Ray of Light

❊ Chapter two: Roof of NYC ❊

January 7th 2017

"Dammit Ray, you're such a scaredy-cat," Jay sighed.

I scrunched up my nose at the stench of marijuana that radiated off of him. Of course my stepbrother was high as a kite, I don't know why I wasn't used to the smell of his drugs by that point.

"I'm not doing something illegal for you," I snapped.

"So you'd do something illegal?" Jay quizzed. "If it wasn't for me?"

"Get out of my room!" I raised my voice dangerously, standing up.

Jay laughed.

"Little sis is tryna be tough, jesus it aint working," he jeered.

He stepped closer to me and raised his fist, causing me to flinch. Jay laughed again, then pushed me onto my bed.

"Enjoy lonliness brat," Jay laughed and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

I heard the lock click and new I was locked in. I dragged myself up against the wall and tucked my knees into my chest. Rocking sideways, tears spilled down my face. My head throbbed and so did my left eye socket. I gently pressed the spot and winced in pain. I heard more yelling from downstairs and I felt terror fill me again to the point I was trembling. I hated being here, I hated this family. No, not this family. This isn't a family. This is the house where my mom, her boyfriend and her favourite child live. I'm just the teenage girl nobody wants. I didn't want to live like this. Constant abuse, beatings and being degraded by the people who claimed to be family.

I stood up and grabbed my coat. I put it on, and put my phone and empty purse in a small bag, before pulling a chair over to the window. I opened the window and clambered out, shivering in the cold. Did I forget to mention it was autumn? Careful to not lose my footing, I walked down the roof and sat down on the edge, before jumping down to the driveway. Taking one look back at the house to make sure nobody had seen me, I ran off down the street towards the main road.

~~~✸~~~

I pulled out my phone from my pocket and checked the time. 6:52pm. The sun had almost all dipped over the horizon of New York. Here's a little description of the roof I was going to be sleeping on that night:

1. It was the low roof of an old CD store that had been converted into an antique shop.
2. It's completely flat, with the exception of some cubby-type hole in the corner.
3. There aren't any sources of warmth, so I'm utterly freezing up here.
4. My bag is stored in said cubby-hole.
5. There's a collection of blankets and pillows up here - I'm trying not to get hypothermia up here.
6. This is probably completely illegal.
7. Nobody knows about this.

I checked my empty purse in vain. Somehow, I'd hoped - just for a second - that I would have a few coins or dollar bills left. My stomach rumbled, but I knew that I couldn't go and get a freebie from The Mug & Muffin. It closed at 6:30. Sighing, I stood up and walked over to the edge of the roof, before clambering down with the help of a pipe.

Now on the street, I looked around. There was a tavern/pub nearby, and some women stumbled out. They were clearly drunk, and my eyes caught sight of the bag that hung loosely from one of the women's hands. I got closer, staying as inconspicuous as possible. My suspicions were confirmed; they were definitely drunk. I recognised one of the women - from where I didn't know though.

Without a word, I slipped into an alleyway and watched them as they walked down the street towards me. I heard their slurred conversation as they got closer. I peered out around the corner. Only a few meters. Less meters. Even less. I darted out of the alley and grabbed the woman's bag. She yelled out and tightened her grip on the bag. Shit, Ray grab it! I yanked at it but one of her friends ran towards me and hit out at me. I let go of the bag to avoid the other woman's punch, then darted back in and grabbed the bag again. Blood was rushing past my ears and that was all I could hear. Adrenaline was racing through my veins. I needed this money. This time, I yelped in pain as my target's friend punched the back of my head. I let go of the bag and stumbled backwards.

"We need a cop!" one of the women shrieked, but I was already running away.

I ran into a crowd of people to try and hide myself as I ran back towards the antique shop. It looked like I was going to bed hungry - and hurt - that night.