Chapter 1

My name is Parker Gray. To start out, I'm no one special. I don't really have any unique talents. I don't have any friends, I'm bullied at my school for not being the stereotypical girl. My parents are usually at work and when they are home I am completely ignored. They probably wouldn't even noticed if I'm gone…

But this story isn't about how all of sudden my parents notice me or how I overcome being bullied. This is the story of how I made true friends. This is the story of how I escaped.

…

I live within walking distance of my high school, mainly so my parents don't have to drive me or pick me up five days a week. This morning was the usual at my house. My parents on their cell phones and computers answering emails or talking up a storm about stuff I will never understand. "No Marge, I told you that Scott said that he talked to the boss and said it was fine." My dad had said while I filled my brown paper bag with lunch. I grabbed up my house keys from the stand by the door before walking out saying goodbye to my parents and, as usual, no response from either of them. It's frustrating when I try to talk to my parents and they don't respond. I could scream and shout and no one would hear me. I could trash the house and they wouldn't even bat an eyelash. I feel so helpless. I have tried everything to make them listen, to make them say one word, but nothing ever happens. So I gave up. They don't talk to me and I don't talk to them. All I want to do is know why. Why did they start shutting me out? Was it something I did? Did I do something wrong? I can't even ask though. Who would listen?

My worn out converse skid against the pavement as I drag my feet closer to my school. I'm just glad today is Friday. The sky is dark and cloudy, but I tend to enjoy darker, colder weather. I make it to the front gates just as the two minute bell rings. Just in time. I think to myself, No tardy slip today.

"Hey Loser, just in time." A tall boy with jet black hair marches towards me.

Thought too soon.

His name is Jim. I hate Jim. He's the reason I hate coming to school everyday and the reason everyone avoids me. I'm not like every other girl at this school. Being different can only get you so far and here, I'm the weird girl.
Jim chuckles, grabbing my backpack straps pulling me in close before throwing me down onto the pavement. "Flat Chest," He spits a wad of saliva and it lands right by my head. His followers laugh as they walk with him through the front doors. Students stroll around me avoiding my gaze, offering no help. I mumble under my breath bringing myself up to my feet just when the final bell rings to start school and the front doors lock. All the students have disappeared into classrooms and the once crowded area is silent with not a single soul around. I sigh. I will have to walk around to the entrance on the other side of the school that leads into the office so I can receive my tardy slip and go to class. I turn my head in the direction I'm supposed to go. Maybe not… I turn the opposite way, my back towards the buildings and head out.

…

I decided not to go home. My parents wouldn't be there and they won't care if I skipped school...they wouldn't notice if I skipped school. Since both my parents are so busy with their work, we're pretty rich, I guess, which means I usually can get whatever I want, but the thing is, I don't usually want things, if you saw my nearly empty room you would know. But today I feel the need to get away, I want to get away, I always have, but today is the day I will. Or at least try...again.

I enter the dealership welcomed warmly with my name said in the greeting which lifts my heart. This isn't the first time I have bought a car or tried to run away, so I am pretty well known here. I walk up to the front desk and the lady typing at the computer stops to smile welcomingly, "Good morning Parker. No school today?"

I smile sheepishly, "No not today. Staff in service."

She nods her head, "I will call for Ben yes?" I nod. She presses a delicate finger on her phone and speaks into the speaker, "Parker is here to see you." Within a minute Ben arrives and firmly shakes my hand, "Back again?" I smile. Ben is an older man in his sixties maybe. He has white hair that is slicked back and a beer belly sticking out. Today he is wearing a navy blue suit with navy blue dress pants and a black tie. "How may I help you?"

I clear my throat, "I'm looking to purchase another car."

"Another one eh?" He chuckles, "Two months ago it was a cheap white truck and now what?"

"I'm not so sure. Do you guys have any...older cars?"

Ben smirks, "Do you even need to ask?" He leads me to the very back of the lot where a tiny group of cars are parked. "Take your pick." He gestures toward them. I stalk around the area, sitting in each of the cars and asking questions. After about an hour, I exit one of the cars with a sigh. "Nothing?" Ben asks incredulously.

