Beauty's Not Everything - But Sometime's It Helps (Originally Called

New Life : Chapter Four

I Waited And Waited. The Clock Ticked At An Unbelievably Slow Pace. The Floorboards Creaked As I Paced Up And Down My Room. It Was 2:58am, They Were Coming Soon. I'd Packed A Few Bags Ages Ago, And Every Minute That Dawned On Me Since Then Had Been Worse That The One Before. I Crawled Back Into My Bed And Lay There For One Last Time. I Watched As Bits Of Plaster Fell From The Corner Of The Ceiling. The Icy Moonlight Was Flooding The Room, Regardless Of The Heavy Curtains Draped Across The Windows. I Guess These Were The Best Memories I Will Have Of This Place.

A Faint Knock On My Bedroom Door Filled The Uncomfortable Silence. I Dove Across The Floor And Practically Ripped It Open. My Heart Faltered As My Eyes Landed On Gemma. She Was Effortlessly Leant Against The Frame Of The Door, Twirling Her Long Brown Hair Round Her Finger. I Stared At Her Bewildered - What In The World Is She Doing Knocking On My Door At 3 In The Morning?! She Stood Up Properly And Cleared Her Throat.

"Are You Alright Now?" She Asked Hopefully. My Face Remained Motionless.

"Urm..." She Looked Around Her As I Watched.

"We're Going Chicken Shop. Wanna Come?" I Tried To Give Her A Look That Said I Wasn't Interested. She Sighed - Hmm I Think It Worked.

"I'll Just Go Th-" I Didn't Give Her Time To Finish The Sentence, I Simply Shut The Door In Her Face And Slithered Back Into The Safety Of My Bed. Talking About It Won't Help - It Never Does. I Sighed And Lay My Head On The Pillow. It Was 3:30 Now And I Was Beginning To Think This Whole Ordeal Was Just A Joke. I Mentally Kicked Myself, How Could I Be So Stupid As To Think Someone Would Actually Get Me Out Of Here. I'm Probably Delusional. I Made Myself Comfortable And Soon Fell Asleep.

*

I Woke Up Feeling Refreshed And Happy For Some Surprising Reason. I Think It Was Because The Daylight Wasn't The One To Wake Me Up Like It Normally Does Everyday. It Was Just A Natural Awakening, If You Understand What I'm Trying To Point Out. I Hadn't Even Opened My Eyes Yet, I Was Just Enjoying This Unfamiliar Feeling. Even My Bed Felt Different, It Was A Bit Softer And My Pillow Wasn't Lumpy.

THIS

WAS

WEIRD.

I Rubbed My Eyes And Opened Them.

Orange Curtains?

Carpet?

TWO Side Tables?

This Isn't My Room!

....... Okay I'm A Tad Scared Now.

I Blinked A Couple Times And Slowly Sat Up In The Bed.... Oh Hell!! I Briskly Dragged The Sheets Over My Head; Someone Was In The Room Watching Me. I Began Shaking Like I Was Cold; Fear Wasn't Even The Right Word. I Didn't Want It To Happen This Way. I Was Hoping To Be Rescued - NOT Kidnapped! And I Still Don't Know Who It Is. My Breathing Was Beginning To Get Heavier And Heavier.

"You Don't Have To Be Afraid.."

I Didn't Even Hear The Footsteps Gliding Across The Room. Small Whimpers Left My Mouth, I Couldn't Control Them.

"I Won't Hurt You.." The Voice Said. I Scrunched My Eyes Closed. Please God, NO! If This Person Was Capable Of Kidnapping Me (Call It What You Want..) Then Who Knows What Else He Might Do. A Hand Touched The Duvet. I Flinched, Then Began To Shake Again. My Heart Was Thumping So Loud In My Chest I Couldn't Hear Him Anymore. I Clutched Onto The Sheets Even Tighter And Prayed. I Prayed God Would Shield Me From Any Harm That Was About To Come My Way...

I Was Interrupted By The Duvet Being Drawn Slowly Off Me. It Was Forceful But Gentle. Loud Whimpers Exited My Mouth And I Crawled Into A Ball On The Bed. I Was Exposed. My Face Was Soaked With Sweat And Tears, My Eyelids Were Sealed Tight. What Does He Want From Me? I Slowly Looked Up At Him And Was Greeted By A Smile.

"Did You Sleep Well?" He Voice Was Deep And Rusty. I Snivelled And Crawled To The Opposite End Of The Bed And Hugged My Knees, Tight.

"Okaaaay." He Stressed. A Weight Was Put On The Other Side Of The Bed - I'm Guessing He Sat Down. I Looked Around The Room - Good, There Were No Torture Weapons.

"I Don't Blame You If Your Scared.. You Don't Even Know Anything About Me"... You Got That Right ¬¬

"My Name's Dwayne. I'm 23 Ad I Lost Everything. My Parents, My Brother.. The Girl Of My Dreams. It Was About 3 Years Ago. I Surprised All My Loved Ones With Tickets To Go On A Cruise To Antigua. They Were All So Happy - Well They Should Be, That Shit Was Expensive-" He Chuckled To Himself.

"So The Day Finally Came & We Were All Packed And Ready To Go. I Remember Taking A Train To The Harbor. We Were Cracking Jokes And Having A Good Time. I Was Cuddling My Soon-To-Be-Wife And Telling Her How Much I Loved Her. Little Did I Know It Would Be Our Last Moment Together. Once We Got There They All Rushed Onto The Ship, Leaving Me To Carry All The Luggage. I Went Back To Get The Last Of It And Ran To The Stairs. I Stopped To Tie Up My Laces..." Sobs Of Pain Seered Through The Air.

"I Wish I'd Just Waited Until I Got On The Ship. At Least I'd Be With Them Now" He Wailed. I Turned Round And Looked At Him. His Back Was Facing Me And He Had His Head In His Hands. I Don't Know What Came Over Me But I Walked Round The Bed And Sat Next To Him. I Rubbed His Back And He Sniffed And Continued The Story.

"The Ship Blew Up Before My Eyes. It Was Just One. Big. Bang. I Remember Me Yelling And Trying To Jump Into The Water To Rescue Them But Someone Kept Pulling Me Back" He Rubbed His Forehead.

"They Claimed It Was Something To Do With The Exhausts.." It Was Silent After That.

...

"FOUR FUNERALS IN ONE WEEK!" He Spat.

"I'm Sorry.." I Croaked. He Nodded - I Guess He Was Used To People Saying That.

"A Few Month's Ago I Said To Myself, I'm Tired Of Being Lonely - I'm Tired Of Being Upset. I Want A Friend, I Good Friend"

"What Happened To The Friends You Had Before?" I Asked.

"They Were Tired Of Me Mourning And Being Depressed All The Time, Eventually I Never Saw Them Again" He Stared Out The Window, Tears Were Rolling Down His Cheek. It Was Such A Resemblance To When Rain Hits A Window And Trickles Down It.

"I Was Going To Adopt Like A 5 Year Or Something. Then I Saw You And I Knew You Were The One." I Made A Face.

"Nah Nah, Not Like That.. No One Can Replace Cherice. Just Someone I Can Look After And Help Me Put The Whole Situation At The Back Of My Mind. I Need Someone To Talk To. I'm Tired Of Hearing 'I Know How You Feel' When They Really Don't. I Wanna Hear It From Someone Who Truly Had; Get Me?" He Looked At Me. I Nodded And Smiled Weakly. I Watched And He Wiped His Face And Jumped Up.

"So You Hungry?" He Grinned. I Nodded And Stood Up. He Led Me Out The Room & To The Kitchen.

I Have A Good Feeling About Dwayne...

**