A Place To Call Home

Chapter 1: Memories

"Daddy. What's happening? W-Why does he have a gun?" I stuttered. My father and I were hiding behind a shelf in the small convenience store. Just two minutes ago, we were shopping normally, picking up some essentials for our family. Now a man with a large bag, ski mask, and gun had barged in. He was demanding the store clerk to put money into the sack. A man nearer to the masked man stood there in complete shock at the scene before him. As the clerk hurriedly put the stores earnings in the bag, he man turned toward the other male before him and said, "Move away or I'll shoot you." His voice was muffled by the mask but his directions were clear. The man didn't move, glued in place by his fright.
"I said move!" The man shouted this time, making the other male cringe. He moved too slowly for the mans liking because he pointed his gun right at the mans chest and pulled the trigger twice. The loud booms echoed through the tiny store. The noise made me scared out of my mind. My dad brought me close to him. He was shaking.
The man fell to the ground, making a large thumping noise. I could see through the cracks of the shelves and what I saw almost made me gag. Two holes were present in the mans chest, one directly in his heart and the other near his right lung. Blood pooled around the body. Crimson red and thick. I felt my eyes water and I stuck my face into my dad's shirt. Footsteps sounded and they were coming in our direction. As they drew nearer, the more I sobbed. I looked up and saw the masked man. He was wearing all black with heavy boots. He had his gun in his right hand and he was swinging it around loosely. He was looking down at us. My heart was beating out of my chest. I didn't know what to think. I was so scared. My mind raced with thoughts.
The man raised his gun and aimed at me. I looked in terror at what was happening. He was going to kill me. I knew I wasn't getting out of there alive. But my father did something. He was always brave. He loved me. He would do anything for me. That's why he took the bullet for me. He jumped right in front of the man, shielding me. "Daddy! No!" But it was too late. I saw the movement of the gun mans finger pull back and I heard a crack. My dad stumbled back and revealed the wound the bullet caused. It had gone into his forehead. He crumpled to the ground. Crimson liquid poured from the wound and seeped down his forehead. I looked at my dad. And tears started flowing. Once again, the gun was pointed at me. But it wasn't for long. The clerk called the cops while the robber was distracted by us. I saw them take the hands of the murderer who killed my father and cuff them. Anger, sorrow, and relieve filled my body. I couldn't cope with the emotions. I screamed."

My eyes shot open. I started breathing heavily until I realized I had dreamed it. I sat up in my bed and covered my face. I sobbed. I hadn't had that dream for months now. "Am I always going to be haunted by this memory?" I thought to myself. My fathers death was almost five years ago yet I felt like it happened yesterday. I try to hard to forget the tragic event and work on focusing on the present but that memory is holding me back. Once I calmed myself down, I laid back onto my pillow, which was soaked from my tears, and attempted to fall into another slumber but I was too worked up over the dream. I looked at my clock. It read "12:46 am". I decided I would go out for a walk to cool down and relax. I did my best thinking while walking. I swiftly put on my jacket, for I didn't own a winter coat. I stepped outside into the cold air of November. As soon as the cold hit my face, I shivered. But I was okay with it. I liked the cold weather.
I looked back at the apartment building my mom and I lived in. It was small and only two stories tall. We had the smallest space. It was all we could afford on my moms salary.
My dad brought in most of the money. But he was gone now.
So my mom had to scrape up every penny she could find. We needed all the money we could get. I would gladly work for my moms sake but I was too young to get hired anywhere. No business would hire a 14 year old to work for them. It's against the law. I do some after school jobs for money like babysitting, washing cars, and shoveling snow in the winter. But those jobs never pay a lot.
I was so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn't realized I walked about two miles away from my apartment. I started back to the apartment. I would have walked farther but my fingers and ears were numb from the freezing temperatures.
It felt good to climb back into my bed. I had finally cleared my mind. I was feeling a lot better than before. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell into a deep sleep.

(A/N) Hey guys. This is my first story here on Wattpad. I really hope you guys enjoy this story. It's going to get a lot more exciting in the next chapter. Criticism is always appreciated. Thanks!
~Rachel <3