unruly ⇉ chris sturniolo.

you drew stars.

* ੈ✩‧₊˚

Tori had arrived by the river much earlier today. The sun was still setting over the highway, casting all shades of pinks and oranges on the river and blasting the last of the day's warmth before the air eventually succumbed to the cold of the night. She never liked to come so early in the evening, knowing people came to fish and little kids fed the ducks that lived here too, but truly she had no choice. Tonight was the first night in a while the girl had no place to sleep, having couch surfed since the middle of junior year and bouncing from place to place every other day. Often she'd stay at a friend's or occasionally her aunt's place but that really was a rare occurrence and exactly why she was sitting on a log beneath some trees by herself now. It was supposed to all go fine: she'd meet her cousin after school and head back to hers, then leave in the morning as it always went when she camped over. But Clarissa was a no-show, and so was her mother - so that plan was out of the window. Tori should've been disappointed but she just couldn't find it in her to feel an ounce of sadness over it; she'd been let down by her family enough times for something so minuscule to bother her that much. It gave her some peace and quiet to read that book she'd checked out of the library anyways and study for her History class because she was horrendously behind, how she was going to get back to speed was beyond her. You can't blame a girl for trying though, can you?

It didn't take very long for the chill to take hold of the atmosphere and the sky to finally darken, Tori watched with contentment as stars appeared, shining brightly through the clouds above. A shiver ran down her spine as the cold air seeped into her skin, feeling goosebumps prickle her arms and the hairs stand on her neck when a gush of wind flew by. She really was sick of this. Having to cradle herself to sleep to keep the warmth in the thin clothes she wore and hold her belongings tight in case someone came by, she couldn't help but let a tear slip from time to time. She always thought she'd gotten over the sorrows of being left on the street by her father - a man who wouldn't even do a double take on her if they ever crossed paths again. She thought she had control. Life was all simple if she just simply didn't. Yet she always found herself doing. Sobbing into her arms until her eyes had dried and there was nothing left to give, the tears staining her face like scars of her past and her skin pale like fine china when there was no more colour behind it. It just always came over her like a wave in the sea with no remorse, even when she was a thousand per cent sure she was done with it just seconds before.

The girl rubbed at her eyes with the palms of her hands trying to halt the tears that just kept flowing unforgivingly down her face, stinging her icy cheeks on the way. She'd given in long ago,  letting the pain take hold; she figured she couldn't hold off forever. Her frame jolted with every sob that passed her lips and the sight sent fear shooting through Chris who now stood barely meters away. Too lost in thinking about her unfortunate situation, Tori had failed to notice the fast-paced footsteps coming from behind her. Granted he had tried to be as silent as possible to not scare her again, considering last time he'd snapped a twig in two and made her jump about ten feet.