Life is Hell

Chapter Seven - The Ambers

"Is everything okay here?" I asked. "Who are you?" Sean Prescott asked. "Clare Price, nice to meet you" I said and held my hand towards him. He hesitated, but shook it. "Mr. Prescott" He replied. "I'm a friend of Nathan's and I just wanted to see if he's okay. After his performance I mean" I said and looked at him. "You don't actually care" He said. "Of course I care Nathan! I care a lot about what you think and how you feel" I said and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm better now" He said and smiled at me. I could tell it was fake, but so was mine. It was to show Mr. Prescott that Nathan wasn't a loser. He might think that, but I've seen him in class and he's actually a pretty nice and smart kid, if he wants to be.

Mr. Prescott looked one last time at his son before leaving. "We aren't friends and I'm pretty sure it was your sister that bullied me this morning" He snapped at me. "First if all, the underdogs got to stick together and second of all, Chloe isn't a bully. She prevents it and if you can't keep those two apart, I'm sorry" I said, having no idea where this courage came from. Maybe Frank has more than one good influence on me. "You're in the photography class, aren't you?" I asked, trying to make conversation. "Yes. Why? Do you want to mock me?" He asked. "No! My sister's best friend, former best friend, was totally into photography and she showed me some cool shit, but I never really picked it up. Stupid me, but I guess I was busy with different things" I said. "Maybe I could take you with me one day when I go out for shooting" He suggested. "I'd love that" I said and we exchanged phone numbers.

"Clare, let's go!" Chloe suddenly yelled. "I gotta go, but I'll see you Monday" I said and walked over to my sister and her new best friend. "Check out who found his courage" Chloe said "But does it have to be Nathan Prescott?" "He looked like he needed help and I gave it to him. I got his dad off his back, didn't I?" I asked her. "I guess you do so" Rachel said. Both, Chloe and Rachel, were wearing their normal clothes again. "Where are we going?" I asked as we walked off.

"We're running away" Rachel said and I have to say, I was shocked. Yeah, I was definitely shocked, but I understood them. Rachel didn't seem like the small town girl and Chloe, she just wanted to get away from everything. Honestly, I felt the same. "And you're coming with us!" Chloe said. Wait what?! "I can't!" I immediately told her. "Why not?" She asked confused "We always wanted to see more of the world together" She said. "I know, but we can't do that anymore. At least not while I'm a minor and mentally unstable. Mom wouldn't give up until she finds a body. She'll even lie to the police if she has to. All that just to find me again" I said and I knew that she knew that I was right. "Get out of Arcadia Bay and sent me some postcards from the world. I think I'll be able to join you when I'm graduated" I said and put my arm around her.

"Maybe by then I'll actually look healthy again" I said. "Maybe I'll see you in LA with some shorts and a top. Haven't seen you wear that in a while" She said.

"Let's run away tonight" Rachel suddenly said. "What?" Chloe and I sat at the same time. "Yeah, let's leave Arcadia Bay tonight. Let's get some stuff from my room and leave this hellhole tonight!" Rachel said and looked at Chloe. Chloe looked at me and I could see it in her eyes that she didn't want to leave me. "It's okay Chloe, when you leave, I have a reason to live for. Seeing you will be enough of a reason to stay alive" I told her.

"What do I have to do to convince you?" Rachel asked and looked at Chloe. "Well... ehm" She stuttered, but Rachel seemed to understand. "Oh" She replied, but didn't look away from my sister. She took a step forward and placed a kiss on my sisters lips. I was freaking out inside before off my fucking ship. "Okay" Chloe said after the two broke apart. "Okay" Rachel said. "Good luck out there! Where do you wanna go?" "LA, Rachel wants to show me her town" Chloe said, still not completely over the shock of kissing Rachel Amber.

"I'll see you then" I said and wanted to walk off, but Rachel held me back "You can help us escape. You don't have to leave just yet" She said. "Okay, but only because it's you! No one else can get me to do this" I said and walked with them. We went to some fancy house and Rachel skipped up the stairs. "Is that-?" I asked. "Uh huh" Chloe replied shocked. "Come on, but be quiet. My parents will be home. We're just in and out! No one will notice" Rachel said and sneaked inside the house, followed by the two of us.

We were just about to go upstairs, but then Rachel's dad appeared. "Rachel" He said, catching her mom's attention. "Rachel dear, I didn't hear you come in" She said. "Who are your friends?" She asked. "Those are Chloe and Clare. You met them this morning" She introduced us. "Will you be staying for dinner?" Mrs. Amber asked. "No, no we won't. It's getting late" I said and looked at my sister, who started backing me up. "Come on, just tell your mom you'll be home late. I'm sure she will be okay with it" "Okay" I gave in "I'll text her" I said to them and got my phone out and texted mom.

"Hey, I'm going to go and freshen up a little, will you be fine down here?" Rachel asked and the two of us nod. Rachel went upstairs, while Chloe and I agreed to help her mom cook. Well Chloe helped, while I looked around the house. "Rachel is a smart young girl, isn't she?" Mr. Amber said. "Yeah, but she has a lot more to offer. I'm not lying when I'm saying I have never met someone like Rachel" I said "And her acting skills are killer!" "I'd prefer her to do something more... promising with her life" He said. "Funny, my mom wants me to have a life. No matter how I live it" I said. "What is that supposed to mean?" He asked. "I'm sorry Mr. Amber, but this is getting to personal and I don't want to discuss it any further" I said and walked over to Chloe. "Will you eat something?" She asked. "I'll try, although I ate pasta today and a whole plate full of it" I said. "Frank really got you to eat?" She asked.

"Yeah, he did. I don't know how, but he did it" I said "And I guess as long as he's in my life I'm on the best way to get better" I said. "Do you like him?" She asked. "What? No! He's a friend, just a friend. I'm 15 Chloe, he's too old for me" I told her "You could say he's like a brother to me" I told her.

Not a short time later we started eating dinner and I asked Mrs. Amber to give me just a bit and Chloe took a photo of me eating, which Rachel's parents didn't really understand, but we couldn't care less. And of course a dinner with a family that seems perfect, can only go wrong and it did. It went terribly wrong. A huge fight and Chloe and Rachel weren't going to leave tonight. Not after what Rachel had found out about her father and Sera.