Tiger Stripped Leggings {Joshler}

"sure" Cp_25

Who was here?

Thud. Eyes widening, I feel around to notice I bumped into my bedroom door. Upright, I was conscience and confused. Checking my watch, the time reads four thirty in the morning.

I must've been...sleepwalking? Curious as how I did this, I brush off my confusion and open the door, heading for mom's room. Last night there was a noise...then last I could remember, blacking out. Walking silently though the hallway, eerie creaks weighed down by my careful steps sigh like moans.

I trace my hand across the walls, feeling a small case of deja vu. I give my fingers a soft push to the door, eyes eating up the colours of the dimly lit room. Purples, blues, and oranges cover the walls, paint and dust present. I smile, remembering when we painted this room oh so many years back. Biting my lip, I tounge my lip ring nervously, noticing frazzled bedsheets pushed aside, limply hanging off the bed.

I close the door and walk back, this time not as silently, to the bathroom. I stop dead in my tracks to hear singing. No, not just singing. A duet.

Hands sweating, I pull at my lip ring with my teeth, sharp needle like pains coursing through my lips.

The voices grow louder with every step. I hear the shower turn off. Laughing shortly follows. I want to puke.

"Oh, Charles, you dog!" My mom. Charles? Raking my brain of people I know, besides him, I come up short.

Who the hell is this guy?

"C'mon, let's go get some breakfast, you." I can feel her smile from here.

This is too much. I can't do this. Scrambling thoughts finally push my feet to move. I step back, then again, then run. Run out of here, out to the backyard. Eyes blurry with tears, I can't pinpoint my emotion, and struggle with the idea of meeting "Charles". Shaking my head, I dig into my pocket for my phone. It's there. Damn this household. The beauty and facade of the den I was brought up forcefully in, angers me. It was nothing but surface. I spot my bike and think about going to the park. Flashes of laughing families and warm sweet days makes me plummet. Fallen to the floor, I choke out a loud cry. Covering my face with the flat, bruised palms of mine, I see nothing. My back heats with the rise of the sun. All I can think is run. I pull at my hair instead, staring at the moist grassy ground. Dewy droplets litter my bike front wheel. It rained. My hair begins to hurt, so I pull away. A drop falls, laying on my exposed neck. I feel it, touching it. Another falls. Blinded by tears, I peer up through russled hair. Frown so deep, it feels impossible even to move. Rain falls down. Mixing with my tear stained cheeks, moist smells of dirt and the morning calms me. Seconds pass with the faint glow of the rising sun intertwined with the steady breeze of water.

I pull myself up, hair damp and heavy. Rubbing a hand over my face, I pull back to see blood trickling down the lower left part of my palm. I put a finger to my lip, and feel my lip raised around the ring. Somehow that makes me smile. The rain pours on, along with the morning sounds. The smells, noises, sights make me feel more at home than home ever could. Leaving the bike, I squish along the grass to the street, smiling. My clothes are all drenched, now. Eyes glassy, I pull my phone out, covering it with my other hand. I type to Tyler:

Me: Want to hang out at the park, today at 8 am?

Silently I stand there for a few minutes, eyes transfixed comfortably on a crack in the sidewalk. The rain gets heavier, pushing my head down, eyes blinking rapidly. I cant help but feel a sugary sense of relief. The morning has come, and I'm still here. A buzz comes abruptly from my phone, startling me. I quickly pull up the notification.

Tiger boy: I guess I can fit that in, sure :)

I feel a strange warmth fill my chest, warming my heart. I start off into the empty street, running and jumping like crazy. Lip bleeding, eyes puffy, and a smile on my face, I don't stop running. And I run, and I run, until there is none.