Welcome to Chapter One! I hope you don't hate me for my prologue… I'm not sure what I was thinking, really. B-but… I have decided that I want to finish this fan fiction. So, here you go!

His fist slammed into my cheek, and my head whacked into the hard, brick wall behind me. I just stared dejectedly at nothing, the pain making my eyes water. I could taste blood as well – no doubt I'd broken a few teeth.

"I told you to meet me last night, you little whore," he growled. I didn't say anything and wiped my mouth on the back of my sleeve jacket. I breathed in through my mouth so I wouldn't pass out from the smell – if I did, I could only imagine what horrors he would bring down upon me… and my body.

"Are you listening to me?!" he demanded between clenched teeth, raising his fist as if to strike me again. I flinched, and he flashed a twisted smile, his eyes gleaming with malicious triumph. Afraid, I answered him.

"Yes, Daniel, I'm listening," I replied miserably. I didn't even try to sound brave; I let him think that I was defeated so that he would leave me alone sooner. Nobody else knew this side of him; everybody else saw him as Mr. Perfect, popular A-Student who also competed in football, placing him in the favor of nearly all the teachers and more than half of the students.

Lucky me, I thought sarcastically.

Dirty, beaten up, and miserable, I was literally saved by the bell. Daniel just glared in the direction of the sound, an ugly snarl escaping past his lips. He looked down at me one last time, giving me a look of pure contempt, and stormed off; I saw him running his hands through his hair and plastering on a smile – he didn't want his Mr. Perfect façade ruined, of course.

Relieved, I slumped against the brick wall, the pain nearly consuming me, yet I held it at bay so that I would be able to drive home. I got in the car, revving the quiet engine of my Toyota Prius – a 'gift' from Daniel -when something occurred to me.

I could run away – escape. As I drove home my plan formulated more clearly in my mind. I was seventeen years old, almost eighteen, and I had graduated from high school early and wanted to go to college badly. I had told Daniel nothing of my plans. The relationship we were in – an abusive one – was the main reason for me to go to college. Other than that, I actually did want an education. But if I stayed here, the results would no doubt be disastrous; I flinched at such thoughts.

I pulled my Prius onto the curb, and sat there for a moment while I continued to think. I had some money saved up, probably enough for three-four months of rent for a regular apartment unless I could find something cheaper. A few places nearby fit my budget, but they didn't really appeal to me; the further away, the better. Living in Utah, I could think of a few particular places where I would rather be – Hawaii, Florida, California…but all of them were too expensive. Besides, I'd never fit in. You'd think that after living my whole life in Utah I would've gained some sort of tan. It had been a very hot summer with very little cloud-cover, and yet I was still as pale as I'd been for the last – well, if I was being honest with myself – seventeen years; my whole life.

I strolled past the closed door of the kitchen without a second glance, the sound of my parents yelling coming from there, and quickly ran down the stairs to my bedroom where I flung my bag half-way across the room, plopping down at my desk with a sigh. The pain was nearly unbearable now; I quickly poured a few Advil into my hand, draining them down with the water bottle that was always on my desk for just this reason. I sat there for a few moments, my eyes closed, until the pain started to recede.

Once the pain was numbed, I flipped open my gun-metal gray laptop and pulled up the internet. I had some sites saved – apartments that I was interested in, the rates-and-fees, among other things. Scrolling among the apartments, something stood out at me.

For Rent, $500/month

Small, two-story house

1 bathroom

2 bedrooms

1 kitchen

1 small living room

Currently Renting

By

Charlie Swan

It was like a dream come true. A whole house for only $500 dollars a month! There was a 'post a comment' below it, and I took the opportunity to do so.

Dear Charlie,

I am very interested in renting your house. I am seventeen years old, and I have been given permission by my parents to live away from them. Please contact me,

-Kimiko Harper

I typed in my email address and cell-phone number below, then logged-off, satisfied. I was lying, of course, about having my parents' permission. But they had recently been arguing about possibly getting a divorce, and it could go one way or the other for me. Personally, I wanted to be emancipated so that I could do whatever I wanted.

Now it was time to actually confront the parents.

I could hear them yelling upstairs, and for the first time in months, I had to interrupt that. I wasn't looking forward to it.

With chagrin, I made myself actually go upstairs, the yelling getting louder with every step I took. Finally, I opened the door. The yelling stopped.

I cleared my throat. "Mom, dad, I need to talk to you." They looked at each other, and for once they didn't glare at each other. They shared the same worried look. With a sinking feeling in my stomach I realized I should have phrased this differently; no doubt they either thought I'd gotten pregnant or something else.

Oh, joy, I thought. This was going to be fun.

I had been right, of course. They'd automatically assumed that I'd been up to no good. I threw myself onto my bed with a sigh, recalling the conversation.

"Mom, dad, I need to talk to you."

After sharing the same worried look my mom gently escorted me to the couch, her eyes constantly darting to my face. My dad sat down in the couch across the room, his expression wary.

"Sweetie, what do you need to tell us?" She quickly looked across the room to my dad then back at me.

I took a deep breath, and then quickly blurted out, "I want to move out."

They both stared at me, and the sinking feeling in my stomach went to my feet. I was surprised when my dad sighed and crossed his arms, a contemplative look on his face. "She's almost eighteen, Grace. I'm sure that Kimiko knows by now that we're planning on getting divorced."

I gaped at my dad, hope bubbling in my chest.

"Out of the question," my mother's stiff reply came.

My bubble was about to pop when my dad argued back,

"We both now that in a month that neither of us will hold custody; we might as well let her move out now. I'm sick of arguing with you, Grace. This is the last time I'm going to say this—I think we should let her move out."

