Chapter 22

A Chapter by Melissa

The girl who saved me from David sat on the couch in the living room we’d entered when stepping inside the house. She waved me over, and I willingly sat next to her. Her long blond hair falls over her shoulders easily, almost reaching the couch we’re sitting on. Her long legs are crossed, her skin exposed by the shorts she’s wearing. The clothes on her seem to be pajamas, which is understandable considering it’s only four-thirty in the morning. Her vibrant blue eyes were the color of the sky on a clear, sunny day.

She raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows at me as if to say, “Well?” I bit my lip and thought about where exactly to begin, but I couldn’t find a spot in the middle that would make sense without a piece of background information. So I just told her… everything.

I started with my mother’s death, and I surprised myself when I actually told her the details of her death. “My mother was too young when she had my older sister, Natalie,” I began. “And when she had me too, she was overwhelmed. She turned to drugs. And alcohol. She became extremely addicted. She was constantly high or wasted. We never had bills paid or food in the fridge. Finally, Natalie started working even though she was underage. She paid for our heat and electricity. Then she left. As soon as Natalie could leave us, she did. I was alone.”

She looked at me with pity in her eyes, so I averted my gaze. I didn’t like receiving pity.

I took a deep breath before continuing. “I had to quit swim. I had to quit my music classes at school, because I didn’t have time to practice and my music teachers could tell something was wrong. I failed every class in school, because I always fell asleep in school. I had to work nights and go to school during the day, I barely had time to eat, much less do schoolwork or sleep. I wasn’t a child anymore, I was responsible for my mother’s wellbeing. I wanted to leave, I tried really hard to leave, but how can you just abandon your mother? You can’t. So I didn’t.”

I continued and told this girl about my mother’s death, and how I lived without anyone knowing for three weeks before I was discovered. Once they knew I was living alone, they forced me to live with Natalie. Then I told her about Jason, I told her about David, I told her about Katy-Lynn, I told her everything. More than I’ve told anyone. Once I finished, she looked at me, her eyes not filled with pity, but with understanding. She doesn’t feel pity for me, but I can feel her sympathy, her empathy.

“I’m Melody Parsons,” she states, defiantly.

“Hayley Barnes,” I respond.

“Did you… did you tell anyone you were leaving?” Melody asks slowly, unsure of what else she should say.

I nod. “I told Natalie. Well, I kind of told her.” The scene runs through my mind again, and I feel small tears pricking at my eyes. I know I’ve done the right thing. I’ve spared Jason the feelings I would’ve caused by telling him I was leaving him.

Or maybe I just did it for selfish reasons. Maybe I only did it to spare myself the threat of what would happen if I’d told him. I wouldn’t been forced to live beside Jason for at least another year or so, probably longer. I would’ve felt his pain, his hurt, his feeling of betrayal… every day. For God knows how long. I would’ve lived with someone who I was falling in love with, someone who didn’t love me. Someone who hated everything about me. Someone who felt I’d betrayed them.

Jason opened up to me. He told me all the things that had happened to him, I knew more about him than I think anyone else did. Even Katy. This fact just leaves me more guilty. I know so much about Jason, but does he really know anything special about me? Not really. I didn’t even tell him the details of my mother’s death. I told this girl, Melody, more about me and I’d only just met her.

“I’m a horrible person,” I whisper, finally allowing the tears to spill over.

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