Hope: The Runaway

Chapter Two

Wow! What a long first chapter!
I COMPLETELY forgot about paragraphs.. I was just bored but thank you so so much for reading! Please tell your friends about this book! My goal is thirty readers! Without further ado.. Chapter two.
Still in this basement, late at night
Well, I'm still stuck in here. When I was falling asleep, Lindsey came in and set a lamp down and plugged it into the wall. I'm glad she did that, because now I have a little bit of light to write in this notebook.
I am still a little down because Aunt Beth didn't say goodbye.. Maybe you-know-who pushed her out before she could come and say, "okay, Hope, these people are crazy.. Let's go find you a new pair of parents."
You know, I think the whole "foster home" thing is just so stupid. They don't understand how much hatred and sadness we feel after our parents leave us or die..
They think they know what we are going through, walking around with us and saying, "Oh, I understand, Hope. I understand." Well, sure you do. You have a mom or a dad or a family member still alive and you lived with your related blood you whole life until you left for college and had a great life. Sure, you TOTALLY understand what I'm going through.
Well, I hope there is a bathroom down here or something because I gotta go.
Be right back.
Nope, there isn't a bathroom. Ugh. I have to go... I'll write in the morning. Maybe in the morning I can go.
Is it morning? I don't know..
I just woke up. I had a great sleep! But my arm fell asleep when I started writing. Maybe I should tell you about my mother...
No. Not yet. It's still too early. Besides, I need this dia- er, journal.. To last awhile. When I get out of here, I can record anything I find inside this. And when I find some people who actually care about me, I can show them this, and then they would see what a terrible place I stayed and they would help Lindsey...
I still wonder about how Lindsey got to live with this hooligan. Maybe if I tell her about me running away she might come with me...
That would be nice. Running away with a parent to take care of you and see if your okay when you trip or whatever. Besides, I would look out for Lindsey. I wouldn't let you-know-who catch her. Oh yeah, and I'm still in this basement. I have the lamp on because I couldn't find the light switch.
Oh, I wish I could get out of this stupid basement. It's really gotten cold down here because at night it got really cold. Even with the blankets it's cold. I remember when my mother used to tuck me in every night and if I was scared she would tell me a story about a brave knight. I didn't even really mind if she told the same story over and over again. I just liked to listen. Wait, I think I hear someone upstairs. Hold on.
Yeah, someone's up there for sure. I'm not sure who though. Hmm.. That's odd. I heard footsteps and then they just stopped.
They just stopped and let silence trickle in.
I hope it's not the crazy guy who almost killed me. I hope it's Lindsey. Did they forget about me or something? Now that would be weird.
Someone is opening the basement door. It's... It's Lindsey. Thank God. I'll be right back. She's calling me up.
June 2nd, about 6:00 in the morning
After she called me up, I ran to her and hugged her. Hey, I needed a hug after being locked in a basement overnight.
Anyway, she told me to come with her and I followed Lindsey in the kitchen. She opened the cupboards and I looked at the microwave clock. 5:09, I said in a whisper. My voice cracked because I didn't drink any of the water she gave me yesterday. "Would you like some cereal, Hope?" She said as she took out a box of Rice Krispies cereal. "Sure." She took out a milk jug and poured the cereal in a bowl along with the milk and slid the bowl to me. She took out a cup and poured the rest of the milk jug in it. She pushed it over to me. "Drink this, Hon." I slurped it down and ate like a pig because I only had the granola bar along with the cookie last night. She started to cut up strawberries and put them in a bowl. That's when I heard creaking noises coming from upstairs. "What's that?" I cringed. She let out a small sigh. "It's uh.. Jimmy- your dad..." She awkwardly shifted in the stool she was sitting in behind the kitchen counter. Her makeup less face reminded me of my mom's face when she wasn't wearing makeup. "You always look better without makeup, mommy." I used to say. "Oh hon," she'd respond, "thank you so much. But when you get older, you need to cover up wrinkles when you go out into the world."
"Hope." Lindsey's whisper brought me out of my thoughts. Jimmy was coming down the stairs. "Be careful." She whispered. I slurped the rest of my cereal and slid it towards Lindsey. She slid the bowl of strawberries she was cutting up to me and took my cereal bowl to the sink. Jimmy scared me and slapped me on the back, really hard. "Hey, little demon." He said, wobbling in his steps. His hair was all messed up and he had bags under his eyes. He looked like he didn't have any sleep last night. "Jimmy!" Lindsey said. "Are you.. Did.. Are you drunk?" I then noticed the empty bottle in his hand. "No, baby, no. I just," he slurred the sentence as he wobbled over to the couch and plopped down. He slammed the empty bottle on the coffee table. "Where is MY BREAKFAST?!" He yelled. Tears rolled down Lindsey's cheek. "Get out and go to work." She whispered. "What?!" He yelled. More tears rolled down her cheeks and her face turned red. "I said go to work!" She yelled through her muffled voice. Her eyes sparkled with tears as she moved to him.
That's when I gasped.
Jimmy... Slapped her right across her face.
Twice.
He then stood up and wobbled to the kitchen and faced me. "I told you," he slurred as he grabbed my shirt, "this is my house." Then he slapped me across the cheek and chucked me to the floor by my shirt. "Hope!" Lindsey screamed. I cringed and curled up on the cold wood floor.
"Oh, Hope! Please!" She said, running to me and bending down to me. She softly touched my head and looked up at Jimmy with tears forming again. "What is wrong with you?" She said, her voice cracking. I felt a warm substance run down my head.
"Oh, Hope, your bleeding." She whispered. She put my head in her lap and I felt a tear run down my cheek. "Let me get a rag with warm water." She picked me up bridal-style and set me on the couch. Jimmy wobbled to the door and slammed it behind him.
I saw her face relax a little while she cleaned the rag with cold water. All I wanted to do was go home.
To my real mother.
Oh, I miss her. I wish she could hold me again in her arms and say in her sweet, sweet voice, "Hope, no one is going to get you. I wouldn't let them."
Lindsey walked over to me and cleaned my forehead with the rag. I touched her silky skirt as she wiped my face. "Hope, I'm so sorry." She whispered in my ear and kissed my forehead. She set the rag on the coffee table.
"Are you married to him?" I asked, touching her bracelet on her wrist. She cringed and shook her head "no."
"I'm not married to him. But he... He..." A tear rolled down her cheek. I wiped it off. "We need to get out of here."
She looked at me like I was crazy. "What do you mean, Hope?"
"We need to run. Really fast."
********************************************************************************Heeeyaa guys!
Like my second chapter? I know, it's a little short, and it took so long, but I'll make it up to you guys!
I couldn't believe sixteen people have already read my first chapter! I just created the book for fun, I didn't think people would read them!
A few people asked me some questions, so I will answer them.
Where do you live? ; I live in the U.S.
Are you in college? ; haha, no, I'm not in college.
How did you find out about WP? ; My friend, Nikki, told me about it after I begged her to tell me about it. She has an account, too, her user is Musicaddictforever.

Thanks guys! I will reveal my age in a few months. Quite a lot of requests for my age. That's for me to know, and you to find out!
XOXO, Carley