"Nothing." I reply simply.

"I wish I had something else to show you, but those are all the older models we have." I nod in disappointment. Ben puts a hand on my shoulder giving it a pat and we turn to head back into the main office. Just as we are walking back something catches my eye in the reflection of the windows. I turn my head back around and see a strange glint behind the dealership, barely poking out from behind the back wall.

"Hey what's that?" I say stopping. Ben turns his head around, "What? What is it?" I start to walk towards it and he follows. When I reach the very back of the lot, a rusty gray Datsun is sitting tucked in an alley between the back of the dealership and the fence dividing the dealership from the business next to it.

"Oh that old thing?" Ben says, "It's been sitting here for months."

"A Datsun!? Are you kidding?" I touch the hood of the car and rub my thumb over a strange red insignia. "How much?"

…

The Datsun is amazing. It drives smoothly, it's fast. I love it. The only problem with it is that the engine makes a weird noise and the tires are squeaky. Other than that, it's perfect. Ben and I filled out the paperwork and I handed him my debit card which is linked to my parent's account. The car was a little more than expected, but I'm sure it's fine. For the Datsun 240Z 1972 was $15,000, which kinda surprised me at first then I remembered that it was a Datsun and I probably wouldn't find another for less. I got my license about 6 months ago so legally I still need a guardian to come and sign the paperwork. Lucky for me, I have Ben to take care of that. He isn't my uncle or grandpa, but he has his ways for it to work. He has been doing this for me since I got my license.

With the click of a button on my keychain the door to my six car garage opens and I park my new car in one of the empty slots. Inside the garage are two of my own cars and the other two belong to my parents. I park my new car in one of the very last available parking spaces in the back and close up the garage. I march upstairs to my room passing by my parent's bedroom. My room is huge and the only things that fill it are a desk, a bed, and two bookshelves filled with my favorite books, comic books, and movies. I love movies and reading. I like to imagine myself as the main character and picture me running away from Jasper, Nevada; going anywhere, but here.

I start packing my backpack in attempt to run away again. I empty all my school supplies out in my closet. I shove clothes into the backpack, grab the computer charger and computer, my phone, phone charger, ipod, ipod charger, headphones, toothbrush, tooth paste, brush, deodorant, my favorite movies, books, and comic books and zip it up.

Suddenly a noise travels through the house filling the silence downstairs. The loud bang echoes again causing me to start. I lower the bag onto my mattress and grab the aluminum bat under my bed from when I tried out for softball in 5th grade. I didn't make the team.

I tip-toe out of my room into the hallway and check downstairs. The kitchen light is still on and I don't see any shadows or hear any movement. I quietly make my way down the stairs and hear another sound, only this time it sounds like glass shattering. "Crap…" The voice comes from around the corner in my father's study. I lift the bat up ready to strike before slowly peeking around the corner. My father is sitting in his office chair with a bottle of scotch on the desk. He is bending down picking up pieces of glass from the floor. I breathe a loud sigh of relief and he jumps when he hears my voice. He realizes it's just me and returns to his task. I begin walking back when a thought strikes me, He isn't supposed to be home this early. I check the time on the clock standing on my father's desk. It reads 4:30. He shouldn't be home for another two hours. I turn back around and open my mouth to ask a question, but reluctantly shut it because I know he won't answer. He never does. I shuffle backwards turning my back on him to head up to my room.
He hiccups, "I got fired today." I whip my head around eyes wide open, Is he talking to me? I turn around to check and see if anyone is behind me.
"They thought I was too...controlling, too stubborn to have anyone work with me." He places the shards of glass on the desk and drinks the scotch from the bottle. "Your mother was promoted," He slurs, "She was promoted." I can't believe he is actually talking to me! It had been years since my mother and my father has said a word to me. "That job was my life!" He slams a fist on the desk and I flinch. He holds his head in one hand massaging it. I have no comforting words to respond to him with so instead I just listen. "I'm just so...sad. I haven't felt like this is such a long time," He takes a shaky hand lifting the bottle to his lips again. He's...drunk? My parents are no party animals. Their entire lives revolve around work and nothing else. "I-I just don't know what to do…" He begins to quiver shaking his head. Then, my father completely breaks down sobbing loudly. I open my mouth to say something, something to tell him it will all be okay, but shut it again as I realize something: He may be talking to me now, but this does not mean that he is forgiven. They haven't spoken a single word to me in years. Years! It took him to get fired from that stupid job to just talk to me. Everyday I say goodbye when leaving the house and they never respond. Every night before I go to bed I tell them I love them and they never answer. And because he needs someone to vent to while he's drunk, he finally talks to me. No. I am not going to comfort you when you have ignored me for so long. I start to walk away, my foot skidding on the tile floor as I go and, suddenly, he stops breath caught in his lungs. I turn away feeling guilty and desperate for him to talk to me again, but I tell myself to keep walking and don't look back.

