Running [Discontinued]

Chapter Three [New]

Harper's POV

"Woah! This city is huge!" I say to myself, walking through the beautiful city. There are so many sights to see. Beautiful marble fountains, very colorful neon signs, and most importantly, buildings that seem to touch the clouds. I have never been here before so I try my hardest to take in all of the sights, sounds, and smells that I can. What I don't notice, however, is a guy, about my age, running straight towards me, looking back, and then he runs into me and falls onto his butt. We have an awkward moment of just staring at each other, and then he scrambles to get up and finally runs off. Well that was weird. He looked... guilty of something.

A policeman then runs after the boy that just ran into me. I don't want to question what just happened, so I just keep walking in the opposite direction of them, even faster this time.

A ton of rich people are walking past me and looking at my clothes and hair with a look of disgust and pity on their faces. One little girl, around 5 or 6, even pulls on her mom's dress, points at me, and says, "Mommy, why is that girl so dirty?" It's not the worst thing in the world, but what is the worst thing though is the mom's response. "She's homeless baby. Keep walking, don't make eye contact, and stay on the opposite side of me," the mom says, pulling the girl so she's on the side of her away from me. Cruel, cruel people. No one's even bothering to ask me if I am lost or need help. I'm an 18 year old girl running away from her abusive parents, not some homeless person living on the streets. Of course I'm sure I'm sure I look homeless, but you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover! I'm sure they teach something like that in schools here. I'm just a girl who's lost and trying to find her way in this huge world.

The only person I know in this city is my Aunt Lauren, who I haven't seen in years. I wonder what she looks like now. When I last saw her, I told her I wanted to run away, and she told me exactly where she lived and gave me the address. I just hope she hasn't moved. Now THAT would be a complete and utter disaster. That and my parents finding me.

I make it to my aunt's townhouse, 404 Davis St., and knock on the door. A little girl opens the door. "Mommy!!" she yells, and shuts the door in my face.  She looked around 7 or 8. I hear footsteps and then my Aunt Lauren opens the door and takes a second to take in who I am. After about a minute of awkward silence, she finally figures it out, and she pulls me closer to her and hugs me so tight that I feel like I can't breathe.

"Harper, darling, you're here! I thought you would never get away from your parents! Oh.. sorry about her. Faith is something else, isn't she," my aunt says, pulling away from the hug and ruffling the little girl's hair. "I'm sorry. I didn't tell you did I? I have a daughter, Faith, and a husband, Henry, now. Come on, I'll show you around the place. My husband is at work right now, so you'll meet him later," she says, but then gasps, "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry! I should be a better Aunt shouldn't I... you need to get cleaned up! You're absolutely hideous! Not that you are.... but your clothes and hair... oh never mind. Come on. I'll get you cleaned up, then we can have lunch, and then I'll show you around the place. How does that sound?"

Damn she talks fast. She's like your average popular blonde girl in high school. "Sure..." I say, and she pulls me along into the townhouse, shutting the door behind us. I sure do hope this goes well...