I placed my last full box on the ground beside all of the others and looked around the cluttered lounge wondering where to start.
I sat on my mattress which was positioned in the middle of the room and sprawled across it, letting out a loud sigh as I looked up towards the roof.
I'd felt alone my entire life, even though I had spent most of it around my family and a handful of friends. I barely spent time to myself, but now that I finally was, I felt more alone and miserable than I ever had.
I sat up again, dismissing my negative thoughts and unfolded the closest box to me. It was filled with a few valuable possessions wrapped in clothes and some photos of my family which I had left behind in Western Australia.
I picked up the family photo, which was protected by a black picture frame. My Mum, dad and older brother's smiling faces beamed up at me. I groaned, and placed the photo face down on the ground so I didn't have to see them. The guilt from me leaving was starting to surface, and it was the last thing I wanted to think about when I had so much to organize and so much to unpack for my new home in Sydney.
I moved to the second box and found my small amount of cutlery and chinaware. I picked up the box and carried it into the kitchen to start unpacking it.
The evening light was beginning to dim the room, and after the second box I decided to call it quits for the day.
I shuffled back to my mattress, and picked up my blanket and pillow from the dining room floor on the way. I placed the blanket over the bed gently and soothed it out, patting the crinkles in the soft fabric in the process.
"You've got your work cut out for you here, Ally" I said aloud as I scanned around the room again.
I put my phone on charge beside me and climbed into bed after slipping into some loose clothing I had found in one of the first boxes.
The evening sky was soon turning from sunset shades to a dark blue colour. I didn't have curtains or blinds set up yet, so the light from the street was filling the room with no barrier. I felt slightly uncomfortable sleeping where the whole street could see, but made a promise to myself to put up something first thing in the morning.
I tried to sleep, but couldn't quite get there. I tossed and turned for hours, my own thoughts keeping me awake. The house kept making unusual noises, too. Creeks in places that shouldn't creek, tapping noises coming from nowhere, and dripping tap noises when there were no dripping taps. I didn't think about it too much, I had too much on my mind as it was. I thought about how mum and dad would feel when they found my note, telling them I had left. I wondered who my brother would make fun of without me there, and who he would talk to when he was having girlfriend trouble. I thought about my ex boyfriend who had been a big part of the reason I had left in the first place, and how he would react when he found out I had done a runner. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't care, he was a douche bag and showed his love in all the wrong ways.
I traced the bare skin on my left arm with my index finger and pushed down on a spot where he had left a bruise from when we had our final argument. I groaned in pain, and rolled onto my stomach. The room was almost pitch black now. The only source of light came from the street lights outside and not even they let off much brightness.
I thought about Derek again, and how our entire relationship had been shit. It started off okay, he was really sweet. However he changed after a while. He started standing me up, not texting me back. He cheated on me then hit me when I got mad, as if the whole situation had been my fault.
He threatened me and my family in the end, which made me too terrified to stay. I had to leave, I had to get out of there or people would suffer. So, I ran away, and here I was now. Stranded in Sydney with no contacts, friends or family. I had $100 in my pocket after paying my first months rent, and only 30 days to find a job or I'd be living in my car for a while.
