Everybody bleeds this way, just the same.
Just get over it already, you fucking piece of shit.
Those words rushed through her mind like a hurricane, tearing her apart more and more with every passing second. Her feet were pounding against the pavement and her heart was nearly beating out of her chest.
It was shortly after midnight when she fled her house. She had to escape those walls, those words; she had to escape him. She needed to breathe.
She didn't know exactly where she was going. She planned on running until her throat felt raw and her sides felt like they were caving in.
Her feet carried her to a small, quiet park that seemed to appear out of nowhere. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it. There was a shabby, rundown playground that had a rusted swingset and a slide that had definitely seen better years. And off to the side, there was a wooden double-sided park bench. That's where her feet finally stopped.
She laid down on her back on the side of the bench that was facing away from the playground so she could hide away from the world; so she could disappear; so she could try forgetting everything.
All she wanted to see was the stars.
Those infinite orbs of light were the only constant in her life. No matter where she went, they were always there. Always. Even if they were covered by the clouds, one of them would peek out every so often to remind her that they hadn't left.
Sometimes, she felt like the stars were her only friends. She didn't have to impress them. She didn't have to act a certain way around them. She could trust them to keep all of her secrets and stories and thoughts.
A sudden movement across the sky caught her eye. A shooting star.
She closed her eyes tight and wished. She wished for someone, anyone to understand. To just listen to her. Even if it was only for one night.
The star passed as quickly as it came and she shivered slightly as a breeze blew over her. It was cold tonight, the skies wide open and clear. She started putting constellations together in her head, following the dots she knew so well.
Out of nowhere, she heard a tired voice say "Oh. Hey."
She pushed herself up into a sitting position with her elbows and saw that the tired voice was skinny, blonde, blue-eyed. Kind of tall, but not quite.
She didn't plan on meeting anyone here. "Hi."
"Mind if I join you?" He had his hands in his pockets; his eyes were fixated on the ground in front of him. Her face broke into the tiniest of smiles. She wasn't going to be alone tonight.
"No, not at all."
