Anywhere But Here

Chapter One

18 years later.

Iones’ chin rested upon her palms, her green eyes scanning the boy frantically pacing back in forth with crossed arms on her phone screen. His focus was on his feet walking back in forth in a straight line while his mind was elsewhere, all sorts of mumbles passing through his thin lips.

“I hate to interrupt your odd form of exercising but what on earth are you doing?” she breathed out suppressing giggles that were forced to stay in her chest. Her fingers covered her lips as she tried not to smile while her brow arched in curiosity.

He stopped in place and let his arms fall from his chest with a loud groan, “I don’t know what to wear.”

Iones’ head fell to the side, her cheek resting to the side and her hands free from her lips, allowing her laughter to bellow out. “Stop,” he muttered looking into the camera glaring at Iones’ ecstatic frame.

“You dress better than I do Riley,” she said in between her laughter, using each word as an escape to catch her breath. “That’s because I live better than you do,” he snapped rubbing his temples with his index fingers.

Ione rolled her eyes at his outburst knowing he meant nothing behind his words, even though deep down it was true. Ever since Riley had left the shelter a year ago and moved in with his boyfriend Kyle, life began looking up for him. 

“Don’t forget where you came from,” she mumbled drowning out the ‘you’, sitting straight up on her bed and crossing her legs beneath her feet. Cupping her phone in her hand she eyed the screen watching Riley slouch across his computer chair.

“Have you thought about leaving?” Riley asked sitting up straight leaning his elbows on the desk. Ione sighed and brushed her hair behind her ear and shrugged looking away from the screen and around her shared room.

Five beds, three dressers, and a boom box were spread throughout the layout of the room; clumps of clothing and miscellaneous shoes scattered the carpet. The idea of leaving had come across her mind often growing up, now more frequently; but she was content where she was. She was used to sharing a bedroom and kitchen, living amongst strangers who stayed or came and gone.

“Ione?” Riley sang wiggling his fingers in the webcam, blurring her end of the screen, “stop day dreaming.” Ione sighed and turned back to her phone, “I’m not day dreaming.”

“Well you’re in la-la-land,” he waved his hand while twirling in his chair, “you’re of age now, you can leave.” He stopped moving in his chair and gasped, his lips making an ‘o’, “happy birthday by the way, so leaving, come here!”

Ione chuckled and shook her head, “happy birthday by the way,” she mimicked in a deep voice. Riley scowled into the camera, “I don’t sound like that.”

“Right,” she laughed looking at her nails then back to him, “you’re much more feminine than that.”  Riley grinned and gave her a thumbs’ up, “exactly,” he winked.

“You’re something,” Ione giggled, “so, how’s Kyle?”

Riley tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, “don’t change the subject, I know what you’re doing,” he pointed at the screen with his index finger, moving it up and down in a scolding manner. Ione gasped lightly and raised her right hand in defense, “I’m doing no such thing; so Kyle? I’ll assume the pacing was because of outfit choice?” she joked raising her brows with a wiggle.

“Eh,” he mumbled shaking his head from side to side in agreement while pushing out his lips, “yeah yeah.” Ione smiled in triumph at how easily she could pry Riley away from one subject and onto a different one, “I knew it, what’s the date tonight?”