The Willow Tree

Chapter 2

I woke up early the next day. Earlier than I usually did, judging by the footsteps I could hear above me. I didn’t fancy confronting my Father this morning, or any morning for that matter. He was worse on the mornings and he wasn’t exactly nice to begin with, so you can imagine how that would go.

I quietly got out of my bed, throwing on some clothes and a pair of trainers and grabbing my phone that was sat on my bedside table. I quickly ran down the stairs and out of the house, hoping he wouldn’t hear me. He didn’t. When I got out of the house I didn’t stop running, I kept going. Music blasting in my ears, the wind in my hair, the feeling of freedom.

That was the only up side on living in the middle of nowhere. There were hundreds of fields I could just run through and not a person in sight to see me.  My Father didn’t really have a problem with me leaving the house to go outside, he was only insistent when it came to our own garden, which made things very odd. Surely I was more likely to get hurt if I was out and about in the middle of nowhere.

I came to a clearing in a forest not too far away from my house and sat down by the little stream that was running through the clearing. I knelt down, splashing the cool water on my face, catching my breath. I checked my phone. It was after eight meaning that my Father would have gone to work by now so I should be safe. I headed back and was home in a few minutes, where I saw someone sat on my doorstep.

Hearing my heavy breathing he looked up and smiled.

‘Hey,’ Jake said looking at me. ‘You said to come round anytime after eight.’

‘Yeah,’ I quickly replied still trying to catch my breath. ‘I didn’t realise you would be up this early.’

‘Is this a bad time,’ he said awkwardly, running a hand through his hair, ‘because I can come back later if you want.’

‘I don’t mind,’ I replied blushing, suddenly realising what a state I must look.

‘Are you sure because I can go home and then…’

‘It’s fine,’ I insisted cutting off his rambling and opening the front door, which my Father hadn’t bothered to lock.

‘Help yourself to a drink if you want, I’ll be a few minutes,’ I told him, blushing once more.

I watched him as he walked into the kitchen and sat down before I quickly ran upstairs, showering and getting changed in what must be record time.  Five minutes later I walked back into the kitchen, freshly washed and clothed, with a towel in my hands as I dried my hair.

‘So?’ I said, more as a question than anything else, as I sat down opposite the boy who may as well be a stranger to me.

‘So.’ He replied, with a slight smirk on his face as he looked at me. ‘You like to run?’

‘Sort of,’ I replied. The truth was I hated running, it made me feel sick and slightly light headed. What I really liked was the feeling of freedom that it brought with it, and that was definitely worth the pain.

‘Ok,’ he answered sounding unsure. ‘Then tell me what you do like, tell me about you.’

‘You sound like a teacher talking to a new student,’ I tried not to laugh.

‘I’m just trying to be friendly,’ he shrugged as he spoke, before turning back and staring at me waiting for my response.

‘Fine.’ I said trying to think about what to say. ‘What do you want to know?’

‘Anything,’ he replied, his face matching mine as we both sat in concentration. ‘What’s your middle name? Do you have any pets? When’s your birthday? What did you have for breakfast?’