Those who Fled

Chapter Two

When 4 o'clock rolled around the following morning, I rose and completed my morning workout routine at the local gym. I arrived back home at around 6:30, giving myself some time to shower and get ready for school.

I went down to the kitchen after rinsing off and began eating an apple, pointedly ignoring the tension in the room. I could feel the weight of my sister's stare as I munched on the fruit. I was glad my parents had already left for work; I didn't want to deal with all three of them this morning.

I understand that they have my best interests at heart, however, I completely disagree with their methods. Therapy only reminded me of what I had lost and not of what I had to look forward to. James and Rose did that for me. We looked forward to new experiences with an earnest that few others understood, considering they had already encountered them in the childhood we had missed out on.

Soon enough, the silence was broken by the scraping of Audrey's chair as she rose from the table. I turned to face her, knowing already what was to come.

Which is why I was surprised when the first words out of her mouth were: "I'm sorry."

I blinked in shock, leaning back on the counter. "You're sorry?" I ask, puzzled.

She nods. "I was talking with mom and dad last night after you left the table. It just frustrates me when you try to take care of everything on your own, without letting anyone help you." she sighs. "I know that you hated therapy, but when you were there, you were depending on someone else to listen to you. It was one of the only times I ever saw you willingly try to let someone help you. Even if it didn't work."

I try to speak and let her know how much her words mean to me, and to apologize for my earlier behavior, but she shakes her head and says, "It's okay. I can see it on your face." She then checks her watch and blanches. "You've got to get going."

I nod and grab my school things, meeting Audrey by the front door. I give her a small smile as I leave the house and begin walking towards the bus stop.

As odd as it may seem, I actually enjoy school. Whether it be the fact that learning new things that I didn't like to do saved my life once before or not, the truth remains.

The bus ride to it, not so much.

"Did you hear that Steph and Blake broke up yesterday? Well, apparently he cheated on her with her ex boyfriend's friend's sisters's cousin's best friend who is honestly not even that pretty..."

"Dude, last night, I upgraded my town hall to level ten." Pause. "No, I swear! And then I was upgrading my wizard towers and my mom came in screaming about how I'm wasting my life on a computer game, and I was like 'well at least I'm not watching...'"

And then there's the fact that I sit at the back of the bus and I'm 99% sure that my bus driver speeds up when she sees a speed bump with the sole intent of pissing me off.

It's a hard-knock life...

"HEY, VANESSAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

Oh. And then there's Dom.

His sole purpose in life is to give me a heart attack (Not exaggerating; you know all about me now, or at least enough to know that sneaking up behind me and screaming as loud you can could possibly cause me to inflict serious damage on myself or someone else), and today is no different. I jump and the customary half-minute of panic ensues, immobilizing me momentarily until I am brought back by the same voice that sent me away.

"Vanessa? Christ, aren't you used to this by now?"

I groan internally. Dom is one of the three 'bad asses' of our school. He and his two friends were well known for their ability to beat the crap out of anyone, anywhere, anytime. Dom was the most easygoing of the group, and had been talking to me every day since my first day in the bus.