Misconception

Ten - Hell

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"Mom? Dad?" They get up from where they're sitting and come to embrace me in a hug. My mom gently caresses my head in a comforting motion. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Ariana you have to come back home with us." My mom lets go of me.

"Mom. I can't go back with you guys. I don't wanna live that life I was living. That's why I moved here. Alone." I tell my parents.

"You won't go through what happened. I swear. We're sorry- come let's sit." We sit down on my couch.

"Listen sweetie. I've gotten better your mom isn't doing what she used to do."

"So you're saying you guys aren't going to mentally abuse me anymore? Huh? Calling me shit names, having arguments all the time! Mom getting wasted and you dad, you're not selling drugs? Huh! Is that what y'all are trying to say? That in these past weeks I moved out, you have fully recovered all those problems in such little time? Hmm?" I fire at them and they look at each other with dissapointment.

"I know you don't know the full story why all of this happened. I think we should tell you. If you're gonna move back with us." He addressed. I look with an approving glance and he continues. "Your mom and I were going through a really horrible time. Money was low and we couldn't afford anything. I either sell the house and we become homeless. I didn't want that for my family so I had to sell drugs which I got from some friend of mine. I never did them I just sold them to get money. Your mom caught me once with the drugs and she thought I was using them. She started drinking and I tried to tell her the truth but she never wanted to hear me. That's why we got in arguments. I guess we affected you. We're sorry for that. With our anger built up inside us we just released it all on you."

"And how did you stop all of this?"

"Once you left I decided my family will go through a split. I couldn't believe my own young daughter left by herself to a different state. I knew I had to do something. I got professional help for your mother."

"How can mom recover so quickly? She was an addict!"

"No I wasn't. I just had no control. I was drowning in an illusion that I created about your father. I was not an addict." My mom finally speaks up to clarify on her position.

"So your mom stopped drinking and I told her the whole truth. Told her every little detail she wanted to know. I stopped selling drugs because I finally found a job and so has your mom that will pay us good money. Come back with us. We know a good school where you can go to. It isn't safe here for you to stay without someone looking after you."

"I've looked after myself. I can do it alone. I just have one more year and I'm a legal adult."

"Ariana you're coming back with us!" My dad explodes which has us startled.

"No I'm not!" I get tense and my words turn harsh. " I don't care if you have recovered."

"We are your parents! You listen to us!" My mom slams her hand on the couch.

"I don't want to listen to you guys!" I raise my voice

"Too ba-" Then a scream occurs from outside. Our heads look out the window. My mother goes check and I walk outside in the hall. People are peering their heads outside as well. I look to the side of me and see Zoe. She gives me a confused look and I shrug. "Ariana what's going on?"

"I don't know." I whisper and I step outside the door, earning several glances. Zoe does the same. She goes to the side of me.

"Did you hear that scream?"

"I'm pretty sure everyone did." I start walking down and other people exit from their doors as well and start following us. We all go down the stairs and even the lobby woman Maria has a worried look on her face. I pull the door open when someone speaks up.

"Isn't it a bad idea to go outside?" Then a murmur of agreements occur.

"You guys can stay here." I advised and looking back, everyone nods. In the small crowd of people I see my parents with a worried face.

"I'm going with you." Zoe grabs a hold of my arm. I look at her and we exit the building. The cold air breezes and I shiver. The bright moon shines in the sky. Looking ahead we see the forest with its tall pine trees casting shadows along the cracked street. We hear another scream, it's coming down the road where the incident happened. Zoe looks at me scared yet in her eyes I see the brave inside her. We turn left and continue walking forward. In the dark road it gets even colder.

"Call the police!" A woman comes running up to us with a gleam coming from her hands- it's blood. We back up as she approaches us.

"What the fuck happened?" Zoe blurted out as the woman holds onto her arm.

"I was walking down the road and there's two pile of bones in the grass. I was going to check it out when a dark figure comes up to me and I scream. Then it slices my arm which is why I'm bleeding. I started running and he was gone. Call the police please." Zoe takes out her phone and starts dialing 911.

"Where are the bones?" I wondered and the woman turns around facing down the road.

"Just down there where you see that shining blood on the ground." She whimpers and I start creeping up to the spot. Just several feet away. The woman follows behind me. I look at the blood on the ground and look down into the grass. There is a pile of bones. I gasp and take a step back.

"Do you think- it's a person's bones?"

"I-I don-" Then something catches my eye. Under the bones I see a piece of paper poking out.

"What? What is it?" The woman tugs on my shoulder and I look back at Zoe who is still on the phone.

"There's a paper under the bones." I take a step down the little hill that curves into the forest. My shoes squish the grass beneath me and I walk up to the bones. I crouch down close enough to see chunks of meat smothered on the bones. I cover my mouth in disgust. Hoping I don't touch anything my trembling hands reach down. I grab the bones which seem part of the rib cage and lift it up quickly grabbing the paper beneath it.

My breathing shakes as I unfold the note. When I open it, it reads:

You were the age of all those ten girls
This is one of them

I drop the note and scurry back into the street. The blare of sirens fill the air and I leap into Zoe. "What happened? What's going on?" She holds onto my shoulders as I'm frantically looking at my surroundings. The woman looks as if she's about to faint because of her blood being lost.

A faint voice escapes my lips. "Hell's breaking loose."