Disclaimer: We all know this isn't mine, so why would someone even bother suing me??? Hmmm???
I ran. I don't know for how long, but I just kept running. If they didn't catch me, I could remain... here. Why did I want to stay here? I can't believe Patty left me! How could she OD? If not for her own life, for mine! I could call mom, or Jess and they'd come to get me, but I'm not going home! Not while he's there.
While I was thinking these things, I had stopped running. I needed to rest. I still hadn't slept since I came "home" from "work". I sat down on a bench in a park. My face was impassible. It didn't betray any emotion whatsoever. I made sure to keep my eyes blank as well. If no one cared, no one would bother me, and I wouldn't have to tell... to relive it. It was over, it was the past!
I had been staring straight ahead and didn't notice a man sit down beside me.
"Miss Merrick?"
"How'd you know my name?" I asked. How on Earth did he know my name? I never used my real name when I was working.
"Don't worry. I'm here to help you."
"Oh, really? I don't see the halo."
He let out a chuckle, trying to stay in my good graces. "No, I'm the police officer who was personally assigned to your case. Miss Merrick, you're a missing person, you know that, right?"
"Of course I know. The second I left, I knew. My idiotic mother was bound to at least send someone else out looking for me."
"Well, actually your mother isn't the one who called us. Your sister did."
"Jess," I whispered to myself. He nodded.
"Look, I don't know why you ran away, and I know that you obviously don't want to go back home. I talked to your mother about this. She told me about the other times you'd run. We both agreed that home was not the place for you."
"Why'd you think I ran?" I asked, proving his point.
"That's why, if you come home, we'll find some where for you."
I shook my head. "I'm not going home. You can't make me!" I got up and started to run. He ran after me, and grabbed my arm.
"Look, we can do this quietly, or we can do this forcefully, with the hand-cuffs," he told me firmly. I had just lost my best friend, he didn't know that, but it made it a whole lot harder to find the energy to run from him. I had nowhere to go, no one to see, nothing to do. Now I was simply tumbleweed blowing around in the wind, nothing more or less. I had nothing to keep me rooted down. I desperately needed some good sleep and actual food, so I agreed. I was going to run in the end, either way.
So, we got up, he led me to his police car, and we drove to the airport. We were in one of the very commercial parts of Seattle, my house, which had once been called a home, was in the northern part of New York state. The police were actually pretty surprised I'd been able to get out this far on my own!
********************************************************************************
When we arrived at the airport, I got out, holding onto my backpack for dear life. It held all that I owned and all that Patty had owned. It was my only link to her. Mr. Clarence led me to the ticket counter. He bought me a ticket to bring me home; the thing is the plane was just about to board. He knew what I was, a runaway, so he escorted me to the boarding gate. Everyone kept throwing me dirty looks, like they all knew who I was... what I really was. They'd never know, though. They'd never be able to imagine all the things I'd been through. They all had their silly little lives that amounted to a hill of beans in the end. I was only seventeen and I already had a huge history. A history I was willing to forget.
Mr. Clarence practically walked me onto the airplane. He would've if the lady behind the desk hadn't let him. While she was battling it out with him, I notice how utterly stupid she looked. She must've had about a foot of make-up plastered onto her thin, bony face. She had her long blondish hair up in a bun. It was so ugly! It had obviously been badly bleached, so she'd tried to dye it, which hadn't worked, so she'd put streaks in. The whole this was such a mess of crap. She kept giving me dirty looks too.
I just stuck up my finger mouthing the words "fuck you." That shut her up. She didn't even dare look at me again. Mr. Clarence had his back to me that entire scene, so he had no clue what had happened, which didn't really bother me, but seemed to embarrass the lady for some reason.
Finally, I got on the plane. I had been instructed to wait for a Mr. Young when I landed. Whatever, I thought. It doesn't really matter in the end. New York, Seattle, what's the difference, I pondered with disgust. That's when it hit me. An even more disgusting thought: I was going home! I hated "home" in every respect, that is, except for Jess. She was my baby sister, and I loved her with all my heart, after all, I had nothing else to give my love to, nor did I want to. Jess would always have all my love, as far as I was concerned.
