Running To The Stars

Chapter 2

My mother hums some tune of a song only she knows as she cleans the dishes in the sink that faces the window. The sun plays with her golden hair and she's smiling softly to herself. Rose is drawing a picture on the floor, her blue eyes sparkling with determination, and her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrates on the picture in front of her. The house is peaceful. I'm reading a book, spread out on the couch.
Suddenly the door slams open. Frightened, Rose jumps and looks fearfully towards the door that enters into the room. Dad barges in, screaming at the top of his lungs. I grab Rose's hand and we run out of the room just as dad throws a plate at mum's head, missing by only an inch. We run out of the house towards the park a few streets over.
"Do you want to go on the swings?" I ask Rose, breath shaky from the running. Rose looks at me sadly and hops onto the swings, and softly cries to herself as I push her back and forth, unable to comfort her over something that happens much too often.

-

The sound of birds chirping their early morning song wakes me. It must only be 6 in the morning, but the sun is slowly rising and filling the sky with a pink hue, colouring even the fluffy clouds so it looks like the sky has little bumps on it.
I can still hear mum's humming in the back of my head as I look around shakily. I'm sprawled out on my old roof with empty beer bottles surrounding me, the hard pounding of a hangover welcoming me into the new day.
The cold wind sends shivers through my spine as recollections of yesterday run through my head like a black and white film, ending with me drinking myself into a stupor, crying so hard I can't breathe.
"I have to get out of here." I tell myself, mainly to hear something other than the deafening silence. There's so much fear here, it lives in the shadows. You can't see it, but it's there.
Going down the ladder as fast as I can, I nearly fall off in my desperation to get out of here. What was I thinking, coming back here? So I could feel some sort of emotion for some stupid painting? Well, I guess I have one now. Pain.

I run down the road so fast I feel as though my feet are barely touching the ground. My house is calling to me, I can hear it chanting "Sapphire, Sapphire.." as I run further and further from that house of horrors.
"No!" I scream as I trip over, and that's when it hits. Memories, overwhelming me like a storm..

Rose crumples to the ground, her little eyes still open in a twisted mask of fear and surprise. Dad turns to me and grins.
"What's that you got there, Saph?" his drunken words slurring together. Gulping, I take a step back. "I thought you didn't take my beer." Another step back.
"You know what happens to little girls that lie?" I'm nearly at the ladder.
"What happens, dad?" I ask shakily, trying to distract him from my attempt at escape. He simply grins, raises his gun and-

"Are you okay?" A voice interrupts the short eruption of memories. Looking up, I see it's a boy. He has ruffled brown hair and forest green eyes.
"Here, let me help you up." He says, reaching down to grab my hand. I hold his hand hesitantly as he pulls me up.
"What are you doing up so early?" He laughs nervously. Now that I'm standing up I can see he's taller than I thought he was, and has a lean build. He's wearing a grey, loose singlet and black shorts with matching black runners.
"I could ask you the same." I answer suspiciously, cringing at how croaky my voice is after having just woke up.
"I'm just having an early morning jog, but I have a feeling you're not." He answers, looking over my ruffled and distraught appearance.
"Do you live nearby?" I ask, my voice quieting.
"Yeah, I live just down there." He points to a house near the end of the street, just two down from mine. I instantly feel the air drain from my lungs. Immense hatred overcomes me, and I take a step back from him.
"What about you, do you live nearby? I could-" He starts, but then notices me backing away quickly. "Hey, where are you going?" He shouts as I start to run. He tries to run after me, but nobody knows this area as best as I do, and no one can run as fast as me. Not even him.
Not even dad.

-

Hey! Hope you like the new chapter! Sorry it's short, I don't have much time to write at the moment but I really wanted to write this one out.
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