Lost Cause

Claire's POV

I slowly sat up and pushed the covers off of my body. Glancing around, I listened; and hearing only quiet I knew everyone was asleep. I slid off my bed and felt around, locating the light switch. I found it and flicked it on, my small room suddenly bathed in light. My clock read four o'clock in the morning.

I moved quickly; grabbing a large backpack from the closet and zipping it open on my bed. I rummaged through my dresser, grabbing some jeans and T-shirts along with undergarments. I changed into one of my pairs of jeans and my lucky blue tank top before slipping on my sneakers. I pulled open my sock drawer and found my entire life savings right where I left it- inside my old knee socks I wore back in elementary school.

I counted it out one last time and came up with the same sum as always: One thousand, one hundred, twenty-five dollars and ten cents on the dot. I put it all back in the sock and shoved that into the bag. I fingered the silver, heart-shaped locket that hung around my neck. Opening it up, I studied the picture before zipping up the luggage.

It was well worn, and a little faded. My mother and father were standing side-by side to the left of the frame, while my sisters and I all crowded around the center. My mom had short brown hair and dazzling purple eyes. I never understood how her eyes could be such a color. My father was blonde, like me; and he had blue eyes, like me. My older sister looked just like my mother, and my younger sister had brown hair and blue eyes. I was standing in the very center, only eight at the time. It had been nine years since that picture was taken…

I sighed and closed the locket before running a brush through my long hair and pulling it back in a ponytail. Over at my desk I picked up a pencil and a sheet of paper and frantically scribbled down a note:

Dear everyone,

Sorry for leaving like this. I just have to. I need to live out life to the fullest, you know? I decided I can't do that here, where I'm so sheltered. I'll call you when I find where I'm going, okay? I love you guys!

Love and kisses,

Claire xoxoxo

I picked up my pack and slung it over my shoulder as I grabbed the letter. I turned off the light and closed the door to my bedroom one last time. I walked down the cramped hallway and immediately entered the living-room-slash-kitchen area. I stuck the letter on the fridge with a magnet and turned slowly, examining my family's apartment –my home- for one last time.

I dragged myself over to the door and opened it slowly before creeping out into the dirty hall and closing the door. I walked down the stairs and through the lobby's exit, becoming immersed in a thick, smoggy smell that seemed to cover most of the city I lived in. I walked the few blocks to the train station and bought a ticket to anywhere I could afford before leaving my only home behind for good.

I briskly walked down the dock and onto the beach of yet another town I was "moving into". It had been over two years since I left my home, and I was now almost twenty years old. After I got to that first town, I just couldn't find work. I was staying out of random hotels all around the region, and I wasn't liking it. After my money started depleting faster than I could make it, I decided it was time for a bigger, more permanent move.

I found an advertisement in the paper for some farm in Mineral Town, and it was cheap. Really, really cheap. I called for it without a second thought, and here I was.

I looked around the beach, noticing a restaurant and some sort of shack next to the dock. I decided to just find my own way, as I wasn't very outgoing and didn't want to talk to anyone unless it was completely necessary. I walked up the steps at the other end of the beach and found myself in what looked like a town square. It had two roads; one to the left and one to the right.

I decided to go right. I didn't know where it would lead me, but that wasn't anything I was concerned about. It's not like it mattered if I got lost or anything; my well-being didn't mean a thing to me anymore.

I took off down the selected path, humming randomly in that warm spring morning.

Okay... I was DYING to rewrite my first fanfiction, so I am. I'm thinking I'm going to take a break from One Winter for a bit while I focus on this, but the others WILL BE FINISHED. They're just hard to write when they feel like a chore... So, stay tuned for more parts of "Lost Cause", and expect them short and numerous. lol.

NEW POLL IN MY PROFILE. And, I got a name change, if you didn't notice. I was monkeygirl82000, but now, I am Random Jelly Beans.

Review, please! :D