Just as I'm about to leave his study, I hear...laughing. My father is hunched over facing away from me with his hands on his desk quietly cackling to himself. Has he lost it? For weeks my parents have been fighting, but whenever they start I just blast music in my ears to drown the yelling. It's possible he could have been having a tough time at work too before he got fired, but how should I know? He never tells me.
He faces towards me with wet, tired eyes, "Parker…" His whisper is barely audible. My mouth gapes open, He-He said my name! I immediately push the thought aside remembering I can't let this make everything okay. But the thing is, it's not just something, it's a name- my name, and I haven't heard him- anybody- say it in so long. "Parker...Don't walk away from me like that." He begins to prowl in my direction, "You can't...," He drunkenly stumbles closer, "Abandon me like your mom just did. Leave me to get fired while she gets promoted, not even suggesting for me to stay." I have to look up to see his eyes now. I can feel his breath on my face so I step away from my father. "You can't leave me!" He slaps me across the face. It stings, I can feel the heat rising from where he hit me, but I have been dealt worse at school. What hurts more is that I am finally given attention, but not in a way I ever wanted. He hit me. My dad. My own father. He's supposed to take care of me! I guess ignoring me wasn't enough. Now instead of being shunned I'm going to be abused? He backhands me realizing how good it felt. I refuse to let myself cry in front of him. He never cared for me. He never loved me. And now...neither do I.
I straighten my back and stand my ground. I don't want him to think I'm weak and will let him do this to me. My father frowns pulling his hand back and punching me across the jaw. The force throws me to the ground and I scoot back on my elbows to stay away from him. "Where are you going?" He says menacingly. He rushes forward and kicks me in the side a grunt escaping my lips. I scramble up to my feet and rush toward the front door snatching my keys from the side table. I untangle them from my fathers with a racing heart. The clink of metal hitting wooden floor makes me freeze. I slowly turn around to see my dad's belt dangling from his hand. My heart skips a beat and in a flash he whips the buckle across my face before I can even react. The buckle cracks under my eye inches from nailing my eyeball. I sprint forward shoving him out of the way and head straight up to my room holding the side of my face. I slam the door and lock it. Snatching my bag from my bed, I sling it across my shoulder and slip on my only sweatshirt. I turn off the lights and open my window. Outside is a huge tree in the front yard. The branch closest to me is a good jump away, but I could make it. The handle to the door jiggles and I suck in a breath. A thumping noise starts slamming against the door. I look back out to the branch and back up. I reach the end of my room and release my breath. I take off in a full sprint and jump out the window. Clumsily, I catch the branch with a loud grunt. I climb down and land on the grass just in time to see my father looking out from my window. I look at him one last time before sprinting to the garage. He moves as soon as I do. I press the button on the remote that opens the garage and as soon as it opens I spot my dad in the back opening the door from inside the house. Without a second thought, I sprint towards the gray Datsun which to my benefit is parked right in front. I shove the key in the ignition and put the car in reverse. I shift the stick again driving forward leaving him and my life behind in the dust.