The Escape
I do not own Twilight. Unfortunately.
The sun beat down on my neck as, my feet scurried along the black tarmac, my mind wandered over the events that led to my actions. I came to a stop at a train station, I needed to get as far away from this place as possible. People walked past, oblivious to the pain I was suffering. I neared the ticket office, and the women who sat behind the glass; a squat lady with frizzy grey hair, her eyes, a deep blue colour; the colour of the ocean eyed me suspiciously. "One, to London please." I tried to make my voice as quiet as possible, just loud enough for her to hear. I handed the money over and waited impatiently for the ticket to be printed, my toe tapping to the beat of the background music. I snatched the ticket from the women and hurried to find a seat on the train that had just pulled into the station.
The train was almost empty, relief flooded through me, I was going to make it. I was going to escape this hell hole of a life. I shifted so that my back was faced to the window, not daring to look out, in case I saw something; or someone. The train started to move, so I settled down to a long trip to my new home. The beautiful London. The man opposite me was staring at me intently, I felt slightly nervous as, he took in my appearance and the big, travelling bag that lay on the seat next to me. I pulled out my Ipod from the pouch in the front of my bag, and stuffed the earplugs in my ears, that man was definitely creepy. His black eyes never left me. I slyly looked him up and down, he was wearing denim jeans, that looked like they needed a wash, a white t-shirt that was dirty and a florescent jacket. Maybe, he worked as a builder or workman. I was contemplating his clothing, and didn't realise that we had stopped. My heart started to beat, it felt like it was going to break through my ribs. Something was moving outside, I pulled my hood on my jacket over my head, and tried to blend in to the seat. To my utter relief, the train started moving again. After, what seemed like hours, the train pulled into Marylebone Railway station, I heaved my bag, that was full of my worldly possessions, from the seat and made my way to the exit. I headed out of the station and came face to face with towering buildings, shops, cafés, every shop imaginable was at my fingertips. I figured I should go and try and find a bed and breakfast to stay at, before I started my new life. I set out confidently, knowing there was no point worrying. Yet.
I was in deep trouble. The night was drawing closer, the moon appeared in the sky and I didn't no what to do. Every bed and breakfast I had been to was full, "no vacancies" hung in the windows. As my panic increased, I noticed a lot of people settling down in shop doors. An idea stuck me, I wandered the streets until I found a spare door, in a deserted street. I pulled a blanket from my bag and settled down to my first night on the streets. My brain worked overtime, it just wouldn't't shut down and let me get some sleep. I couldn't relax, every person that walked past could be out to get me. The night slowly turned to day, without an ounce of sleep. The day was spent wandering around the city, trying to find a place to stay. Not one room was available.
The next few days passed in a blur, I spent my time hiding in the safety of shops and washing in public toilets, I dreaded the time when they had to close, then walking around to look for a concrete bed for the night. This night, seemed to drag on longer than the rest, I couldn't't remember the day, I walked around in a zombie-like state, not caring about the disgusted looks people gave me. It was at night that my senses heightened, I hardly got any sleep these last few days. At night the monsters from my nightmares seemed even more real, lurking in the shadows waiting to take me, I wasn't going to give in to the fear. I had to prove to myself that I could survive. This night felt different, a cold chill in the air made the night seem creepy.
A man walked past me, but backtracked when he saw me. I froze against the cold door. He wouldn't't hurt me. Would he? I searched frantically for my voice, to scream if necessary. There was nobody about, my eyes drifted from his shoes to his face, he was big; all muscle, I would never be able to beat him. Before, I could decide what to do, he spoke, "What's your name?" His question took me off guard, this is not what I had expected. "Bella" I stammered. He smiled, he seemed like a nice enough person. "Hello, Bella. My name is Emmett. Why are you sleeping in a doorway?" What was wrong with this guy, didn't he see the hundreds of people living on the streets, homeless. I was no different. "What's it got to do with you?" He turned to walk away, and my last hope of finding a place to stay was vanishing with him. I shouted for him to wait, my survival instincts kicked in; the overwhelming desire to trust this stranger only increased, when he turned his golden eyes on me. They were full of kindness. He offered me his hand, I took it subconsciously. I was mesmerised by his beauty. He lead me out of the damp alley.
As we walked, I noticed that the lights and the squeals of excited children as they gazed into shop windows. Huge banners hung in the glass, "10 days to go". Christmas. That explained the crowded streets. This fact, send a wave of anger through me, I had never had a proper Christmas. In my opinion, Christmas is just an excuse for people to go out and get drunk, maybe I'd feel differently if I had a real family to share the holiday with. As, we headed into the crowd, I found my voice and asked him where we were going. "We are going to go to my families house, they won't mind you staying." My stomach was doing somersaults. "I don't even know you, how do I know I can trust you?" He flashed a smile, "You don't but, my house sure beats someone's doorway." His smile dissolved all my fears, he reminded me of my older brother; apart from Emmett wanted to help me. Tears sprang to my eyes as I remembered the torture I had to endure at the hands of them. My family. As crazy as it sounds, I missed them; this was probably due to the years of abuse; shouting, screaming filled my head, the need for them to love me was unbearable. Nobody wanted me that's what my mother said, she said that I was lucky that they kept me. I didn't feel very lucky, but I didn't question them. I was pulled out of my thoughts, when Emmett came to a stop near his car. Wow, I knew enough about cars to realise that it was expensive. It was huge, it looked like a monster compared to the other cars parked beside it.
I was so exhausted, a week of hardly any sleep finally caught up with me. I didn't even protest when he picked me up and lifted me into the passenger seat. By the time, he climbed into the car, I was struggling to keep my eyes open and the soft leather seats didn't help. I knew I should try and stay awake, but I had such a long day; my mind kept replaying the events that led to this, I had no idea where I was going, before I could contemplate my future, my eyes closed and I escaped into a different world.