Finding my way

A rocky start

It's not even morning when I wake up. I feel my bedroom light burn through my eyelids. I jolt upright. My wicked parental guardian of a mother storms over to my bed. She is sober now. With a harsh jerk, she throws me out of my bed and begins to slap my head. I throw my hands over myself. 

"YOU WILL NEVER SAY WHAT YOU SAID TO ME EVER AGAIN IN YOUR LIFETIME!" She continues to slap me. She's able to get to my face. She smacks my right cheek. My face stings. " AFTER I LEAVE I WILL NEVER SPEAK TO YOU AGAIN!" 

I grab her hands and pull myself up to stand. I look her straight into the eyes. " It's funny how you think I care." Her hands wriggle out from beneath my grip. I feel a hot pain on the right side of my face. My ears are ringing. I stumble back onto my bed, retreating under the blankets. I can hear her throwing things around, some things shattering, some hitting the walls. I hear my dads footsteps. He's now in my room. My mom is yelling at him, hitting him as well. I block them out. After about five minutes, I hear a muffled fighting coming from downstairs. I pull the blankets off of me. I quickly put on some blue jean shorts and an old, tattered Led Zepplin concert tee. I grab my bag from off the desk chair, slide on some sandals and head downstairs. 

" I refuse to leave!" My mother shouts from in the kitchen. " I've done nothing but provide for this family and I'm not about to be kicked to the curb because you assume I'm cheating!" 

" You are cheating, Linda!" My dad shouts back. " I caught you in bed with our old neighbor Mark! Why do you think we moved?"  

My mom shouts something in return that I can't quite make out. I tip toe over to the front door, quietly unlocking it and stepping out onto the front porch. From there I make a mad dash to my car , start it, and speed out of the neighborhood. I drive for forty- five minutes into the more rural area of town. I put my car in park in an empty parking lot that goes to a city park. I step out of my car, locking it behind me. It's only around three A.M.  I think of things to do before I go to work at seven. Not much comes to thought. I prop myself on the hood of the car and look out at the lake that goes on for miles. The fog dances around over the water in an eerily way. It draws me forward. I walk out onto the pier that extends about sixteen feet out. I walk to the edge and sit. I take my sandals off and place them beside me. I slash my feet in the water, fog twirling all around me. After sitting for a few minutes, I hear gravel crunching under tires from behind me. I turn around to make sure my car was still there. It was, but next to it was a Citroen Visa. It was a hunk of junk, but it had more character than my own. It was probably full of stoners, just getting away so they can munch away in peace. I turn back around and stare into the water. I pull my legs back onto the dock and sit indian style. I pull my phone out of my bag and check to see if I have any messages or anything. four missed calls. All from dad. I'll get back to him later. I stand up and walk over to a nearby picnic table. I sit on the actual table part and let my feet rest on the rotting wooden bench. Over to my left I hear a car door slam shut. I look over. A tall, single figure makes way over to my picnic table. I discretely reach into my bag and grab my pepper spray that is attached to my car keys. 

" Hi there!" The figure says brightly as if the time of day was no issue. " You're the first form of human life I've seen out this early in a while. As the figure gets closer, I can make out his features. Long neck, slender face, cocoa brown hair, ice blue eyes.  

I clear my throat. " Well, uhm, I usually never drive this far out,  I just needed to get away." 

He sits down next to me. " Oh I completely understand. I come out here to watch the sunrise when I'm feeling troubled." He looks over at me and smiles. "It really helps."  

I smile back. His personality is suprisingly calming. " Well I guess the drive is worth it then." 

He shrugs. " What town do you live in?" 

" Bend."  

" No way! I live in Bend also! How crazy!"   

I laugh nervously. " Uh, yeah, crazy." I clear my throat again. " what highschool did you go to?" 

" Mountain View."  he says excitedly. " I graduated two years ago." 

I nod in understanding. " I go to Summit. Not as exciting as Mountain View." 

He laughs. " I must've ran into you at some point! I mean Bend isn't exactly huge, so I mean it's possible." 

" Well I work at the Bargain Mart, so if that helps."  I turn on my phone and check my messages. Two unread. 

" Looks like I'm going to have to go there more often!" He jokes.  

I shrug. " I never got your name." 

"Oh, right!" He chuckles. " I'm Nathaniel."

" Ellie." I say. " Your name is pretty interesting." 

"So is yours." He says. " What made you come out here anyways?"

" Family problems." I say shortly. "You?"

" I just like to watch the sun rise." 

I look over at him. " You said you come out here when you have troubles." 

He laughs. " Well yeah, but I also really like nature!"

I roll my eyes. I check the time on my phone. Three fifty-seven. " Well, I really should be going." I say as I get up. 

He gets up also. " But aren't you going to watch the sunrise?"  

" I have to get to work."  

"At four in the morning?" He asks skeptically.

" Well I have to go back home first." As if it's any of his business.

He grabs my hand and places it in his. " Well, Ellie from Bend, It was lovely meeting you and I definitely will be running into you again." He bends down and kisses the top of my hand. 

I politely pull away and walk over to my car. What.The. Hell. I speed out of the parking lot and make a mad dash for the city limit of Bend.