Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Me and my family just moved and things have been pretty crazy over here. But I'm back and ready to write again!
When Kim woke up the next morning, she got ready for school and went downstairs. But once she got downstairs, she saw suitcases and duffel bags all packed up.
That's odd.
She found her mother coming in from outside, tears in her eyes.
"Mom? What's going on? Why are you crying? What's with all the suitcases?" Kim asked, a little scared for the answer.
Kim's mom burst into more tears.
"Oh Kim! I'm so sorry!" She cried, wiping her tears.
Kim's father came out of his room carrying her mother's purse.
"Your mother and I decided if she was really serious about quitting drinking, she should enroll in a rehabilitation center." He explained.
"What?" Kim exclaimed. "Why? You don't need it!"
"Yes I do, sweetie." Kim's mother said, pulling her daughter into a hug. "I'm so sorry I have to leave like this."
"The cab's here!" Kim's dad called.
"I have to go." She said.
She loaded her bags in the cab and Kim's father told the cab driver where to go. When they were ready, Kim's mom and dad said their goodbyes. Tears filled Kim's eyes as she stared at her mom. She ran up and hugged her.
"When will I see you again?" She asked.
"It all depends on how I do over there. It could be short, it could be long."
"I love you, mom." Kim said, as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I love you, too."
They hugged goodbye and Kim's mom got in the cab. Kim watched as the vehicle drove off. She then looked at her father who had a grin on his face.
"You think this is funny?" She asked him.
Kim then thought of what she realised last night.
If mom is away at this rehab, then that means there's nothing stopping him from beating me!
"It was you that convinced mom to go to this rehab, wasn't it!?" She yelled.
Kim's father quickly pressed his hands around Kim's neck and began choking her. Kim gasped for air and more tears came out.
"Your mom's not here to save you now!" He said, squeezing her neck more.
Kim's face turned blue. She felt like she was going to pass out due to lack of oxygen. Kim almost gave up. She almost stopped fighting. But at the very last-minute, her father let go. Kim collapsed and gasped for air. Her lungs and throat ached with pain and her heart was beating out of her chest. She spread herself out and laid on the grass, staring at the sky. Her eyes slowly came together and everything went black...
Meanwhile...
Jack walked into Mrs. Roman's class right when the bell rang. He sat at his desk and turned around to see Kim's desk empty.
"Hmm. Kim's absent. Maybe she's sick." Mrs. Roman said taking attendance.
"I doubt it! She's probably skipping school again!" Grace said, laughing.
Jack thought about what happened yesterday, when Kim got angry at him.
Maybe she skipped school because she doesn't want to see me. What did I do yesterday to make her mad at me?
After class, Jack went to his locker. Someone wrote on the locker next to his in a black marker. They wrote "Freak!" on it.
That must be Kim's locker, and it looks like Grace's handwriting.
Jack glanced at Grace walking by next to 3 other guys. One of them had his arm around her.
"Look what I wrote on this freak's locker." She said. "Can't wait to see the look on her face when she comes back to school."
"If she comes back to school." The guy with his arm around Grace said.
"Don't be silly, Jerry! Of course she'll come back! But aren't you a little worried that she's going to hurt you when she sees that, Grace?" A scrawny, red-headed kid said.
"Oh trust me Milton, if she dares to lay a hand on me, I'll have my daddy file a lawsuit up her ass!"
"Wow Grace, it must be cool to have a dad whose a lawyer." The last guy said.
"It's awesome, Eddie! Not only am I beautiful, but I'm also rich!"
Grace turned around and saw Jack.
"Hey, Jack. Since your new, I thought I'd introduce you to my friends. This is my boyfriend, Jerry..."
"Sup." Jerry said.
"... that's Milton..."
"Nice to meet you!" Milton said.
"... and that's Eddie."
"Hi." Eddie said.
"Hey, nice to meet you guys." Jack said. "Have any of you guys seen Kim?"
"Probably at the skate park. That's where she usually goes when she skips." Jerry answered.
"Why do you want to know?" Grace asked.
"I just thought it was weird she wasn't here today."
"Oh trust us, she does things like this all the time. It's like she doesn't care." Milton said.
"It's not like she doesn't care. She just doesn't care!" Eddie said.
"Well, I got to go. I'll see you guys later." Jack said.
"Bye!" Everyone said.
After school, Jack walked by the skatepark. Kim wasn't there.
Where could she be?
Jack decided to walk by her house to see if she was there. Once he got there, he found Kim laying on the grass completely knocked out.
"Kim?" Jack said. "Kim!"
He ran toward her and tried waking her up. After a minute or so, she finally woke up. She opened her eyes and saw a blurry vision of Jack.
"Jack? What are you doing here?" She asked.
"I should be asking you that! What happened? Why were you sleeping on the grass?"
After those words were said, everything came back to Kim. She remembered her father choking her, where everything went black. She remembered that her mother was gone. Kim jumped off the grass and on to her feet. Her heart sped up. Her blood boiled. She was so angry with her father, she didn't know what to do.
"Kim? Are you ok?" Jack asked.
"Get me out of here." She replied.
"What?"
"You heard me! Get me out of here! I don't care where we go, as long as it's away from here!"
Kim started stomping away. Jack caught up to her and they both walked away. Jack lead Kim to a place where she could get some peace.
"Where are you taking me?" She asked after awhile.
"You'll see." Jack replied.
The sun set and the sky turned black. Somewhere in the woods, Jack stopped.
"We're here." He said.
Kim looked around and saw nothing but trees and train tracks.
"What's so special about this place?" She asked.
"This is where I go when I can't think straight." Jack explained. "This is usually the time when the nightly train passes. Something about it just makes me smile again."
Kim stared at him for a second.
"You're weird!" She said, laughing.
Kim and Jack both heard the train's horn.
"Hey. Why don't we play a little game of chicken?" She asked with a devilish smile.
Kim stood on the train tracks and waited. The headlights of the train hit her as the train got closer.
"Kim? What are you doing?" Jack asked from the sidelines.
"Just trust me." She said.
Kim stared at the train. She thought of her father. Beating her. Sending her mom away. It made Kim want to cry. The train got closer.
"Come on, Kim. Get off the tracks." Jack said.
Kim stared at the train as it honked it's horn at her.
"Kim."
Kim's heart dropped.
"Kim!"
She started shaking.
"Kim, I'm serious! Get off the tracks!"
Kim tried to relax. She laid her head back and closed her eyes. Her father's words replayed in her head as she awaited for the strike.
Your mom's not here to save you now.
Your mom's not here to save you now.
Your mom's not here to save you now...