Runaway - Ashton Irwin

Chapter 1

   The lawyer read out Grandma Maywell's will. I only agreed to go because I wasn't aloud to stay in England alone. So it wasn't an agreement at all, really. You see, I had a breakdown earlier this year and now, my mother keeps me on a leash. I'm better now. But I do have a life-long diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. My symptoms include: crazy mood swings, weird attachments to people and objects, insane paranoia, fear of abandonment, impulsive and dangerous behaviour. I could go on, but I won't. So, there we were, in a small court room in Georgia, America, my mother gripping my hand, my Dad and brothers across from us, looking kind of bored, and my sister at the other end of the table, perfectly composed, ready for anything. Kelsey was always prepared for the worst case scenario, much like me, except she always hoped for the best case scenario. The best case scenario scares me. I didn't really know Grandma Maywell, I met her once when I was a kid, but we left America when I was 11 and I never saw her again, her and Dad didn't have a good relationship. The lawyer handed each of us grandkids an envelope and started reading again, was it disrespectful that I wasn't listening? Maybe. I looked down at the envelope that had my name splayed across in loopy, barely readable handwriting. It was properly sealed with a little wax stamp that had Grandma's initials on. I sighed and looked at Mom, Grandma Maywell was her mother-in-law, but she looked more upset than Dad. It was another hour before we left, all of us breathing the biggest sigh of relief when we got outside.

   "You guys go back to the hotel and get your things ready, we fly back tonight." Dad said, kissing each of us on the head. We didn't get to see Dad much, he was always working away in Scotland. None of us knew or cared enough to know, exactly what he worked as.

   "Alright, come on guys." Mom ushered us into the car while Dad got into his and drove in a completely different direction.

   "Where's he going?" I asked Mom, buckling my seatbelt.

   "He's going to see his brother, Addie. The one he's spent the last 7 years despising." Sammy said from the backseat. Dean gave him a warning look and Kelsey shook her head.

   "Why would he want to do that?" I tried again, still looking at Mom. She just turned up the radio and we were off, leaving Dad, and the question, long behind us.

   The plane ride back to London was a long one but I got to sit next to Dean, my favourite brother. I know we shouldn't have favourites, but he and Kelsey are the only ones who have treated me normally since the breakdown. I was sitting on my bed back in London when Kelsey came in, holding the envelope that had been given to each of us at the will hearing. I hadn't opened mine.

   "Who knew Grandma was rich, huh?" I put down the book I was reading and raised my eyebrows at my sister. Her dark blonde hair was piled into a messy bun and her brown eyes wrinkled as she laughed. "I knew you wouldn't have opened yours yet. Go get it." She sat down on my bed as I got the envelope out of the front pocket of my suitcase where I had put it before boarding our plane. I ripped open the seal and pulled out a cheque. I sat down on the bed and looked from the cheque to Kelsey.

   "But she didn't even know us, why would she give us this much money?" Kelsey shrugged and fell back on the bed.

   "No idea. I'm not complaining though. You could have a killer 18th with that." I laughed and laid down next to her. My 18th birthday was a week away and Kelsey and I wanted to have a party, but of course Mom said it was too soon after me leaving hospital.

   "God, I wish she'd let me have a party. I also wish I could have a shower with the door unlocked and be trusted to take my own medication and shave my damn legs." I lifted my fuzzy leg up and Kelsey chuckled.

   "She just doesn't want you to do anything stupid, Addie." She whispered. I opened my mouth to reply just as Mom knocked on the door, and opened it without waiting for me to call her in.

   "Hey girls." She was carrying a tray with my medication and a cup of water balancing on it.

   "Speak of the devil and she shall appear." Kelsey said, getting up and pushing past Mom. Mom shook her head and handed me the meds and water, making me lift up my tongue afterwards.

   "How long will it be like this, mom? I want to go out alone, I want to have a party, I want to go to town with Kelsey and not have you texting me every five minutes. I need my freedom, Mom." The skin around her eyes tightened as she snatched the cup from my hands.

   "You should have thought about that before you tried to slit your wrists in my tub." She stormed out of the room and slammed the door. I sighed and looked at the cheque next to me. I picked it up to put it back in the envelope, but as I did, a piece of paper fell. The writing on it was the  same as that on the cheque and the envelope.

   "You are a bird, do not be afraid to fly..."