•Running Forever•

Chapter 5. Fifth Step.

"Daddy. Daddy. I'm sorry!"

He always hurt me,

I would go to school with bruises under my clothes.

I was the reason Mommy died, He hated me.

And he'll never go away.

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Something wet was slurping at my cheeks.

Puppy breath, how foul. ...Puppy?

"Ugguh~?" A weight was on my chest, making breathing hard.

My head was resting on something soft, a pillow?

Where was I?

My eyes fluttered open.

Lights spun, forming a ceiling above me.

A shadow moved over the light, it breathed against my face then licked my nose.

I threw my hands up to protect myself, and they grabbed onto the furry creature preparing to eat my

face. It was a small white dog, staring at me with curious black eyes, it snorted and tilted it's head.

"Nice, doggy?" It was standing on my stomach, paws on my chest as it invaded my space by shoving it's nose against my face. It's stub of a tail began to beat me.

Gingerly, I lifted the dog off my lap and rested him in front of me as I sat up.

The two of us were on a couch, the leather groaned and squeeshed as I moved, a soft pillow lay where I had been resting my head.

I don't remember falling asleep here.

I got my bearings as I looked around the room. A coffee table, a few chairs and a television. WhiteDog leapt down and took off, his claws tic-tacing on the wood floors as he ran.

"What is it? Is she awake?" 

A distant voice made my head turn, the room seperated off towards what appeared to be a small dining room, linked to that was kitchen.

I could see Char's face through a large opening in the wall.

He was staring down at something, smiling.

WhiteDog had gone to tattle. His master's eyes swung up and landed on my face, peeking over the couch at him.

"Glad to see you're up." He beamed, waltzing out of the kitchen over to me. The skip in his step almost forced a smile out of me, almost.

"Where am I?"

He tilted his head just like his dog.

"You don't remember?" He sighed, shoulders moving in a small shrug.

"I guess I can't blame you, you were a little out of it when I brought you here yesterday. You were so cold. . . . . . We came here and you switched out of your wet clothes and crashed on the couch. Haven't moved till now." He nodded, finishing his explaination by flashing a smile.

"I'm making pancakes, want some?"

I couldn't say no to that, my eyes must have brightened incredibly and my head bobbed in a quick nod. I hadn't noticed the delicious smell of cooking food wafting into the room, Char and his smile must have brought it along. But it was too easy to see now, making my stomach feel twice as hollow.

Char laughed and went back to the kitchen. I stayed on the couch for a moment, coddling my aching stomach. It didn't take long me long to realize the clothes on me weren't actually mine. The shirt I had on was twice my size, it was black with the BatMan symbol on it. Along with that, I had on comfy gray sweat pants that went past my bare feet. I tied the string tight so they wouldn't fall, now the clothes felt like plain pajamas.

No big deal, I didn't carry clothes with me anyway. I just bought them when I needed to switch.

But whereever I bought them, I would have to leave right away.

He tracked me...

"So what do you like on your pancakes?"

I was straddled across a chair in the kitchen, watching Char's back as he worked over the oven on our breakfast.

The kitchen was small, but bright and cheerful. The walls were a baby blue, and the cupboards and cabnits were white. It was clean, the way mom had kept our kitchen. It surprised me that a single boy could keep his place so tidy.

"Just maple syrup." I replied, hearing a smile in my voice. I ruffled my messy hair, the split ends rustled along my lower back. I really needed a haircut.

He gave an Okay before growing quiet  as he focused on the food. His light brown hair was also a mess on his head, sticking up at all ends, most girls would find this bedhead cute...I was one of them.

He had on a chocolate colored shirt, his flannel jammie pants were covered with Looney Toons characters. 19 year old?

"He got a name?" WhiteDog was in the corner, almost blending in with the white tile. He was sitting on his haunches, observing us with quizzical button eyes.

"Hm?" Charles turned, following my gaze to the dog.

"Oh! That's Slider." He chuckled, Slider stood up as his name was spoken, padding across the kitchen to wait at Char's feet.

"Slider?" I echoed, my nose wrinkled in confusion.

"Yeah, you know. K.K Slider, from that one Nintendo game. Ever played it?" His voice was flat, like he had given this explaination for his pet's name one too many times.

I shook my head.

Char sighed, I swore Slider did too.

"Maybe we can play it sometime." He offered with a hopeful smile. I squeezed a small smirk back at him.

Sometime? He expected me to stick around?

No, I couldn't possibly....

"Tah-Dah!" He presented me with a plate of steaming pancakes, smothered in sweet smelling syrup.

Well, maybe just for now.