Gone So Long

An unedited story I wrote about a grieving teenager for a contest in which I was given fifteen minutes or less.

So there I was, sitting beside the ocean in the middle of the night. The waves rolled past me as I sat in the sand with my knees to my chest. I held back the tears I had waited so long to cry. Through my blurred vision I could see the dark clouds roll in and cover up the twinkling silver stars.

"It's just not fair," I said quietly letting a raindrop hit my nose. The wind blew my hair into face and a few strands become stuck in my lipgloss. I pulled them from my face and tied my hair back in a scrunchy before laying down in the sand. Normally I would have thought about the consequences of my actions, like having the tiny grains stuck to my body and my clothes, but tonight I really didn't care. A few more water droplets fell from the sky and slapped my body as they reached the ground. Everything around me was changing, and it all seemed so sudden. I had only been gone for two years, living with my mom after my parents divorced. The worst part was I had every intention of returning to Jersey's shore, just not to live with my father and his new wife. Why couldn't my mother still be here? Why couldn't she sit with me on the beach that night and tell me everything was going to okay? My friends had grown up and my dad had even moved houses, it was at that moment that I realized I had taken my life granted. No, not my life, my mom. I missed my mom like crazy, more than I thought it was possible to miss someone. Her passing was the start of this insanity, and even though I was back to my childhood home, it didn't feel much like home, it felt more like prison. All I wanted to do was escape the pain by running back to what I knew, the family I knew. 

"Two years," I said to myself. "I was only gone for two years," I could hear the passing of cars on the road near the sandy shore. The street lights shone down on the ground like spotlights on a stage. Not many people were out at two AM, and that's why I waited so long to come out, I wanted to be alone, I didn't want to burden of bottling my feelings to hurt me any longer. I just wanted some time to gather my thoughts. My father had suggested earlier that morning that I go to a therapy session, but I knew I didn't need therapy; or at least that I didn't want it. The last thing I wanted was to tell some stranger about my problems, I didn't even want to tell my dad about my problems, I just wanted to keep them to myself. I pulled my Ipod classic from jacket pocket and plugged earphones in before putting them on. I turned up that music so loud I thought I could drown out the world. My music is what made me feel safe and sound when everything that was right was completely upside-down.

Author's Note

Please ignore grammar problems. It's really a part of the piece considering the time limit.