The Chasers

Chapter One

 SPECIAL THANKS TO MY AWESOME EDITOR:         @SALLIEN999          

                              I pressed it against my palm tightly. When I opened my fist, the shape of the silver snowflake had been imprinted onto my skin. I took one last look at the charm and slipped it back onto its chain. It was Mom's Christmas gift to me; a beautiful necklace with my name engraved on the back of the charm. Sighing, I shoved it under my bed and listened as it hit the wall.

                               My stuffed backpack leaned against the closet door. I'd filled it with my clothes, a few granola bars and a couple hundred dollars tucked into the inner pocket. I would have slipped the necklace in my bag as well, but Zachary had warned me not to. I pulled out the crumpled piece of paper from my jeans pocket. The ink was faded, for I had been reading and re-reading it for the past couple hours. In his perfectly messy handwriting he had written;

                               Don't take your phone, pictures, journal or camera. Leave behind anything that might trigger a memory. You can't move forward if your heart is in the past. Trust me on this one, Scarlett. See you tomorrow. -Zach

                                    He was right, it was time to let go. I said yes to his offer in a heartbeat, knowing all the happiness it would bring me. But it was beneficial to me, only me. What about Dani? What about my family? What about the people who actually loved me?

                               I could just imagine my parents faces the next day. It crushed me into little, tiny pieces.

                                "Impossible!" they would scream, "Why in the world would she leave us like that?" They would be so clueless.

                               It's normal for a teenage girl to keep her emotions bottled up inside her, never to be released to her parents, friends or family. But when everything starts to weigh you down and the pile starts to add up, things start to get ugly. Telling them everything would mean drama and tears, but trying to contain everything would be bordering insanity. I didn't know who to turn to, until that one day. The day Zachary walked into my life, giving it meaning and giving me hope. He didn't try to pry me open with his questions but instead, gave me time to heal. I'd never thought about running away, but I knew I could trust him. I told him everything and he understood all of it, unlike my family and friends. Ironically, they were the ones in denial. They didn't think I had a problem, but I knew I did.

                                  As I pulled up my sleeves, I knew that I had to leave. It wasn't an option, it was a must.

                               My fingertips traced the barely fading scars on my wrists. I knew by heart exactly when each scar was made, the dates were burned into the back of my mind. As I worked my way up my arm, I could feel my pulse speed up and the ringing in my ears grow louder. I know, gross, right? I mean, just talking about self-harm or any type of mental disorder to anyone caused a series of eye-rolls and an invisible 'attention whore' label to be tacked onto my head.

                               What drove me to cut? Even though it would be so easy for me to give the blame to my parents, Dani, this stupid town or even the kids at school, I knew it was myself. It was self-hatred that wanted blood. I despised myself, more than anybody could ever hate me. I couldn't believe I was who I was. I didn't want to believe it. Cutting was a temporary solution for my permanent problem. For those few minutes, razor pressed against my skin, I lost myself in the pain. With each cut, I drew more blood and dug deeper. The more it hurt, the better.