Abrupt

Chapter One

Hey again, I got 5 views which may not be much but I appreciate it. I'm glad people actually read my first part so thank you. Here's the first chapter, comment or vote please, like I said I like constructive criticism. Enjoy :)
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"Mommy, why are we hiding?" My mother frantically put her shaky hands over my mouth, her long light blue nails digging into my cheeks.

She whispered so low I barely heard her, "Shh honey, we're playing hide-and-seek with your daddy right now. You have to be very quiet."

I hadn't understood though, whenever I played with my friends they never got as frustrated about not finding me, and in this case my mom as well. There was a coat hanger digging into the skin on my lower back, but my mom said not to move a muscle. It was dark and I wanted to stop playing. I was tempted to disobey her like any small child would, but the slamming coming from the other side of the closet door told me that it wasn't a- "Next!"

"I said, 'Next!'"

"Hey lady, we want to buy our tickets too," spat a frustrated middle aged guy behind me with what seemed like three strands of hair covering his head. His tuxedo looked as if he had been wearing it for a straight week. As he was implying that I move, he merely shoved my shoulder.

I rolled my eyes and spun around, "Sir, next time you touch me you wont have a hand to do it with." I carried my luggage, which wasn't really much, and moved on to the irritated cashier lady.

"Sorry about that ma'am, I wasn't paying attention," I apologized.

"Yeah I noticed," she replied annoyed. Not that I blamed her though, sitting in a chair all day inside a box dealing with hundreds of people must get tiring. It looked hot in there too, despite it being autumn.

'Well fuck you then,' I thought to myself. "Can I get a one way ticket to Chicago?" Is what I said instead.

She sighed, "That's what I'm here for." I've never wanted to punch someone so badly. She printed out my ticket and slid it under the glass as I handed her the money in return. I took my ticket and was on my way.

"Thank you!"

...

"Bus 456 from New Jersey to Chicago, Illinois will be departing in 15 minutes. Once again, bus 456 from New Jersey to Chicago, Illinois will be departing in 15 minutes." The voice on the loud speaker sounded monotone. I carried my luggage and made my way towards the bathroom since this was gonna be a long bus ride. I looked in the mirror then back down at my ticket, I couldn't believe I was actually getting out of here. For years all I wanted to do was pick up my stuff and go, and finally I am. I redid my ponytail, which made no difference; curls were still sticking out everywhere. I made sure my white t-shirt wasn't dirty as I neared the door, ready to head towards the bus.

The driver greeted me with a smile, finally someone who wasn't in a bad mood. I flashed him a smile and handed him my ticket. "One way, huh?" His eyebrows scrunched together.

"Yeah, never wanna see this place again," I replied. I masked my pain and grabbed my ticket with its newly punched hole. Scanning the bus I saw that the back had the most people, the middle had a few parents alongside their children, and the front was basically isolated. I sat in the very first seat and shoved my luggage into the compartment above. We had waited five more minutes after that and then we were off. Off to a different state, as far away from this place as I can afford. I popped both my earphones in and turned my music up while looking out the window. At first we were going slow, I could see the trees passing one by one. Then we went faster and it all turned into a blurry green scenery as I began to shut my eyes.

...

I was woken up around hour 3 of the 12 hour bus ride by a screaming toddler. How can such a small human scream loud enough to be heard over my music? When I took my earphones off the little boy was crying while trying to put together sentences. They were incoherent but I understood "food" and "now!" Thankfully a lady, most likely his mother, gave him a sandwich and juice box. Although, by the time he settled down I was wide awake. I turned to look out the window, the sun was setting. It filled the sky with beautiful shades of orange, purple, and blue. I reached for my bag and pulled out my sketchbook, oil pastels, and some gum. I began to copy down the sunset into my book, lightly moving the oil pastels across the paper. I assumed the screaming boy saw me blowing bubbles because he had turned to his mom and began crying again using the words "mommy" "gum" "want!"

"Johnny baby, mommy doesn't have gum." She looked awfully stressed. Her bright orange hair was up in a messy bun, but she was pretty regardless. A million and one freckles covered her face, her child resembling her in this aspect.

I reached into my bag again and pulled out another strip of gum. I turned around in my seat and offered the little boy gum. The mom mouthed "thank you" to me as he got out of his seat and took the gum. His eyes were bright like I'd just given him a bag of toys. Just as he was gonna go back to his mother, he stopped and pointed while saying "woooow!" I followed his finger, it was pointing at my sunset drawing. Warmth filled my body, the last person who complimented my art was my mother.

"Johnny leave the pretty girl alone!" The women cried, but I gave her a sincere look, letting her know it was okay.

"Hey Johnny, I'm Avery, did you like this?" I asked him. He grinned a toothy grin with his fingers in his mouth and nodded. "Come here," I patted the seat beside mine. He made his way towards me and sat down. I signed my drawing and handed it to him. "Here, a happy boy deserves a happy sunset."

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This was kind of a short chapter but I don't want to rush into the story either. This is before Julian, she hasn't met him yet, it's leading onto that. I added a picture of Avery and what she was wearing this chapter as a visual reference. Thanks again :)