I ran. I don't know for how long, but I just kept running. If they didn't catch me, I could remain... here. Why did I want to stay here? I can't believe Patty left me! How could she OD? If not for her own life, for mine! I could call mom, or Jess and they'd come to get me, but I'm not going home! Not while he's there.
While I was thinking these things, I had stopped running. I needed to rest. I still hadn't slept since I came "home" from "work". I sat down on a bench in a park. My face was impassible. It didn't betray any emotion whatsoever. I made sure to keep my eyes blank as well. If no one cared, no one would bother me, and I wouldn't have to tell... to relive it. It was over, it was the past!
I had been staring straight ahead and didn't notice a man sit down beside me.
"Miss Merrick?"
"How'd you know my name?" I asked. How on Earth did he know my name? I never used my real name when I was working.
"Don't worry. I'm here to help you."
"Oh, really? I don't see the halo."
He let out a chuckle, trying to stay in my good graces. "No, I'm the police officer who was personally assigned to your case. Miss Merrick, you're a missing person, you know that, right?"
"Of course I know. The second I left, I knew. My idiotic mother was bound to at least send someone else out looking for me."
"Well, actually your mother isn't the one who called us. Your sister did."
"Jess," I whispered to myself. He nodded.
"Look, I don't know why you ran away, and I know that you obviously don't want to go back home. I talked to your mother about this. She told me about the other times you'd run. We both agreed that home was not the place for you."
"Why'd you think I ran?" I asked, proving his point.
"That's why, if you come home, we'll find some where for you."
I shook my head. "I'm not going home. You can't make me!" I got up and started to run. He ran after me, and grabbed my arm.
"Look, we can do this quietly, or we can do this forcefully, with the hand-cuffs," he told me firmly. I had just lost my best friend, he didn't know that, but it made it a whole lot harder to find the energy to run from him. I had nowhere to go, no one to see, nothing to do. Now I was simply tumbleweed blowing around in the wind, nothing more or less. I had nothing to keep me rooted down. I desperately needed some good sleep and actual food, so I agreed. I was going to run in the end, either way.
So, we got up, he led me to his police car, and we drove to the airport. We were in one of the very commercial parts of Seattle, my house, which had once been called a home, was in the northern part of New York state. The police were actually pretty surprised I'd been able to get out this far on my own!
********************************************************************************
When we arrived at the airport, I got out, holding onto my backpack for dear life. It held all that I owned and all that Patty had owned. It was my only link to her. Mr. Clarence led me to the ticket counter. He bought me a ticket to bring me home; the thing is the plane was just about to board. He knew what I was, a runaway, so he escorted me to the boarding gate. Everyone kept throwing me dirty looks, like they all knew who I was... what I really was. They'd never know, though. They'd never be able to imagine all the things I'd been through. They all had their silly little lives that amounted to a hill of beans in the end. I was only seventeen and I already had a huge history. A history I was willing to forget.
Mr. Clarence practically walked me onto the airplane. He would've if the lady behind the desk hadn't let him. While she was battling it out with him, I notice how utterly stupid she looked. She must've had about a foot of make-up plastered onto her thin, bony face. She had her long blondish hair up in a bun. It was so ugly! It had obviously been badly bleached, so she'd tried to dye it, which hadn't worked, so she'd put streaks in. The whole this was such a mess of crap. She kept giving me dirty looks too.
I just stuck up my finger mouthing the words "fuck you." That shut her up. She didn't even dare look at me again. Mr. Clarence had his back to me that entire scene, so he had no clue what had happened, which didn't really bother me, but seemed to embarrass the lady for some reason.
Finally, I got on the plane. I had been instructed to wait for a Mr. Young when I landed. Whatever, I thought. It doesn't really matter in the end. New York, Seattle, what's the difference, I pondered with disgust. That's when it hit me. An even more disgusting thought: I was going home! I hated "home" in every respect, that is, except for Jess. She was my baby sister, and I loved her with all my heart, after all, I had nothing else to give my love to, nor did I want to. Jess would always have all my love, as far as I was concerned.
