Run Away

Chapter 9

When Evie arrived at the Taylor's house that afternoon after school, no one was home yet. She knew she had until five to stay out, but she had decided to come straight home as there was nothing else she wanted to do and she didn't feel safe staying out in the open.

That plan backfired on her. The house was locked and Evie didn't have a key. Sandra obviously expected to beat Evie home or she was running late herself. It could have been a combination of both.

Feeling exposed out the front of the house, Evie pushed open the side gate and wandered into the backyard. The Taylor's backyard was pretty, lots of flower gardens everywhere. There was a medium sized oval pool fenced off towards the back fence.

Evie dumped her bag to the ground near the backdoor and wandered over to the pool, letting herself in through the gate. Evie took off her sneakers and socks, rolled up the cuffs of her jeans and sat down on the edge of the pool.

As she sat there, her feet dangling in the cool water, Evie studied the warped image of her ankle monitor beneath the water. A sigh escaped her lips as she wondered how things would have been different if the police hadn't caught her.

She would still be running, moving on each day, never staying too long in one place. Evie never would have had the opportunity to experience a mother's love again. The thought saddened her.

Hot tears welled in her eyes and started to run down her face, dripping off the end of her cheeks and into the pool. What had she done to deserve this life? A life of unknown and always running. A life with no family. A life without love.

Evie knew exactly what had caused her life to end up that way. At the time, nobody had known what was going to happen. There was no warning. Evie's life could have been so different, so normal, and it was all her fault.

Male laughter from inside the house brought Evie out of her thoughts. A glance towards the house, Evie saw through the back glass sliding door, Owen and Zane talking and laughing in the lounge room.

Quickly, Evie wiped her cheeks, running the tips of her fingers under her eyes, trying not to make her eyes any redder than they probably already were as she dashed away her tears. Standing up and collecting her shoes, Evie walked towards the house, collecting her bag along the way.

When she reached the back door, Evie rapped her knuckles against the glass panel, alerting the two teenaged boys to her presence. Owen looked up at the door and his wide smile suddenly vanished when he saw her. Still he stood up from his spot on the couch and unlocked the backdoor for her to enter.

"Thanks," Evie spoke quietly as she stepped inside, still unsure how to act around Owen and yet to apologise to him for her behaviour towards him the night before.

"Whatever," he mumbled only loud enough for her to hear, before he walked back over and resumed his position.

Zane however, either choosing to ignore the tension between the two or not noticing, wandered towards Evie with a welcoming smile.

"Hey, what are you doing out there?" he asked.

"Locked out," Evie murmured, just wanting to go to her room, but Zane was blocking her path.

Owen sat quietly with an agitated look on his face, watching the exchange between his friend and the girl he barely knew.

Zane nodded knowingly at her explanation, as his eyes grazed over her body, taking her in. Evie was standing there, bag slung over one shoulder, her shoes with the socks pushed into them in her other hand and the cuffs of her jeans rolled up to her knees. It was then he noticed the unfamiliar object fastened around her ankle, it took him a short minute to realise what it was, a glowing green light on top.