How did I end up here? The car seat was buckled up nice and tight as we hit I-79, passing Summer Hill, verging closer to our destination. The destination: my new home alongside the new parent, Ms. Anderson.
She had just adopted me two days ago, signing almost five large stacks of legal rights papers, finally being able to take me in. But I never wanted her...I just wanted things to stay the same as they were a year ago. Back when everything was simple.
"Now get some sleep Chaya," Dad said through the cracks of the door. My room was pitch black with only a silver lining from the door as a night light. I curled up in bed and closed my eyes. That day, we had just got back from a fishing trip in Lake Erie and had come home to Youngstown, Ohio. As I drifted off into slumber, thoughts of what type of fish wee there in Lake Erie seeped into all corners of my mind. Were there trout? No maybe it was-
Suddenly, a crash came from outside my door, making me quickly sit up in shock. Maybe it was my imagination... but just to make sure. I slowly got out of bed and tiptoed to the door. The light of the lamp that once lit the hallway was now shattered on the carpet. Glass and red dots filled the spaces of the floor. Was that blood? No, it couldn't be. My foot stepped carefully out of my room, but then pulled back in when I heard a gunshot from the end of the hall. The only rooms that were at the end of the hallway were my parents' room and the spare bedroom. Oh god... I leaped out, over the shattered glass and bumping into the walls. The door to their room was wide open, and inside was too gruesome to think about again. All I wanted to remember from that point on was the walls tainted with my parents' flesh and looking out of their window, seeing yellow demonic eyes and yelling and crying at them. "Why? You monster! I'm going to get you for this! I swear-"
"We're here!" My new mom shouted in the car, interrupting the horrid flashback. We were parked in front of a two-story brownstone house painted blue and white, the steps leading up to the front porch faded out from the sun. Weeds entangled the corners of the screen door and curled up the sides of the house. It was supposed to be a scene of Pittsburgh's finest houses, but it wasn't as exciting as the Youngstown homes I had lived in and loved. A fake smile came to my face. "It's beautiful Ms. Anderson. I didn't think that Pittsburgh would look so pretty," I told her. She glanced over the car seat, giving me a gleeful look. "I told you before Chaya, just call me Aunty. There's no need to be formal around here. I mean, this is your new home after all." I sat up straight and nodded. She opened the car door and got out, then came around the back and opened mine for me. I got up, snatching up my bag that was packed from the orphanage. Inside were clothes, cards from my so called "friends", and one special thing: a handgun. It was the same gun that I found lying next to my mother when the 'incident' occurred. I held the suitcase tight to my chest. Someday, I would find that killer and murder him with his own weapon. That was my only promise and only goal for now. Aunty tugged on my sleeve. "Do you need me to carry that in for you? It looks heavy." she asked kindly. I lowered the bag slowly. "No, it's fine. But thank you for the offer." I said shyly. She shrugged her shoulders and walked me up to the screen door.
"I hope you like old-fashioned, because I'm a very out-of-date person," she shouted as her hand took out a key and unlocked the door. I pushed it open with my foot. Stairs were the first thing that came to view, and as I looked over, there was a living room decorated with old knick-knacks, a couch, and shelves filled with books. An old hand pointed to the stairs. "Your room is up there if you would like to see it." she explained. I nodded and escorted myself inside. The carpet looked like it wasn't cleaned in ages, and it probably wasn't, seeming how every step I took up the creaky stairs, dust floated up. I noticed that there were only two rooms at the top of the stairs; one on the left, and one on the right. "Aunty, ehm, which room is mine?" I called. A sound of a faint voice said "Left." Now with my suitcase flung over my shoulder, the creases of my elbow pushed open the next door. The inside of the room was a dull navy blue. Fortunately, there was also a futon bed folded up, a desk for school-work (which I would need for tomorrow) and a television. That was probably one of the only things in the house that Aunty renovated. Then again, she probably doesn't have a lot of money to renovate, I mean, she is retired and is about 50 to 60 years old. My watch beeped at me. It was 8:30 pm already? "Well, I need to get my rest... it's what they would want best for me. i don't want to end up sleeping in my new classes." I whispered to myself. I carefully set my suitcase down and unzipped the front pocket. My hands slowly pulled out the gun.
"I'm going to get you for this! I swear on my life! You hear me!" The words from my past rang in my head like church bells. There was no way that this goal slip away so easily just because I'm living in a different place. No way would I let that killer get away with such a murder. And how could they do that? Don't they have a heart? My body flopped on the futon, still holding onto the gun. It wasn't loaded so I wouldn't try to do something stupid in the orphanage, but now that I was free from that prison of loneliness, I could use the ammo secretly in my suitcase. My eyes closed as I started to entwine myself with the bed sheets and doze off.
