I Guess We'll Never Know (adopted by fob)✔

Nineteen

Ty
"Are you seriously considering running away?" I shook my head. "There is a place I always go to if it becomes necessary. I can just hang out there before I'm found and sent back to the orphanage. The funny thing about this city is that they don't care if you have a family, you'll be sent to an orphanage if you're out in the streets with no one." Ollie gave me a bitch face and stalked off. I rolled my eyes and went to my classes as planned. I have gym as my last period and we never dress out on Friday's, so I can just walk off and not finish the class. No one will care and I can be in my hiding place before Pete even knew I wasn't coming to his vehicle. It's risky, but I'm willing to take the risks instead of being stuck in that dictatorship family. For a second I thought about calling Alex and see if he would take me in, but I don't have my phone and I have no idea where he lives.

Alright here goes. I ran off course from the laps and jumped the fence before anyone noticed me missing. I ran through the streets and pushed people who were trying to help away. I finally made it to the woods and I ran until I found the little makeshift treehouse I built awhile back. I climbed up the little ladder and into the small treehouse. It hasn't changed since I last used it and I smiled at the little space. It had another backpack with a sleeping bag and blanket stuffed in it. I packed clothes and other things in this backpack. I checked under one of the floorboards to find a stash of books I had left there a couple of years ago. I smiled at the memories that surrounded this little area. Who needed family when you had yourself and a stash of old books?

I leaned against the wall of the little house and began to read. I could always go out and find a library. I can't go to school, or they'll call Pete and tell him that they found me. If I can help it, I will not be found. What kind of parent grounds their child for speaking the truth? A bad one. A part of me just wants to scream and yell and tell the world the shit I always have to go through. But a part of me wants me to forget and move on with the thought that it doesn't matter and I'm always on my own. I wonder if that's what they call depression. A dark hole through life with a small light at the end of the tunnel, but no way to get to that light. Even if you run to it, it always moves father out of your reach. Never a way out and you have no idea how the hell you even got in it in the first place. Like torture but the only one hurting you is yourself.

I woke to the sound of shouting. I groaned quietly and fumbled for the flashlight I always keep with me. I found it and turned it on. "TYLER!" I froze and quickly turned it off, staying in the little dark corner. Maybe it's a different Tyler that ran away. Don't be stupid, they're looking for me. I quieted my breathing and just listened. "Witnesses say she ran into the woods, but they're not sure where she went. Mr. Wentz, we have to continue searching in the morning." "My little girl is out there all alone and she could be hurt. And you want to continue in the morning?" I scoffed. He doesn't fucking care. He only wants me back because it'll look bad on him in the future if his daughter ran away. "Ollie did she tell where she goes?" "No, she only told me that if they couldn't find her by next week then she is most likely out of the state." That is a fucking lie, I didn't say shit like that. I told him to not look for me and that I'd be somewhere they couldn't find.

"Maybe she found some type of shelter and is duking it out in there. I did notice some food was gone this morning and I only thought Joe had another late night movie marathon. Maybe she took some food." I rolled my eyes at his stupidity. They're really close to the treehouse, but I'm not worried because it looks like a broken down shelter. "What about this?" I heard someone tap the ladder. "It isn't habitable. It was built a couple years back by an orphanage for kids to come out and read in silence. A couple months ago it became abandoned. The orphanage said they stopped using it. It's not possible she's up there. Mr. Wentz, we need to get you home and we'll continue in the morning." She couldn't have gotten far." I heard footsteps receding and I breathed out in relief. I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes for a few more hours of sleep, I could move farther back into the woods.

I awoke the next morning to more shouts of my name. "Tyler! Come on this isn't funny." I laughed silently and looked down at the watch on my wrist. 7:25 AM. I shifted slightly and stayed away from the sight of the door. "Pete I told you to lay off her. You went way too far with this. She wasn't wrong, you fucked her mom and left the second you heard she was pregnant. Ollie is a good kid and he has a great group of people as his guardians. You crossed the line and if she ran it was because you pushed her." I sighed and brushed through my hair with a small hairbrush. "Don't you think I know that. That girl is the best thing to happen to me after the band was put together. Don't you think I regret walking away from her? The guilt ate me alive and I figured that her mother would never let me see her, so I didn't try. The call I got from that damn lawyer was the best call I ever had. Hearing my daughter is alive and I could see her was the best second chance I could get. She is so damn stubborn like her mom. I missed 14 years of her life and it'll kill me if I miss anymore."

"I try to be a good father. I did cross the line and I plan to fix it if I get to see her again. I just want her to be alive and well." I contemplated if I should say anything or if I should stay quiet. "Guys she isn't in the back of the woods. If she's in here, it's in the front." "Maybe y'all should've checked the treehouse. The officer is just lazy."