That was before

Chapter 1

Abby had been counting down the days when she'd be let out of this hellhole, and it had finally come. She had to admit she was disappointed. She didn't feel the joy or the glory of freedom, instead, she felt the sudden doom of returning to the city. 

What did people think of her?

Abby shook away from fears and straightened her posture. She was going to be free now. It didn't matter what they thought of her.

A tiny thread of light seethed through the thin bars of her cell, as thin as her hope of leaving was on her very first day in Silent Heights. And she was proud to say she made it. Soon she would be able to see the sun shining in from her own bedroom again. She could almost taste it.

She lay down on her back, waiting for the buzz and the burly guard to come in.

——

The guard didn't come fast enough for Abby to miss the early morning stench from the toilets. Her nose wrinkled in disgust, but she reminded herself that she would be out of the hellhole in a few hours. She could hold on for a few hours more if she had held on for three years.

Pinching her nose, Abby looked at herself in the mirror. Her once flowing blonde hair had been cut to shoulder length and the knots in her hair prevented the shower of blonde she once had. The lovely clear blue of her eyes was long gone and had been replaced with rawness. Her skin was bruised and lacked the smoothness of youth. The biggest change visible was that she grew so thin you could see her shoulder blades. She looked way older than her age.

She returned to her room. Her stale bread was waiting for her and she nibbled the edges of the bread. She could find something better to eat later. She shoved the plate by the door as he buzzed in.

"Abby Spears?" The burly guard asked gruffly.

"Three years and you still don't know my name." Abby sighed. "Yes, I'm Abby."

"You're to come with me." He grunted. He opened the door to her cell and dragged her by her handcuffs, firm enough to hurt. Abby winced but didn't say anything. 

He led her to the far side of the prison. None of the inmates had been there before. Abby quickened her pace. The guard opened the door and Abby walked in. 

Her parents sat there, seemingly shocked at the state of her. Abby didn't meet their eyes as she sat down. Her mom moved towards her, but her dad held her back.

"So, Abby, it's been a long three years." Mr. Lufkin commented.

"Yes, I know," Abby said simply.

"If you'll sign this, your parents can take you home." Mr. Lufkin said. He passed her a pen.

"Ok," Abby said. She lifted up her hands. The burly guard unlocked her handcuffs and Abby held the pen in her hand. Freedom. 

That was something she hadn't tasted for a long time. 

Abby weighed the pen in her hand and signed slowly. It did take time for her hands to get used to being free again and not being confined to heavy metal. She pushed the signed paper towards Mr. Lufkin.

"You're free to go." He said, gesturing to the door. Abby's parents stood up, Abby trailing behind them. Wordlessly, they left the room.

Surprisingly, neither Abby's mom or dad said a word to her on the ride back. Awkward silence plagued the car. Abby massaged her wrists and peered out the window. As predicted, she could see eyes on their car as her dad drove. Some of them spotted her face and pointed at her while she blushed in shame and hid behind the curtains of the window.

——

When they arrived at what used to be their house, Abby was horrified. The once cream walls that shone if there was a right amount of sunlight on it was faded. The garden, once fresh smelling and full of flowers was now reduced to a useless pile of soil. 

Abby stepped out the car slowly, her eyes focused on the rocky ground. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, but she ignored the feeling and continued to walk towards her house. She was still in her orange prison clothes, making her stand out more. She heard a snicker and started to turn to face the direction of it, but she decided against it. Let them snicker. When they saw her, her new personality, they'd know who she had become.

She walked up the steps to her house, opened the door for her parents, before heading into the house.

Everything was different. The once messy living room had been cleaned, newspapers that once took over the floor was now neatly stacked into piles, the dining table now gleamed whereas before there were food stains. The cups and bowls in the kitchen were neatly shelved. It seemed like everything had been tidied and cleaned while she was away, except her messy room.

Abby walked into her room slowly. She shut the curtains and changed out of her foul orange prison clothes, crumbling them in her fists. She opened her closet and found it to be the same, with exception of a few blouses that had been washed and misplaced. She dressed in her pale pink nightgown, smiling as smooth cotton touched her lumpy skin.

She sat on her bed and felt it's silky texture, the rough texture of bed sheets and covers of prison beds vanishing from her sense of touch. She opened the secret compartment of her closet and found her stash of chocolate, surprisingly not expired. At this rate, however, she wouldn't be astonished if her parents had changed her old stash with a new one. Regardless, she craved something sweet, or at least something other than stale bread and occasionally cheese.

She popped the chocolate in her mouth, savoring its sweet taste in her mouth, pleased that it wasn't as bland as her taste buds had been suffering for the last three years.

She was home.