Nothing seems like what I thought it was.
Without saying a word, I walk past them in the doorway. Grabbing my phone and car keys from my room, I race down the stairs and leave.
I don’t know where I’m going.
All I know is, I can’t breathe in this house.
The walls seem to be closing on me and the ground shaking.
It’s the people, not the house that’s making my heart pound.
I need an escape.
Pressing hard on the brakes, I stop my car. I reach over and check the compartment. Two cigarette packs sit there untouched. Ever since I said those words to Rose, I haven’t smoked.
The urge to light up one and forget makes my fingers tremble.
Rose won’t know it if I smoke right now.
However, I’ll be betraying her trust. That’s the one thing I can’t ever do. I can’t let her down or lie to her.
I don’t want to be like her shitty parents.
On instinct, my hand moves back and I close the compartment.
If only I could see her right now.
15
HOPE
My phone vibratesbeside my head, waking me up from a deep sleep.
I rub my eyes and pick it up.
What I see makes me sit up.
Heath is calling me in the middle of the night. Something he’s never done before.
I listen closely at the quietness that clings to the darkness in the house. Mom and Dad are sleeping downstairs in their room. Things seem to be okay between them, like the weekend or the fights they’ve had never happened. How my parents sweep the mess under the rug and go on with their lives surprises me. They don’t talk, but when they do, a fight happens and Mom gets hurt and later she forgives him. The cycle repeats itself everyday, confusing me.
The call ends, and I curse myself for not picking it up.
My eyes waver to the door. I don’t think my parents are up and standing outside my door right now. If they were I’d know. The creaky floorboards give them away.
I dial Heath’s number and press the phone to my ear.
The erratic, little heartbeats echo in my ear.
I’ve never talked to him over phone before.
“Rose,” his voice crisp and low pours heat into me.
Just my name. He only speaks my name and I melt like ice under sun.
“Heath,” I whisper, my voice all shaky and breathy.
Where is all the oxygen in the room?
