Roads and Romances | ✓

Prologue

Prologue

"Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling." -Margaret Lee Runbeck

//

     "I can't live like this."

     I rest my elbows on the picnic table, shaking my head. "It's killing me to live here. My parent's don't even care enough to call and check on me, let alone see me in person. They hate me." Straightening my back, I bite my lower lip, an awful habit I have. "I want to leave."

     Hannah lets out a groan beside me, looking at me from behind her sunglasses. "Leo, I'm your best friend, you know that?"

     "Yes," I answer hesitantly and shoot her a questioning look.

     "Good. As your best friend, I am going to inform you that the sentence that just escaped your mouth was entirely stupid. I would kill one hundred men for my parents to stop caring so much about me. They hover over me constantly. I never get a break. Embrace the fact that you have so much freedom."

     I shake my head and sigh. "You don't know what it's like, Hannah."

     One of our school's football players, Ethan Mathis, approaches our picnic table, quickly ending the conversation between Hannah and I. He nods briefly towards her before turning to me, a huge grin on his face. "Hey, babe."

     "What do you want?" I sigh again, leaning back on my elbows.

     "Will you be my girlfriend?" He says, still cheesing like a kid on Christmas.

     "In your dreams, Mathis," Rolling my eyes, I run a hand through my brown hair.

     He shrugs nonchalantly, smirking. "I'll get you one day, Leo. You'll be mine."

     I scoff in disbelief, watching his back as he runs towards the field, where the rest of his team awaits.

     "Why don't you ever date?" Hannah asks me, forcing me to tear my eyes away from Ethan's figure. "Girls would pay to date him, including me; he's smoking hot. Why do you always turn him down?" She chews on her thumbnail, the habit that she has had since we were kids.

     I shrug and slide my sunglasses over my brown eyes. "I'm not interested in males at the moment. I have bigger problems, such as escaping my parents."

     "Leo," She groans, eyeing me over her shades. "You have got to get that idea out of your head for a while. It's senior year, for God's sake. It's only like five more months, and then you're off to college. You'll never have to see them again."

     "That's too long," Shaking my head, I stand from the table and turn to her. "I need out. Now."

//

     As soon as I cut the engine of my truck in the driveway, I know coming home was a terrible idea. It's always just a disappointment. I come home, prepared to greet my parents, but they are never home, no matter what time of day it is. I get furious, slam doors, occasionally throw something, and leave.

     I enter the house and sigh. It looks as if no one even lives here. I drop my book-bag, knock over the vase of flowers and water, and go right back out the front door.

     I drive towards the library with my radio blaring some pop song. A few people shoot me nasty glares from their cars at stoplights, but I disregard them.

     Pulling into the library's parking lot, I lower the volume on the radio. A smile almost finds its way onto my lips, but I hold it back. Climbing out of my car, I walk into the library and make my way towards the front desk.

     "Oh, Leo," Miss Cagle smiles at me from her computer. "It's nice to see you today."

     Miss Cagle has been the librarian here for years, ever since her husband died. When he passed, she put all of her grief and energy into her work. She is short and thin, her hair gray from stress and age. Her green eyes sparkle when she smiles, especially when she talks about her favorite books. She always knows what to say when you need some advice, and never fails to lift your spirits.

     "Hi, Miss Cagle. How are you?" I offer a fake smile, already regretting this conversation.

     "I'm just great, and you? I haven't seen you for a few days," Her small dimples appear as she grins at me.

     "I'm okay, I guess," I shrug as I fiddle with the stack of bookmarks on the counter.

     "I didn't think you were working today, dear." She says quietly, almost inaudible as she searches through a folder for the staff's schedule.

     "I'm not," I sigh heavily, leaning my arm against the counter. "I actually came here to resign."

     Her eyes find mine, her smile falling almost instantly."But why? You love it here."

     "Yeah, I know. But I need to focus on my schoolwork. My grades are falling, and I need to pull them up badly," I lie. I feel awful for lying to her after all this time we spent together, but it has to be done. There's no way she would've let me go if I told her I was running away. She might have even told my parents.

     "Aw, sweetheart. I'm so sorry that you have to quit your job here, but you can't have bad grades right before graduation. I understand completely," She smiles sweetly. Quickly standing, she hurries around the desk and pulls me into a gentle hug. "I'll miss your company, Leo."

    "I'll miss you too," I say, smelling the scent of her perfume, trying to memorize it before I never see her again.

    Releasing me, Miss Cagle swipes at her eyes, clearing away any smeared makeup. "I'll see you around, okay?"

    "Sure," I hold back a wince and exit the library. It isn't until I get to my car that I start to cry.

-----

     Hi guys!

     It's been such a long time since I've uploaded anything, and it feels so great to be back to writing again. Please feel free to comment if you notice any mistakes throughout the chapters, but I ask that you be polite about it. Keep your comments nice and kid-friendly; I don't want anyone starting fights or getting reported. 

     I'll hopefully be posting about once a week for the summer, maybe twice, but once school starts again in August, my updates will probably slow for a while until I can get back into the swing of things. 

     The song on the side is "Home" by Phillip Phillips - one of my personal favorites - because I thought it really fit the theme of this story.

    This part is dedicated to the amazing @Marveler_ because of the stunning cover she made for me. Be sure to check her profile out :)

     Thank you so much for reading!

     -Mack