Let's Run Away

Chapter 2 - Jaded

"Aubrey, you're a disappointment. I thought you'd change after high school but you've gotten worse", my father said with a straight face as if he felt no pain in breaking me down. All because I neglected the career choice he had chosen for me.

I watched him remove all the clothes from my wardrobes, the paintings in my room, my favourite books and strip my bed off of its duvets. He had put them in the clustered, webby and dark store room in the basement. My mom watched as this happened and not once did she attempt to stop him.

"Aubrey! Aubrey! Wake up dude, we've gotta go" said Noah. As I got up I felt the sweat sliding down my back. The warmth opposed the coldness my parents showed.

My parents had just left the house for work. I swept through the pile of rugs lying around my room looking for my shirt, grabbed a bag then filled it with random clothes then raced to the car.

This was my time to escape, escape the escapades of life. Liam was in the car just sitting in the backseat nonchalantly, I could tell he was high but then again he's always high, the guy was care free.

"You driving first, let's go" Noah tossed the keys to me.

As I drove I had a fear, fear of maybe my life was meant to be like this. We stopped at a fast food place just two minutes from town, Noah had planned the perfect trip and Liam and I just chose to roll with it. The decision was to drive along the coast line, just to catch a fresh breeze.

I was in it for the escape, escape from reality, and escape from all the hatred that was shown towards me. I had been thinking about hitting the road for about six years of my life but eventually I told myself fuck it.

The sound of the wind hitting the car as we drove out of the fast food joint was scary but a release of tension. Liam blacked out three minutes after we drove off and the playlist Noah had created really set the mood.

As we drove on the coast line, far, a distant away there she was. Legs were all I saw but she stood there with her arm out. She had hair covering her face, and oversized sweater and she carried a heavy, messy backpack.

Noah as the person he is, commanded me to stop, so I did. We slid the window down and she asked where we were heading. She didn't even wait for a response. She hopped in the backseat next to Liam, who was still pretty blacked out. "Emma" was the first and only word she had said and she opened a book and started reading, so we figured it may be her name.

"Aubrey, Noah and that's Liam", she took a quick glance and looked back at the book.

She read To Kill a Mockingbird. As we we drove Liam woke up. "Hey, who's the girl with the make up" he asked and she looked at him in disbelief.

"I don't use make up" she responded and her eyes went back into her book.

"I'm sorry... so you read, that's cool", she just looked at him, with a short side smile.

Beautiful, pink lips, they look soft. I felt so much attraction to her but her eyes appeared to be on Liam, every girl is wants Liam.

"That's a beautiful song" said Emma, as we heard the laid back sounds of Brent Faiyaz' Sonder Son album.

She was as beautiful as butterflies in the summer time, I am sure Shakespeare wrote a couple of poems about her because surely this much beauty is unhealthy, she was mesmerizing in all ways. I stopped at a gas station as it was time for a refill and driver change. Emma walked inside the gas station kiosk to use the bathroom.

"Who is she? And why is she with us?" Liam asked without care.

"Emma, we picked up while you were sleeping. I guess she's also taking a breather" responded Noah.

I looked at my phone to locate where we were and I saw 11 missed calls from Mom. I wrote her a text saying "I'm okay". Emma walked out with a change of outfit and her hair tied up in a messy bun. She had a camera over her shoulder and her backpack on the other shoulder. It was almost dark and we had to get going. Liam hopped in the drivers' seat and heaven I was glad to take the backseat.