I nodded vigorously in agreement, smiling gratefully at him.

"Please, mom," I pleaded. "I already found a place on the web—really cheap. I'll go to college,

I promise." I expected my mom to disagree again, but she was silent, her expression unreadable. I was going to speak again, but she interrupted me.

"Fine," she murmured, "She can move out." I stared at her in surprise, and then looked over to see my dad's reaction. His mouth was open in the same 'o' of surprise as mine.

"Seriously, I can move out?" I asked squeakily.

"Yes, Kimiko, you can."

As I drifted to sleep I thought about how tomorrow my mom, dad, and I would go before a judge and then I would be emancipated.

"Freedom …" I muttered sleepily.

And then the comforting darkness consumed me.

"Kimiko Harper, as of today, you are officially an adult."

I nearly crowed in happiness; as it was, I was already shaking because I was so excited. I waited until the old, wrinkly judge had finished stamping the document, handed it to me, and I was outside before I whooped in delight.

My dad laughed and patted my back. "Congrats, Kimi; you're an adult now." My mom looked on with sad eyes, and I sighed inwardly. She wasn't happy; that was obvious. Maybe after I was eighteen I could show her that I was living responsibly and happily and then she would be happy as well.

I was shocked back to reality as my dad wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and he turned me towards him so that I could see his grin.

"So, what do you want to do to celebrate?" I smiled, pretending to think about it when I knew exactly what I wanted.

"Can we go to a movie or eat out?" I asked, trying to be humble.

"We'll do both!"

"Really?" I asked happily.

"Really," he grinned, his eyes crinkling.

My dad hugged me tightly before all three of us walked back to the car, his arm still around his shoulders.

Freedom, at last! I felt like I was walking on air.

Last night had been fantastic. We'd gone to a movie that I'd wanted to see for months and then we had gone to a fancy sushi restaurant that I hadn't gone to since I was a little kid. Then when we'd arrived back home I'd checked my email to see if there was a response. When I'd seen what was there, I nearly screamed with happiness.

Dear Kimiko,

Thank you for responding to my ad about the house. I've been waiting for a long time for somebody to rent it out. I'm an old man now and my life has been a tough one. If you're lucky I'll let you buy the house when my time comes. Come by whenever's convenient for you.

Sincerely,

Charlie Swan

I'd quickly typed a reply.

Dear Charlie,

No, Thank YOU! I can come by within the next week—no, sooner. I'll be there by Tuesday. I've already applied for the Port Angeles Community College.

Thank you again,

-Kimiko Harper

Now it was the next day and I was packing up two large suitcases with my most important belongings—I didn't own much to begin with. My mom and dad both knew of my plans to move to the small town of Forks, Washington and even though my mom didn't approve, my dad certainly did. I silently prayed he wouldn't go overboard with a goodbye party or anything. I'd already said goodbye to my friends (and made sure to completely avoid Daniel), and they'd all wished me goodbye.

Finally, both suitcases were packed. I lugged each one down by myself and loaded them both into the back of the Prius. I shut the trunk and sighed—time to say the real goodbyes now.

Both of my parents were unusually solemn as I entered the kitchen. As soon as I walked in my dad grinned widely and hugged me tightly while my mom continued to sit down, her eyes glistening with what I imagined were unshed tears. I felt a pang of guilt for what I was doing to my mother but it was quickly smothered by the thoughts of finally escaping.

"Oh, Kimiko… I'm so glad for you! You're a real genius, sweetie… graduating early and going to college less than a year later!"

"It's not like I won't visit," I muttered, my face red with embarrassment.

"I know, Hun. I'll miss you anyway," he sniffled.

"Yeah, I will too," I whispered truthfully. Finally my dad let me go. I turned to confront my mom, and took a deep breath to speak. For the second time in a few days, she interrupted me.

"No, don't apologize," she sighed. "I can't change your mind—we all know that. I just wish you weren't doing this. You have a boyfriend and you graduated with a high enough GPA to go to BYU." I flinched as she mentioned Daniel, but let her continue. "I won't say I'm giving in… but I can't stop you. I'll email you, I promise."

I nodded as I tried to hold back the tears I knew were coming.

"Not if I email you first," I joked weakly.

She smiled at that and I took it as an opportunity to hug her. She hugged back—it felt like she was using all or her strength, but she still couldn't hold me. My dad watched silently during the exchange.

"So… I guess this is goodbye then," I muttered.

"Yeah, I guess it is," my mom replied in the same tone.

I turned to my dad and gave him one last hug. He held me more gently this time, and I could almost believe that my parents were the same people they'd been twenty years ago. But it soon ended and I said one last goodbye to my dad. I turned around and promised myself to not look back. I climbed into the Prius and was about five miles away when the tears started. I stopped temporarily, knowing I shouldn't drive while this incapacitated.

As I sobbed on the steering wheel I tried to cheer myself up with other things. I was leaving my abusive boyfriend behind, hopefully never to be seen again. I wouldn't be around when (and not if) my parents divorced, and I was finally getting a chance to attend college; something that had been impossible with Daniel lurking around every corner, ready to stop me. I briefly wondered why he didn't know about me leaving, but I pushed it from my mind. After about ten more minutes, I wiped my tears and smiled shakily.

"Forks, here I come." I revved the engine once more and drove out of the city limits, hoping that I would never see the sign saying, 'Welcome to Springville' ever again.

Thank You for reading chapter one of Recycling Life! I will do my best to update more frequently in the future and hope that in return you will read and review! ^^