why clean up a mess you didn't make?"

"Because she'll call the cops and say I trashed the place."

"So you tell them the truth. Someone broke in."

"They won't believe me. She'll tell them she kicked me out and that I was angry and destroyed her living room in a fit of rage." I sighed. "I know what I'm doing so stop questioning me. Why are you even here?" I asked as the sudden realization that he had randomly walked in, hit me.

"I'm helping you clean."

"Well leave." I said, putting the stack of magazines on the coffee table. "Like I've already told you to do twice." I stood up and walked into the kitchen, pausing to pick up a chunk of glass. Harry followed behind me. I tossed the glass into the trash and he did the same with the tiny shards he carried. "You seriously need to leave before I call the cops." I threatened.

"And what are you going to say? 'Please help me. The guy whose house I stayed the night at and who gave me a ride to and from work is being overly friendly and trying to help me clean'?"

"You're a sarcastic asshole, you know that?" I shook my head and went into the laundry room closet to get the vacuum cleaner.

"I take pride in that." He replied casually. I rolled my eyes and walked back to the living room. Setting the vacuum cleaner down, I unraveled the cord and plugged it into the wall. The loud whine of the vacuum drowned out anything else he had to say. That didn't stop him from sticking to me closer than my shadow. I bumped into him several times and it made me wonder why he didn't back off. I was being stalked at a close distance.

"I still don't see why you're doing this." He said, watching me put the vacuum cleaner away. "I wouldn't."

"I'm not you." I replied. "And as I already said, I know what I'm doing." I checked to make sure the living room was back to normal before jogging up the stairs to my room. Pulling several bags from my closet, I began stuffing my clothes and everything I'd need inside of them.

"Wow. If I wasn't watching you pack your belongings right now, I wouldn't believe anyone lived in this room." I glanced over my shoulder at Harry to see him looking around the room at my bare, white walls. "You have no pictures on you walls. No trinkets sitting on your dresser or anything."

"I'm not allowed." I said, pressing down on the first duffel bag bulging with my clothes to pull the zipper closed. "I've never been allowed. Kathy says it makes the room look trashy and that it's easier to keep clean when you have less belongings." I stuffed the only three pairs of shoes I owned into the second duffel bag. It was only half full and held the remainder of my clothes from the closet. I grabbed another bag and began ripping clothes from my dresser. I filled this one bag with my pajamas and every pair of socks, underwear, and bras that I had in my possession. After all of my clothes were packed, I took a small bag to the bathroom and packed my toiletries. I double checked to make sure I had all of my personal hygiene items before walking back to my room.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked. I shook my head and kneeled down beside my bed. I reached under and felt around until my hand came in contact with the smooth wooden material of my mini treasure chest. I slid it from under the bed, twisted the latch and pulled it open.

Ignoring the pictures that lay inside, I pulled out a smaller box that my phone had come in. I removed the top and took out the stack of money that lay inside. Quickly, I counted the amount. Three hundred fifty six dollars was all I had saved up. I sighed. The money wouldn't last long at all. I had to pay for a motel and food. It would be gone in no time. I would have to ding the cheapest place I could and make my money last as long as possible.

I placed the money back in the box and put the box back in the closet before closing the lid and looking up at Harry.

"I need you to help me find a motel to stay at." I said. He gasped and clutched his chest, a look of fake shock plastered onto his face.

"Are you actually asking for my help? You? Miss 'leave me alone I can do it myself' is asking for my help?"

"I realize that you take pride in being a sarcastic asshole but could you refrain long enough to help me out? I've had a rough day and I'm not in the mood for bull shit, okay?"

"Okay." Harry grabbed my bags and I followed him out to his truck, carrying my treasure chest in my hands. Before exiting the house I threw the spare key on the coffee table and turned the lock on the front door. I slammed the door shut and climbed Harry's truck. He pulled out of the driveway and I held onto my treasure chest tightly.

As he drove away from my aunt's house, I didn't look back. The earlier sense of dread that had settled over me disappeared. I felt a weight lift from my shoulders. I knew I had a challenge in front of me. I had limited money and nowhere to stay, but I felt amazing. I knew as I got farther from that house that I wasn't going back. Even if my aunt changed her mind, I was done with her. I was finally free.

Sorry for the long wait. This probably sucked. I know I keep saying it but it will pick up soon! Please please please vote and comment. Don't tell me to update though. That annoys me. Tell me what you thought and what you'd like to see happen. Things like that. Don't scream at me to update. That's why this is the only book I'm updating. I love you all! Thanks for reading :)