Alyssa Matthews has lived a life of devastation and disrepair since her father left when she was 6. At the age of 16 she finds herself homeless and living in her car. Isolated from the world and with nobody else to turn to; she makes the journey to...
*BRRRING* The school bell sounded, echoing through the hallways and classrooms. Cheers escaped the lips of the children in Mrs Rawlins ninth grade English class. Though AJ Matthews wasn't cheering, at the sound of the bell the light faded from her eyes and her head dropped in to her hands.
Students began filing away their work in their bags, striding over to their friends to make plans for the summer. It was the end of the school year and the excitement was clear on their faces.
"Okay class, calm down..." Miss Rawlins said, gaining no attention from the class "Calm down!" she yelled, her voice breaking and her throat sore; the students weren't the only one's eager to leave.
The students slowly and quietly returned to their seats, scowls donning their faces.
"Thank-you" she sighed before scanning the classroom "I know you're all looking forward to the summer but I hope you all won't forget your homework for your new schools" she said, glancing around the room to see heads nodding reluctantly. "Class dismissed, have a great summer" she said, waving off the students.
AJ walked slowly out of the classroom, dragging her feet.
"Alyssa-Junior Matthews, can I talk to you for a moment?"
She felt a pang in her stomach as she turned to face the young, blonde teacher sat at her desk. Slowly, she made her way over to her, stopping about a meter away. Looking down at her feet she waited silently for the class to empty and Miss Rawlins to begin talking.
"So, are you looking forward to starting high school in the fall?" she asked eagerly to earn a shrug of the shoulders from AJ in return. "I guess it can be kind of scary, huh?" she said gently.
"I guess so" she muttered, fidgeting with her hands.
"What are your plans for the summer?" she asked. As she shrugged her shoulders again, she slid open her desk drawer, pulling out a leaflet and handing it to her.
"What's this?" AJ asked, raising her head and looking at the teacher with a furrowed brow.
"It's a summer camp for writers; I thought you could really benefit from it, your writing is already really good and this could just give it that little push it needs and the best part is it's completely funded" she said, seeing a smile spread across her face.
"Thank-you" she grinned; the thought of a mom-free summer brought hope. Miss Rawlins nodded and she nodded back before walking toward the door. "You're a great teacher by the way, the others only complain because they can't get away with messing about in class" she said before walking out of the door and running home to tell her mom.
Miss Rawlins walked out of the school and over to her car. Pulling her keys out of her pocket she heard the roar of a motorbike and glanced to her side to see a man pull up beside her. He threw her an envelope full of cash. She caught it, opening it and looking through.
"Two grand, like we agreed" he sighed "She got it?"
"Yeah, I gave her the leaflet and she was really happy" she explained and the man smiled.
"Thank-you" he uttered, steadying himself on his bike to pull away.
"You never told me your name or why you were doing this..."
"It's Tig and well... let's just say I care about her but remember our agreement, not a word"
She nodded yes and he rode away.
"Mom!" AJ called as she pushed open the front door, slamming it behind her. She examined the house, now clean with a lingering smell of bleach. It was a far cry from the grubby, beer can cluttered mess she left that morning.
"In here sweetie" she called making AJ scoff quietly as she scrunched up her nose, walking through in to the living room. Once there she found her mom cuddled up on the sofa with a man who could have been no older than thirty. He had black slick back hair and wore a black suit with a shirt and tie. His shoes were by the door, his feet rested on the coffee table.
"Who's he?" she scowled, feeling sick under his gaze.
"Darling, don't be rude, this is Johnathon. He's my friend and he has offered to take us on holiday this summer..."
AJ shook her head no. "I wanna go here, it's free you don't have to pay anything..." she said passing her mom the leaflet.
She scanned the leaflet noticing the word 'Camp" she scoffed, ripping it up without reading any more. "We're going to Johnathon's lake house, go pack we leave tomorrow"
*End of Flashback*
AJ stood in the bathroom at home, a small tear sliding down her cheek as she examined the scar that ran on her back, between her hips. Quickly, she pulled on a black t-shirt, jeans and her combat boots before grabbing her car keys out of the bathroom and racing down the stairs.
"I'll see you later Dad, I promised Mary I'd take the kids to school, Ope's been AWOL and she's really struggling by herself" she said, kissing him on the cheek before grabbing a bottle of orange juice out of the fridge and an apple out of the fruit bowl. Her phone began ringing, pulling it out she glanced at the name on the screen. Her face dropped as she felt her heart begin to race.
"Who is it baby?" he asked, walking towards her.
"Nobody important" she said, quickly rejecting the call and sliding her phone in to the pocket of her jeans "See you later" she called as she sped past him, out of the house.
"The hell was that about?" Tig muttered to himself, scratching his beard.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
