2: The F

up like some stray animal, the only thing I could feel stronger than the pain was the fire in my chest. It was hot and wild

wai

a snapping at him like she always did. Bottles clinking. Then finally, like someone had pulled a plug, everything went quiet.

up. My arms, my ribs, my face.

I had much to bring. One shirt, a pair of socks, some leggings. I grabbed my favorite hoodie, the grey one with the hole in the sleeve. It smelled like old l

bar I'd hidden there. I knew it was dumb, but I'd been saving

. Nothing smart. B

n I stepped on the bad part, and I stopped, barely breathing. I stared at their bedroom door li

ks. Each click sounded like thunder to me. I winced every time

he d

r rushed in, and I slipped out, pulling

n-I was

y out

g for someone to call me back inside. I stood the

started

here to go. I j

ed above me, and the shadows looked longer than they did during the day. But I wasn't sca

ed sidewalks and broken curbs. My sneakers slapped the pavement over an

ight hear it. I found a laundromat that was closed, its metal shutters half-down. I sat in the doorway, hugging my knee

himself like a blanket. I watched him arrange his little spot like he'd done it a hundred times.

each bite was gold. My stomach begged for more, but I ha

when I

rom down the block. I almost ignored it, bu

ide of a wall. Most of the flyers were junk-missing

a hand-drawn picture of a house with a big smiley sun above it. It lo

ude's

ace for Y

Home.

rs. Open

t it for a

was just another place that hurt people quietly? What if they made you do chores all day or yelled

in... what i

ut there actually

lyer. It wasn't that far, maybe a few blocks. I was already

I w

y thing in the world that belonged to me. The sun hadn't come up yet, but th

g. I was tired in every way a perso

ally, I

it was. A white house with peeling paint and a garden that looked kind of wild, like no

ude's

art was beating so hard I felt it in my ears. I thought about tur

I di

idn't knock, I

ssed the

ked on t

e perspective or want to explore it through anoth