Amelia

Chapter One

Amelia's POV

"Hurry up!" My dad commands as the pounding on the door continue. He rushes me around the house, fear's evident on his face. We run to the back of the house and he opens the door to the basement before ordering me to go down. I obey and hurry down the steps. The basement was completely dark, the only section that was slightly lit was the back of the room where a small window was.

"Mr. Larson we're only here for some unpaid bills," The man my father was so afraid of shouted. I couldn't understand why he was afraid. He's never been afraid before.

My Dad keeps pushing me until we're in the darkest part of the basement. The light from the window doesn't nearly touch me. He has me sit between two boxes. Once I'm sat, he pushes them closer to me and lays something on top of the two boxes, leaving a small hole for me to see out of. Although, the small hole is pretty useless considering I can barely see anything in the pitch black room.

"Stay here," My Dad orders, beginning to walk away from me. He runs up the stairs and slams the door. I sit there trembling, not knowing who my father is trying to hide me from.

"Mr. Larson, open up," The man yells again. This time he bangs on the door, startling me. Soon, I hear a loud bang and footsteps above me. They pound as they walk around the house. There was more than one person. The footsteps moved in different directions as the people yell orders at each other. I hear someone say they'll check in the basement. My heart drops as the door opens slowly, a loud creak being heard. Someone begins to walk down the steps and I sink further into the boxes. A light click goes off and a small light turns on. They whip the light around looking in all directions. They start walking around, ripping things apart. They threw everything on the floor while they were looking. I wonder why they want my Dad so bad that they're willing to destroy his house to find him.

As I focus back on the person in the basement my breathing hitches. He had checked everywhere else in the basement and the only place left to look was where I was. They slowly trot towards me and look to the left of where I am.

"Where is he?" They mumble, giving up on their section. They begin to look to the right of me then finally settling on where I am. They rip the item off the top of me and shine the flashlight over me. I hug my knees and look at my feet. I'd like to think I was invisible, that no one could see me even if they tried. I would've used that now, I didn't want to be found. I didn't want to talk to the scary people that yell and bang loudly.

The light stays on me for a minute before it's taken off and quick footsteps run up the stairs. Unlike before, I can't hear what the people are saying. Their hushed voices make it almost impossible to hear anything.

Just like before, the pounding of footsteps on the stairs return. They're lighter this time, but still loud. Two lights return this time and I can hear people whispering.

"Hey there," A person, a woman I think, greets. Even though I want to look up, I don't. Dad would get mad at me and it's never fun when he's mad. There's a long silence before the person speaks again.

"I'm Officer Adams, I'm here to help you," she explains. I don't say anything, I'm too scared to.

"Can we go upstairs? It's kind of cold down here, don't you think?" She asks. It was true, it was freezing in the basement. It was the middle of January and the basement didn't have any heat. Sitting on the floor was like sitting in the large freezer. I look up from my chilled feet to see a blinding light.

"Dan, you idiot. Get the light out of her face," The female officer scolds, swatting the light down. Officer Adams has long brown hair, tucked under her hat. She has a caring smile placed on her face as she looks at me.

"Hey, sweetheart. Do you want to go somewhere warm?" Officer Adams asks. I nod, but I don't move. Officer Adams notices and looks back to me.

"Hey, it's fine. We're not going to hurt you. You're safe now," Officer Adams assures. I slowly untuck my legs and get to my feet. Officer Adams offers her hand to me but I don't take it. I don't know if I can trust her just yet. She seems nice, but I'm not sure. Officer Adams, the other officer, and I walk up the steps together. The upper part of the house is crowded with people in the same uniform Officer Adams is. They all pause what they're doing and look at me. Shock crosses their faces when they stare at me. I felt really awkward to have that many people all staring at me.

We walk outside into the crisp winter air. I look around, the street lights were lit since the sun was no longer up. Snow littered the ground except for the places that had sidewalks. Officer Adams and I walk to the black and white car with the flashing lights on top.

Officer Adams helps me in and walks around to the other side and gets in herself. She turns the heat up and begins to drive away. I look out the window and see two Officers hauling Dad into a car similar to mine with his hands strapped behind his back. He looks angry and I can't help but think it's because of me.

"What are they doing with Daddy?" I ask quietly. Officer Adams looks back at me for a brief moment before turning back to the road.

"They, um, they're taking him to a place that will teach him how to be nice." Officer Adams explains. I nod, looking out the window. The houses speed past me, some of them have lights on, others don't. Some are big, some are small, and some are in the middle.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"To a place where people will help you feel better,"