Chapter 2

*Clara Moore*

The street lights passed by in a blur, my feet echoed through the silent night, my heartbeat thundered in my ears and my schoolbag jerked on my shoulder as I ran. I was close. So close. I didn't look to see if the guy from the alleyway followed me. I only focused on getting to safety, to the place I called home for the next few nights.

I slowed to a walk the second the extraordinary house came into view and traded the illuminated sidewalk for treacherous shadows. My chest rose and fell continuously as I tried to catch my breath. My throat felt dry, begging for a sip of cold water and my eyes ached, urging me to close them and find peace in blissful sleep.

Soon. Just a little further.

I crouched behind a small shrub, shrinking my petite form so that no one would be able to notice me. I waited a few minutes, ensuring that nobody would witness the building I was about to enter and quietly crawled out from behind the bush, cursing a twig that snapped under my weight and made my way through the back door of the desolated house. A breathy sigh escaped my lips as I let the bag fall from my shoulder and onto the tiled floor.

At the age of eighteen I had no where to live and always made my why through uninhabited houses around town. It was close to impossible to find a house with no power or water in this luxurious part of town -hence me not living in my childhood home on the other side of town- but that automatically made the rent a bit more pricey. The government was always just about the money.

This house was beautiful though. It had dark grey walls and sparkly white floors. Everything was spotless and I had to leave it spotless. The only light came through the curtain-less windows thanks to the moon. It drowned the walls in moving shadows, making a thrill shoot up my spine from the creepiness of it. With the huge 'For sale' sign stuck into the ground in front of the house, I couldn't afford to put the lights on. Nobody knew I was here, not even Dawn or Mr. Olsen. As far as they knew I still lived with my mother in a happy little home- she was just on vacation.

I dragged my feet up the staircase that was built in the living room corner. With every step I took I felt relieved. I could sleep in a little while. As soon as I traded the wooden stairs for tiled floors I made my way over to the adjoining bathroom of the master bedroom and looked at the dark figure staring back at me in the mirror. Even though I could barely see, I knew there would be dark circles under my eyes that contrasted with my pale complexion. I knew I would see my full lips turned down and my eyebrows scrunched together in a frown. "If you keep doing that, you'll have wrinkles before you're thirty." Instantly my thumb moved to smooth out the lines on my forehead as my father's words played in my mind. Looking away from my barely there reflection I immediately stripped, showered and relaxed in the over-sized bed, gazing out the window until darkness consumed me.

"Mom, come on you don't mean that!" I sobbed on my knees in front of my mother as she screamed profanities my way. "Yes, I do. You are nothing but an ungrateful bitch and you ruined my life!" I felt an unexpected sting on my cheek and my fingertips grazed the wound softly as I felt the blood smear all across my skin. That hurt like a bitch. Still in shock, I observed the glass covered floor as I realized my mother actually threw me with her beer bottle. My head jerked to the side as my mother gripped my hair tightly in her small fist. An ache formed across my scalp from where she held me and tears streamed down my face, mixing with the metallic substance. "Please don't do this!" The begging didn't help. It never did but I still tried. I shrieked as another painful tug filled my senses. It was all I could seem to concentrate on at that moment. The only thing I remember before I fainted, was the glass covered floor inches from my face.

I sat up as I gasped for breath, my fingers immediately going to the silver scar on my left cheek. The salty drops mixed with the copper taste still lingered on my tongue as I relived the dream. More like relived the memory. I hadn't had nightmares for a long period of time that the after shock of it felt foreign to me. My watering eyes instantly traveled to the window where the sun was starting to rise and I exhaled a breath. My shoulders sagged and I wiped my tears, ready to start a new day.

The old days were over now.

***

"Why are your eyes so puffy?" Dawn asked as soon as I closed my locker door and shifted my eyes to hers. Probably because I cried the whole morning but she didn't need to know that. Her dark blue irises held mine with curiosity and I was the first to break eye contact. "I just struggled to sleep and as a result I look like this." I said, pointing at my face and pinching my eyes. Her lips tugged upwards and I could see she was reluctant to believe me but she let it go. One trait that I absolutely adored of Dawn was that she always knew when to press for answers and when not to and like today, she knew she shouldn't. "Okay, if you say so. Just know I'm here." she said with a sigh as we started to walk to first period.

My gaze followed the hands of the clock settled above the white board in class. It was last period and my day couldn't be any longer. I had a headache because of my useless crying this morning and afterwards I still had to go to work. I forced myself to try and focus on what the teacher was saying about the history of this town but the soft tick of the clock drew my attention once more. Just two more minutes. My eyes lazily drifted towards the glass door with a thick wooden frame that separated this classroom from the rest of the school as a dark figure moved past it. Who is that? But before I could dwell too much on unrealistic answers, the bell echoed through the whole school and the once silent building was now filled with laughter and murmurs as people rushed to enjoy the weekend. It was Friday.

Slowly, I stood from my seat at the back of the class and threw my bag over my shoulder, secretly trying to boost my energy levels so that I would be able to survive another day at work. Don't get me wrong, I loved my job, but days like these I just wanted to call in sick and sleep the rest of the day. I leisurely walked to my locker and once I stood in front of the metal compartment, I decided that I would be leaving my book bag in there for the weekend. I closed the locker door, rested my forehead against the cold silver door and closed my eyes. I Inhaled and exhaled gentle breaths.

"Come on, Clara. We need to get you at work and I'm starving," Dawn said as she lightly bumped my shoulder with hers. I didn't bother to open my eyes or move away from the cold metal that oddly seemed to soothe my headache. "Just give me a second," I mumbled as I leaned on the locker door for much more than a second before turning to leave.

"You know, you really do look like shit today," She stated, walking a bit faster to catch up to me. "Yeah, well thanks." I rolled my eyes and sighed, hoping that my frustration for the day would leave with the breath that escaped my lips. I knew Dawn realized that something was wrong and I was happy when she decided to walk in silence for the rest of the way to her car. Unfortunately, once we were seated in her black leather seats, she turned to face me and the silence disappeared.

"Okay. I wanted to give you space to feel better on your own. But this attitude is bugging me so spill. What's going on?"

"I just had another nightmare, D. Don't worry about it."

You see. Dawn thought she knew everything that my life consisted of, but she couldn't be further from the truth. She knew my dad died and my mom went away after she was a total bitch, leaving the little dilapidated building for me to live in. Alone. Only three things were accurate though; my mom was a bitch, my dad definitely died and I was alone. More than I liked to admit.

Dawn's eyes searched my face and she nodded slowly to herself, turning her body toward the steering wheel and started driving to the diner. "You know what I think you need?" She asked, tapping her bony fingers to the soft background music that filled the car. I gazed outside the window and sighed. "What?"

"Definitely a girls' weekend. Just you and me, at my house. It'll be fun and it might get your mind off of everything that's bothering you."

A smile tugged at my lips as I looked at Dawn out the corner of my eyes. That's why she is my best friend. I nodded slightly, giving her the answer she definitely wanted.