The Journey Home

Prologue

So out of breath.

I felt like my lungs were expanding yet no air was filling them. But I had to run, I had to leave. The night was cold and dark, and I had no idea where I was going. Anywhere would be better than that house. A house that had once been full of so much joy and love but now had only emptiness.

I stopped, leaning against an old building, taking in as much air as I could. It was past midnight already and I only had a couple of hours to get away before they would notice I was gone. My hand went up to my chest trying to still my galloping heart, yet it didn't work. The adrenaline flowing through my veins was too much.

Thirsty, so damn thirsty.

Why would you lie like that?

He wouldn't do that!

He's my brother!

I closed my eyes, trying to erase those hurtful words from my memory, the scenes of the night before replaying over and over in my head like a horror movie.

Why are you doing this?

I trusted you.

Why are you hurting me?

I pushed back a sob that threatened to escape. Not again though. I would never cry for the betrayal I had endured by my own family. I had nothing but a bag with a couple changes of clothes and I had already finished the bit of water that I had managed to bring with me. I would have to wait until morning.

Now my mission was to leave, leave everything behind.

However, the ache that filled my body was proving to be too much. The past weeks without much sleep were finally taking a toll on me and I struggled to stand upright.

That was until I saw the cop car.

"Shit" I hissed, leaning my head against the wall.

If they saw me I'd be screwed.

Please, please hurry and leave.

I managed to crawl into a dark alley, my knees getting scraped in the process. Waiting was impossible though as seconds felt like hours. I was anxious to leave, to try and start over again but I had to find a way.

I would have to find a job, a place to live. How I was going to this I had no clue but I'd find a way.

What's that saying my mother used to say?

Where there's a will, there's a way.

Sure, he broke me, he took pieces of me that I would never find again. It didn't matter if no one believed me I still had myself. I was enough. I didn't need anyone else. The physical pain, sure, it hurt... But the emotional scars that I would always carry with me, those were unbearable.

The two men I had trusted more than anything. The only family I knew. They had turned their back on me in the cruelest way possible.

As the police car drove by I exhaled, waiting a few minutes before stepping out of that alley.

I forced my legs to move once again, the piercing pain in my body not wavering for a minute, but I knew I had to keep going.

There was no other way.

For the life of me, I would never understand how you can be surrounded by so many people and they never notice how broken you are. How damn fractured, how each and every breath you take is so painful.

At least I found a way out. I had to leave, I had to run far, far from there. Somewhere where no one would find me, somewhere where I could start my own life trying to recover from the pain I had endured. 

The scars would surely never disappear, but somehow I knew I'd be able to stand back up again.