Run Away With Me

I woke up with a knot in my stomach. I rolled over, but the pain only grew. A bitter taste washed over my mouth as I bolted up to the bathroom and threw up the remains of my last meal, which wasn’t much. I rinsed my mouth and moped back to bed, ignoring the disgusting reflection of my tear-stained face in the mirror. I peered at the alarm clock that sat on the table beside the bed. 1:24 glowed in green letters, reflecting off of the glass table it sat on. I shrugged and crawled back between the soft sheets, the bed creaking under me. Glowing sun beams shone through the window and lit the room. Groaning, I pulled the blankets over my aching head. I was almost asleep when something warm fell onto my shoulder.
"Jen, you okay hon?" Frank softly ran his hand up and down my upper arm, like a wave of heat running over my skin. "Come on, rise and shine."
I replied with a groan, poking a hand out of the covers and patted his hand for him to take it off of me. He took it and laced our fingers together. "You can't hide forever," he said, giving my hand a squeeze.

"I sure can try." I argued.

"Genevieve, don’t make me tickle you."

"Please don't." I squeaked.

"Then get up." The bed dipped beside me as he got on top of it. He pulled the blankets back, enough to uncover my eyes. I glared at him and sighed in defeat as I sat up, earning a small smile from Frank.

"There she is. Beautiful. "

"Don't lie. I look and feel like shit. I want to jump in a hole."

"Then I'd have to jump in with you. Come on, get up. Get dressed. I'm not letting you stay in bed." He tugged on my arm, ushering me to get out of bed.

"I don't want to go anywhere." I argued.

"Fine. Come downstairs and have some food and we can watch horror movies for the rest of the day." The clock now read 5:32. Maybe I did fall asleep.

“I'm not hungry." He looked back at me. He wasn't giving up. I got up and pulled on a pair of pajama pants that were on the floor. Because they were Frank's, they fell back down to my ankles. I pulled them back up and tightened the drawstring on my way out the door, ignoring Frank’s laughing at me. Frank grabbed me from behind and carried me down the stairs bridal style. "I have legs." I reminded him when he plopped me down on the couch.

"Why didn't you say so before?" He joked, ruffling my hair and leaving to the kitchen. I heard him put popcorn in the microwave and start mumbling something I couldn't hear over the popping. A few ten minutes later, he walked back in with a bowl of popcorn and a smirk on his face.

"What did you do?" I speculated accusingly when he sat down.

"I was on the phone with the guys."

"Pency guys?" I groaned.

"No, I thought I - oh. I guess I never told you. I left Pency Prep." He shook his head.

"What band are you talking about then?"

"My Chemical Romance." He offered me popcorn, which I didn’t take.

"That's the name?" I asked, to which he nodded. "Weird,” I shook my head. “So what did they want?” Just then, there was a knock at the door. He invited them over? “Damn you.” I moaned, pulling a blanket over my head.

“Come on, they’re cool. You’ll like them.” Frank argued, pulling the blanket away. I heard the door open.

"Hey Frank," a set of voices said. Frank stepped away from the door and a few guys followed through. One with long, coal black hair; another with glasses and brown hair. He was tall, but skinny and stood awkwardly like a child with his knees turned inward toward each other. The last to walk in was tall and had a huge afro. Despite his size, he seemed friendly.

"Hey. This is Genevieve. Jen, this is Gerard, Mikey and Ray." Frank explained. Each of the men waved when their name was mentioned. Gerard took a seat beside me and Ray and Mikey sat in the armchairs on either end of the couch. Frank entered the room with beers and sat on the other side of me. He offered one to Ray, Mikey, Gerard, and finally me.

“How old are you? You seem a little young to be drinking.” Gerard asked. I felt a hot blush creep up my neck.

“Old enough,” I replied, earning a chuckle from both Gerard and Frank, although Gerard still seemed uneasy with my answer.

Frank had turned on a new horror movie, but I couldn't concentrate with my pounding headache. I couldn't stop thinking about if I should or would ever go back home. I can't hide forever, Callum needs me. Surely our parents couldn't take care of him themselves. I shook my head lightly and broke the gaze I held with a speck of paper that was stuck to the carpet. I glanced around the room, catching Gerard's gaze. I smiled lightly at him.

"You okay?" He mouthed. I tightened my grip on my bottle and shrugged. He gave me a sympathetic smile and patted my leg and returned his attention to the movie. I placed my now empty bottle on the table and curled up in my seat. I laid my head back and let my eyes droop. My head rolled onto someone's shoulder as my muscles relaxed, but I wasn't sure whose. They didn't push me off though. They let me be. And I'm glad they did.
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I dug my fingers into the carpet I was lying on. My head was pounding as I tried to catch my breath. My father stood over me. He reeked of alcohol and his lip was bleeding from where I'd hit him.

"Maybe you should think before you act up like that." He growled. He crouched down and lifted my head by my hair. "Learn your lesson?" I choked out a cough in reply. "Good." He let me go and left the room.

I waited until I heard his bedroom door close before crawling up the stairs. I made it to my bathroom and clung to the sink to stand up. My nose and lip were both bleeding, as well as my side. I lifted my shirt to assess the damage. The side of my rib cage was cut up from the broken bottle I’d landed on. I pulled my damp shirt back down and gripped my wound, willing the pain to go away.

“Evi?” I heard Callum call. I almost smiled. He couldn’t pronounce my name, so he called me ‘eevee’. I quickly wiped the blood from my face before he entered my bathroom. “Are you okay?”

I cleared my throat before responding. “Yeah. I’m fine.” I lied. He looked dissatisfied, but he nodded and exited the room. I let go of my side and pressed my hand into the porcelain sink, leaving a pale pink handprint. My breathing picked up as I started to cry. I felt cold and small. The air became thick and my head spun.

A warm wave suddenly washed over me, my pain becoming less apparent.

“Shhh, it’s okay,” a soothing voice spoke. I sunk down onto the floor and slowed my breathing. I closed my eyes and felt the atmosphere dissipate around me as my body grew warmer. I opened my eyes and stared at the coffee table in front of me. I was on Frank’s couch again. “Go back to sleep hon.” He spoke again. I nodded, and did as I was told.

The next time I woke up, it was from a dreamless sleep. I sat up in a cold sweat and looked around the dark room. I sighed in relief and went upstairs. Disgusted with myself, I hopped in the shower. I stepped out in a few minutes and brushed my blonde hair in the mirror and quietly sang one of my favorite songs.

“Hello there, the angel from my nightmare. The shadow in the background of the morgue, the unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley. We can live like Jack and Sally if we want, where you can always find me. And we’ll have Halloween on Christmas and in the night we’ll wish this never ends. We’ll wish this never ends.”

Something shifted outside the door. “Where are you, and I’m so sorry. I cannot sleep, I cannot dream tonight. I need somebody and always this sick strange darkness comes creeping on so haunting every time. And as I stared I counted webs from all the spiders, catching things and eating their insides. Like indecision to call you and hear your voice of treason. Will you come home and stop this pain tonight? Stop this pain tonight,” another voice murmurred.

I froze in place. Frank’s singing didn’t sound that way. I tightened the towel around my body and peeked out the door into the hallway. Gerard was leaning casually leaning up against the wall on the opposite side of the hall. For a moment we just stared at each other, not wanting to break the silence.

“Bad dream?” he finally asked. I nodded slowly. He sighed knowingly. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”

Notes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1tAYmMjLdY