My Only Sunshine

Chapter 22

17 years old

Aelia POV

Casey passed me the ball on the beach, but I couldn't reach it in time and Tommen got it before me and then passed it to a guy on him team I didn't know.

That guy threw that beach ball through the net and scored and won the game.

"Don't worry Aelia, you played awesome." Casey said coming over to me and putting his arm over my shoulder.

"Sorry..." I cringed out, even though they knew I let them down.

I agreed to play with Casey and his friends, but I didn't know what I was doing or what to expect, but everyone was so good it was hard to keep up with them.

Even though... it was fun to be included like this, everyone was nice to me.

"Yeah, don't take it personally Aelia." Tommen said, Casey's best friend as he grinned at me, ball in hand.

"You guys want to hit the food truck? I'm starving." One guy asked, Tommen and Casey looked at me and I shrugged.

"I could eat." I smiled as Casey kept his arm over me as we walked off the beach.

It was a nice day, and I was happy that nobody I knew from school was at the beach, including the kids from my adoptive parent's house, as I would've been dragged back and punished.

Roy was a a 'god fearing man' and a nice person to his neighbors but at home he would punish us for the smallest thing, a big one was talking and playing with boys.

Roy didn't think girls, me especially should be around boys as I was a trap sent to 'sin them' all the way to hell, Roy wasn't that bad but when you got on his wrong side, he'd punish you by sending you down the basement without food or anything to drink.

I was used to this treatment, nobody heard me whenever I said something when the agency came to visit us, so I stopped telling them, and just tried to hold on until I turn eighteen.

Just a little longer than I'm out of here, I never get to see this horrible town, or these horrible people again.

I saved every bit of money I earned to gain my independence, but it still wasn't enough, but I was almost there, I was a few weeks away from leaving this place for good.

"Yo, Aelia, you want ketchup on your hotdog?" Casey asks from the food truck as I nod my head and smile as someone sits next to me.

"Are you his girl or something?" A random guy asks, when I turned to look at him, he looked much older than seventeen, he looked like he was in his 20s.

He looked like one of Roy's friends, dressed smart, with perfectly styled hair, I knew the moment I saw him that this wouldn't end well.

"You're too pretty to be hanging out with rough guys, aren't you darlin?" He said to me, sending me shivers down my spine.

"Sorry I don't know you." I tried to get rid of him. "My boyfriend will be back so..."

Casey luckily turned back around and saw the guy sitting next to me and bothering me, with hotdogs in hand he came over, by then the other guys from the beach were walking off the beach and coming over to where I sat.

I knew this wasn't going to end well.

"Hey man, what the fuck do you want?" Casey asks him, putting the hotdogs down on the picnic bench, then he grabs hold of my hand and moves me away from him.

I stand behind and watch nervously as Casey gets in the older guy's face, the guy smirks and then stands up and gets chest to chest with Casey, just as the other guys from the beach stand feet away from us.