This Too Shall Pass

Chapter 9

I walk through the hallways, slowly, my hair a mess and tears staining my red, puffy, face. No students wander the halls, no teachers are looking for me, the lights are starting to shut off.

School ended nearly 15 minutes ago, but I skipped the bus, the only place I want to be is to be home.

I walk near to the girls restroom and run inside, slamming the door behind me. I slam my hands onto the counter and stare at myself.

I'm a wreck.

I sob and cover my face with my hands, all of a sudden my legs turn to jello and I collapse onto the floor, crying. I pull on my hair and tuck into a ball, placing my forehead on the tiles. I sit there for a while, then sit up, look up at the ceiling and scream through my teeth.

I don't know how long I've been sitting there screaming and crying before I hear the door creak open and a pair of arms wrap around me.

"It's okay, Claire, I'm here, what's wrong?" A woman with a kind voice asks.

"Amy..." I choke out, "I want daddy back, I want Signe back, I want my friends back. I don't want to be here." I sob into her shirt.

She holds me and offers me her strength, but I'm too weak to even take it.

"It's okay, Claire..."

"NO ITS NOT!" I scream and jump up, I pull the door open and start to run, no destination in mind, I just run.

All I hear is the pounding of my heartbeat playing in tune with my shoes hitting the ground, the voices in my head scream at me, and Mark, Amy and Annabelle calling out to me, it creates a metaphorical song in my mind, it wills my body to continue running, until soon Amy, Mark and Annabelle's screams die down and the pounding of my feet slows. I am outside now, a few blocks from the school. I turn onto a pathway that leads to Central Park and make my way down the grassy hill to the large stage that is there for the sole purpose of outdoor concerts. I sit behind it and pull out my phone.

I dial Signe's number and wait.

Brrrrrring....

Brrrrrring....

Brrrrrring....

You're messsge has been transferred to an automatic voice messaging system...

I sigh.

Please let pave a message after the beep...

Beeeep...

"Hey, Signe, its Claire! I just wanted to talk for a while. Call me back again soon! Love you!"

I hear Annabelle call out our little signal and I reply to it. Why, I don't know. But finally I see Annabelle round the corner to the stage side where I sit, surrounded in broken glass and dirt.

She sits next to me and doesn't say anything. She just listens as I pour out my problems.