Shore Lines

Chapter 1: Leaving

"Fuck You!."

"What did you just say?" His fathers voice raised in tone.

"You heard me! I've had enough of you treating me like shit!"

Peter hit his glass of the counter as it crashed at his fathers feet. His father stared at him in rage. There was a deadly silence surrounding the room. Peter knew what was going to happen next, it was a lecture of yelling and calling him every name possible, then it was the beatings. He had grown accustomed to his fathers violence but wasn't ready for what was about to happen.

His father reached across the table and grabbed a hold of his wrist. With one twist he had Peter against the table crying out as his arm twisted around his back.

"Listen here. You need to quit being!..."

Peter hit his fathers stomach hard enough to send the old Army Retiree back a few steps. His father stared at him in amazement. Peter stared at his hands. Never had he ever hit back before no matter what the circumstances were, he never hit back.

"Pete...." His father said with still an astonishing tone like if he had seen his son for the first time.

Peter slammed his feet on the ground and ran out the door with tears swelling in his eyes. He was done with this. This town. Everyone in it. All the memories of it. His mother leaving it. He was done.

He ran down until he couldn't breathe. He ran to the town and sat on a bench that was smack right in the middle of the busy town shops. He loved this place, so much beauty and action, motion and happiness. Something he hadn't had much of in his life, people running around smiling and laughing all rotating in his head. Everywhere he turned there was bright lights and smiles. He envied them, every single one of them. He tried to picture himself in the middle of these families how he would look on the middle of all this happiness and motion. He couldn't. Sometimes he'd stay in that position for hours but never could he picture himself among these people. He got up, teary eyed and left the square.

He just kept walking and walking. He didn't know where he was headed he just kept pacing his feet one after another. He didn't want to return to his home. He wanted leave this shit of a town once and for all. Where would he go? What would he do? Where is his life headed ? He just had one thing set in mind. That was he was never going to return. He felt a cold breeze and the smell of ocean water. He looked up

"The Shore .." He sighed.

He looked around and couldn't see anybody. He decided for one last time he should dive in, he remembered all these memories of him coming to the shore with his family, when they were together. He began to strip his clothes off, he removed his shirt and heard a noise which sounded like a high pitched squeal. He heard it directly behind him and he turned slowly. He didn't know how he didn't see her the first time but there, sitting behind him book in hand. Was a girl.

"I-I'm sorry I-I didn't .." The stranger said her eyes trying to avoid the shirtless man.

"No No." Peter waved "I didn't notice you!"

"Thanks, I get that a lot." The girl said standing at her feet.

"I didn't mean it like that don't get gloomy on me. I meant I didn't see you sitting there. If I did I wouldn't have took my shirt off. My apologies." Peter said as he began to put his shirt back on

"I knew what you meant." The girl said in a sarcastic tone.

"I'm Peter, Senior" he held his hand out

"Jade, also a Senior." She shook Peters hand."how come I haven't seen you around school before?" She said clenching her books at her chest.

"I don't really attend this place called 'school' there's no need for it." Peter said.

"If that's how you see it." The girl tightened her grip around the books. "I actually like school a lot." She stared at the sky with stars in her eyes. Her feet being sunk in the sand. "So how come your out here?" Jade asked.

"I don't think that's any of your business little lady" Peter said noticing the girls short height.

"Hey!" The girl blushed, she didn't know why but something about this stranger felt. Comfortable.

The two talked for hours on the Shore, he was a delinquent, a nobody, someone who ran from his problems all the time, he skipped school and hated everyone around him, but this stranger, No not a stranger. Jade, was so, reliving in a way.