Leaving everything behind?

Chapter 1: Leaving

«I can't stay here any longer! I have to get out of here!" Jessica cried while she packed her medium size bag with the clothes she needed the most, some savings she had kept in a little box under her bed, and a picture of her and her family that her aunt had taken of them last thanksgiving.

"Jessie Lange what in the world are you talking about?" Dorothy her mother asked with a concern expression on her face. Jessica just shook her head. She had been keeping all of this inside of her for so long. She needed to get away. She didn't know what it was, but it was killing her. She knew it. It was like she couldn't breathe. She didn't belong there. She felt like a stranger in the town she grew up. She was so lonely, even though she had a lot of friends. She had to get away from Minnesota, more specifically Cloquet.

"I can't stay her mom!" Jessica whispered while she threw a bottle of water into her bag, before she threw it around her shoulder, and looked up at her mother and father who looked at her with bloodshot eyes. "Jessica I raised you better than this. Put down that goddam bag, and sit down so we can talk about what the problem is!" He raised his voice at her, trying to pull the bag away from her. Without Jessica knowing what she was doing she quickly showed her father away from her, making him stumble backwards. Luckily he managed to save himself by taking a hard grip around the side of her desk. The desk where she spent hours and hours, so she could get good grades. Although it had been a while, she couldn't remember the last time she studied for a test. She just completely lost interest. The only thing she could focus on was working at the local Café downtown, so she could earn a descent amount of money, and then she could leave the town behind.

Jessica gasped when she realized what she had done. She had never acted that way towards her parents before. Even though she was young, and probably stupid she respected her parents more than anything. They were after all her parents, the two people who gave her life, and a loving home. But now, now she needed to get away.

She quickly composed herself before she ran out of her bedroom, and down the stair of their small Minnesota home. Where it lived a family of six.

"Jessica!" Her mother cried. Jessica had to take a deep breath when she came to the front door. She hated to see her mother cry, and knowing she was the person causing it, broke her heart.

She placed her hand on the handle, but before she had the opportunity to open the door, her father grabbed her around the shoulders, turning her around by force.

He looked so scared, for the first time in her life her father's eyes were full of fear, and it made her feel guilty. It was like a huge lump building up in the back of her throat, and it was slowly growing, and it would only become harder and harder to breathe.

She looked into her father's eyes, with so much sorrow. "Mom, dad... I have to leave!" Jessica whispered while she whipped away a hot tear that traveled down her cheek. Dorothy and Albert looked at their youngest daughter. They had no idea where such crazy thoughts came from. They had noticed that Jessica had isolated herself for a while, and her grades at school wasn't as good as they used to be. They just though she was exhausted, tired after a hard year at school, and working at Mary's Café down in the city. But obviously it was something way deeper than that.

Jessica's mother slowly took a step forward, and placed her hands on Jessica flushed cheek. "My baby girl, what is going on?" She asked while her hand was slightly shaking. Jessica shook her head again, this was so hard for her, but it was something she needed to do. It was something she needed to do for herself for the first time in her life.

"I'm really sorry but I have to go. I'm leaving home!" She said trying to make them understand her. Both Dorothy and Al looked at her as if they had seen a ghost. "You're not leaving home, you're 18 years old, Jessica!" Her mother said with her soft voice, even though tears ran freely down her aging yet beautiful face. Jessica nodded her head yes. "Where does such thoughts come from?" Albert asked in anger. He was not letting his baby girl out of the house at 18. Jessica swallowed hard before she looked into the dark eyes of her father, which she had inherited.

It was a long moment of silence before Jessica spoke. "I feel like I'm drowning. I can't do this anymore. I now it sounds bad, but it's killing me. I just need to get out of her. I have to do something alone, be independent for once. I have to leave so I can find myself! And I can't do that here!" Jessica said with determination in her soft voice. Al shook his head. Jessica had always been a good girl, always did as she was told. Good at school, many friends, good job: earing her own money, and she mostly looked happy. She was a happy girl. Or as so they thought.

"Jessica let's sit down and talk about this, before you do something you're going to regret!" Her mother said trying to take a step closer to her daughter, but Jessica quickly opened the door. "No, don't! I'm not staying here! I love you, but I just have to be alone for a little while!" She yelled. It was like she was having a mental breakdown. She looked so tired, so drained of energy.

Albert swallowed the lump in his throat, he had never seen his little girl act like that before. "My girl..!" He whispered. She looked so lost, she didn't even look like herself. He couldn't believe they didn't notice the difference in her. It seemed like his little girl was slowly fading away...

"'I'm sorry I love you guys so much. But this is something I have to do for myself. I'm gonna keep in touch. I promise you that! But I have to go, just trust me" She tried to convince her parents. Dorothy and Albert were speechless, they couldn't believe what they were hearing. This was serious.

"I have worked for 1,5 year, and I have a lot of savings!" She said with a strong voice, even though she was breaking on the inside...

Again silent took over the room.

"This is absurd Jessica. You're 18 years old. Where are you supposed to go? You've just started college Jessica. You're studying art and photography, isn't that what you want? You got a scoolarship" Albert yelled at her. Jessica closed her eyes tight; she knew he was going to be like that. "I'm going to new York. I'll get a job, maybe become a photographer, or and actress. There are so many great people there, and so many great places to learn more..-" she started but her mother quickly cut her off. "This is crazy! Absolutely crazy! I will not aloud this! This is ridiculous!" Her mother said with an angry voice, a side Jessica hadn't seen of her more than maybe two times in her life.

Jessica straightened her back before she looked from her mother to her father. "I'm 18 years old, you can't stop me! I'm going to New York, and I'm going now!" She said tearfully.

Her mother cried, and her father's knuckles were white as snow, and his face read as a tomato, and he couldnt stand still, so he walked back and forth. He was restless, always had been. "Jessica please don't do this!" Her mother pleaded. "You're just a girl Jessica!" Her father continued. Jessica quickly whipped her tears, before she looked down at her watch. "I have to go now! I'm gonna take the bus to Illinois, and then the train from there!" Jessica said with a sad smile on her face. She loved her family so much!

More tears ran down her mother's face, and her father was also fighting his tears at this point. "The world is a dangerous place Jessica!" Al said before he hugged her tight, as if his life depended on it. "I'm asking you again, please don't do this!" he cried before Jessica's mother wrapped her arms around her neck. Her youngest daughter.

Jessica slowly broke away from the hug, and smiled at both her parents. She was happy that her brother and two sisters wasn't at home, that would have made it so much harder.

Now was the time. She had to go.

"I'm leaving now! I love you!" Jessica said with a soft voice, before she picked up her brown ruffled bag that fell on the floor when her father hugged her tight. She carefully let her hand through her champagne colored hair, and then straightened her black pencile skirt.

Her eyes slolwy traveld up to her father. He was the one she was most afraid to dissepoint, she looked up to him, and his opinions were very important to her. They alway had been.

Her father shook his head in disappointment, while her mother cried hysterically while she pleaded her not to go. This broke her heart into a million pieces, but she had to let go...

She looked at them one last time, before she walked out the door, and left her old life behind. Not knowing that her decision was going to change her life forever...

***
Yey, a new storie! I'm really excited about this book, and I have a lot of ideas coming too!☺️
I appreciate your thoughts about this, so dont be afraid to comment, and I really really hope you like it!

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