Moving Forward

Chapter One

My life was perfect. Everyone adored me, my looks, my grades, my money-- everything! Or at least that's what I had thought until a nasty rumor spread.

Apparently, someone saw me making out with a girl. A freaking girl.

I did no such thing. My friends should've been the ones to know. But it looks like I really didn't have any friends. They abandoned me when I turned for their support.

My family was especially furious. Spouting nonsense like I'm an embarrassment to the family and they raised me better than that. I would have agreed with them if it was anybody else, but I fell under the 'anybody' category right then. They wasted no time to kick me to the curb.

So here I am now living behind a dumpster in the alley between the barber shop and the pizza place. Nobody seemed to be willing to hire me because they were either from my school or had heard through mutual friends about me. I couldn't even walk into a store without hearing 'dyke' directed at me.

Heck, I was even forced to delete all of my social media! Everyone bullied me through there just as much as in real life.

After a week of constant verbal harassment in school, I stopped going altogether. I was still popular, though, just for a different reason.

Since I couldn't get money for food, I dug in the trash. There's always scraps. Not really something I would normally eat but you get used to it after living in the streets for a while like me. I was starving so much that I resorted to sneaking food from the grocery store. I'd walk in as if I would buy something, look around while going to an aisle without cameras, sneak food under my shirt, then leave as if I didn't find what I wanted. It worked until I noticed employees trailing after me when I entered. I stopped using that method to avoid being caught.

I had a good supply of food actually. I had my fair share of scraps along with packaged food I had stolen. With this in mind, I set to find a job outside of town.

Surprisingly there was a shop willing to hire me only because they were short staffed. Either way, a job is a job. I can finally purchase food without feeling bad about myself for stealing. The check was a reasonable amount. If I continued like this, I could rent an apartment.

My luck was broken when people from my former school walked in during my shift one day. At first, they ignored me because I was behind the cash register, but I panicked. There was nothing I could do because I was currently the only worker working the shift. As soon as the giggling teenagers brought their items to me, they recognized me when I tried to hide my face and they started calling me names. I did my best to avoid them.

What I didn't see coming was that they didn't pay for their stuff. They took the bags and walked out. Even when I tried to follow them to get the money, they got on the car and sped off, laughing all the way. There goes my paycheck.

The next day I learned I not only lost this weeks check but also my job altogether. Just what I needed.

I was forced to go back to the dirt. And this time more people ridiculed me. Word finally got around about my living conditions and everybody who saw me laughed. Laughed at the mess they made me. The life they ruined.

I had no shelter, no healthful food, no friends, no family... I had nothing. Only my dirty rags, scraps and the dumpster. I couldn't even get shelter when it rained from the pizza place close by without being judged.

That's why I simply sat beside my dumpster, legs folded to my chest, arms wrapped securely around them with my head ducked down when the storm began. There was no thunder or lightning and the rain wasn't too dense, but I was still getting wet nevertheless.

The sound of footsteps stepping on puddles kept getting nearer an hour after the rain started. Probably just another girl ready to ridicule me.

When the thought crossed my mind, I heard the footsteps walk past. So it wasn't someone coming for me. Or maybe they didn't see me. Even so, I refused to lift my head. I don't need to see to know.

The footsteps stopped abruptly, but I was too preoccupied listening to the water drops hitting the pavement beside me. It was the only thing I could entertain myself with.

I have no friends, no family, I dropped out of school, I have no shelter or food... everything I knew and owned was gone. I can't get a job because of the rumor. I feel bad every time I resort to stealing to survive. Everyone that's seen my new 'home' laugh and ridicule me. It is times like this that make me wonder if there exists any good in this world. Nobody has tried to help me. Living in the streets allowed me to see how delinquents act up. Trust me, it is not fun when they catch you and charge at you. At all.

All that's left of me is my body. My soul has long been ripped out and I doubt anybody would be able to help. Actually, I don't know if I even want somebody to save me. Now that I've experienced the cruel part of the world, why should I go back to the world of the living?

Suddenly I no longer felt the rain hitting my back. Has it stopped raining? No, I can still hear the rain hitting the pavement. Splat, splat, splat.

Slowly and hesitantly, I lift my head to see an outstretched hand in front of my face. I followed the hand to the body to who it belongs. A young teenage girl with her face covered by a scarf and her hood drawn up looked back at me. Those piercing blue eyes soft as honey.

"Let's go."

I stared at her outstretched hand with a shopping bag on her wrist and then at the one holding the umbrella over my head, preventing me from getting soaked. I blinked once... twice... thrice...

So many questions ran through my head. So many with answers I desperately want. But at the same time not. This is a trick. She is looking down on me. She is going to ridicule me.

Instead, after staring at her for a whole minute, I shakily lifted my right hand and placed it in hers. I shouldn't do this--

She pulled me to my feet and met my gaze. No darkness lurked in her icy eyes. She gently let go and took off her green scarf before wrapping it around my neck. She held a small, grim smile, then held my hand again, dragging me out of the alleyway.

Not many people were around so we easily went to whatever destination she had in mind. Her home, most likely. The whole time she made sure we were safely under her umbrella.

I don't know what is worst. Having a literal angel save me, or being deceived by a demon taking me to my demise. Either way, I don't care.

I stare at the back of her yellow raincoat and begin to wonder.

Why did she stop and reach out for me?