"Why!"
"I'm going to get you for this! I swear on my life!"
I slipped on my plaid skirt and my tank top, getting ready for the first day of school. Looking at myself in the mirror, it was as if my mother took my place. Blonde hair and green eyes, the color of the deepest forest. I was afraid of what it would be like to wind up there so late in the first semester of high school. Would the teachers let me off easy? After all, I didn't know anything about Pittsburgh except for the fact that it was big, wide, and new. I snagged my suitcase, in which was now a book bag, and headed down the stairs in a rush. Aunty was on the couch, anxiously waiting for me with the same gleeful look that she had given last night. "I made you breakfast if you'd like some," she told me happily, handing out a plate of pancakes. My mom used to make me breakfast every morning, and pancakes were my favorite. But eating them here with Aunty just didn't seem right."No thank you. I'll be late for school." I lied, smiling to hide my pain. She pulled the plate back into her lap. "Okay, well have a great days then Chaya." she replied. I nodded and ran out the screen door. My legs almost tripped as they jumped down the steps, speeding across the sidewalk down under the bridge that separated the east side of Sandusky Rd. and the west side. There laid my bus stop. Well, not the real school bus, but the bus. I checked my watch once more. It was 6:20 a.m., and the bus should show up at around 6:25 am. Now if I could just run fast enough to get there in five minutes, maybe- I lost my though when something pulled me away from the road that I was once running into. A boy about my age held onto my arm. His eyes were grayish blue and his hair, a silvery-black layed lightly over them. The buttons of his black coat scratched the surface of my skin.
"You need to watch where you're going. You almost killed yourself by running out in front of that traffic." he said strictly. I ran into traffic? My mind jumbled, I quickly stood up "O-okay. I'm sorry." I stammered. The boy let go of my arm and walked away. Wait, I couldn't let him just go away so soon! After all, I didn't even have the chance to say thank you. I caught up to him and tapped on his shoulder. He flinched, then turned his head and sighed. "What do you want?" he asked. I bit my lip. The boy seemed so intimidating...It was hard to even think about what I wanted to say. "Thank you." I replied slowly. In the background, I could hear the screeching of tires. He grabbed my hand and walked me across the street. "Now you're going to make us late." he griped. He almost sounded sick for some reason. Wait… he goes to the same school? Well, at least I know I now have either a new friend or a new enemy. He came to a halt and let go of me once more. I glanced at him, then stepped into the bus, taking the first seat. The boy got on next. I gestured him to sit next to me, but he sat on the other side of the bus. Tires screeched once more. We began to move and I looked around. It seemed we were the only two on the bus besides the driver. He watched me like a hawk, his eyes linked to every movement I made. I stared at him. " So what's your name?" I asked.
"Zero. Zero Riku. And you must be the new girl that Mrs. Anderson adopted?" he replied. I lowered my head, my bangs flowing over my face. "Yes. Name's Chaya." Great. I guess the whole neighborhood was waiting for my arrival or something. The sound of something moving by me came to my ears and I picked up my head. Zero was standing up in the bus. "Eh? What are you doing? I don't think that's very safe." I explained, a bit of panic in my voice. He sighed once more. " We're here." The bus came to a complete stop and Zero started to walk off the bus. I got up and walked with him; he was really my only source of "safety"... now that we are on school grounds, I didn't really know wherelse to turn. He turned around and whispered, "Stay safe, okay?" Before I could answer, he was off to his next class. The first bell rang and everyone was in a rush, yet my eyes couldn't leap away from Zero for some reason.
"What are you doing? Don't you know class is about to start!" a voice called from behind me. My eyes averted to a girl with brown hair that curled into beautiful locks. Her face looked like it could be in one of the makeup commercials; so soft and smooth like cream. I shook my head. "I'm sorry... I'm really new here. And I guess I'm not in the spirit of getting around either." I muttered cautiously. The girl smiled. " It's okay. Besides, I know you're new. You're Ms. Anderson's new daughter right?" I glanced at where Zero once was. "Right," I affirmed, "But that doesn't matter now." A tug came on my hand and I was once again lead by another person. The pushing and shoving of the students that passed by us made me feel like I was a puppet on short strings. I need to stop relying on others to help me get where I need to go. A small voice in the back of my head rang out against the pounding of the footsteps around me:
"Stay safe, okay?"