sunrise || m.h.

Cement

Running away from home was harder than you'd think. With the constant worry of being dragged back again and nowhere to go, it takes a toll on you. Both mentally and physically. Even though I'd only been walking for a few hours, my legs ached and all I wanted to do was sleep.

A train was stopped at the station a few blocks away, so I decided that it was probably my best bet of getting away from Manchester as fast as possible.

Boarding the train, I took a seat at the back, where it was empty and clear of people. Looking out the window at the dark streets, I wondered where this train goes. It doesn't matter, as long as it's far away from here.

The train doors shut and we slowly started to move. I leaned my head on the window, looking out at my hometown that was never much of a home to me.

"Wait! Wait!"

I turned my head towards the doors to see a boy with curly blonde hair running next to the train, waving his arms frantically.

The train continued to move, and started to speed up slightly. I stood from my seat and pressed the emergency stop button next to the door, making the train stop and the doors open.

The blonde boy boards the train, out of breath, and sat down across from my seat.

"Thank you" He said breathlessly, waving his hand at me.

The train director walked out from his driving post and looks at us with concern.

"Who pressed the emergency stop?"

My nerves got the better of me and I stuttered as I tried to explain that it was me.

"I, um... He.."

"I pressed it, sir. She forgot her bag on the bench outside and I went to grab it for her."

The train operator looked between us for a moment, then spoke.

"Well, that button is for emergencies only, and her bag isn't much of an emergency, but it's fine for now. Forget anything else before we go?" He turned to me.

I shook my head and he went back to the driver's seat, closing the doors and starting once again.

"Thanks for stopping the train for me." The blonde boy said, looking up at me.

"Thank you for covering for me." I said quietly, smiling politely at him.

We sat in silence for a while, watching out the windows as the city goes by. He broke the silence.

"I'm George." He said, smiling at me.

"Hayley." I smiled back

I looked back out the window, letting my mind wander.

"So, what are you doing going all the way to London from Manchester?" He asked, breaking my trance.

His question caught me off guard and I quickly tried to come up with an excuse.

I can't tell him I'm a runaway, what if he turns me in? What if he thinks I'm just some stupid kid with daddy issues? What if-

"I, um, I'm moving. Just needed a change." I lied.

He nodded.

"What about you?"

I studied his face, taking in all the details possible without just plain staring.

"I was visiting someone, so I'm on my way home now."

He looked at me and I look away, trying to not freak out the only person I have that's even close to being a friend.

After a while more of small talk, I decided to sleep. I'd wake up in a few hours anyway, right before the sun. George said he'd wake me before we got to London, but I didn't think I'd sleep that long.

I woke up before the sun, just as the sky started to turn from black to orange, and watch shades of pink, yellow and orange mix themselves in with the sky blue that it always remains. I looked over at George to see him fast asleep. So much for waking me up when we get to London.

I took my notebook out of my bag and started to write, a habit I had in the early morning. It inspired me to watch the seemingly endless void of dark be washed away by such brilliant colors. After a night with nothing but dark, the sun never fails to rise against the dark and fight it to the other side of the world with so much color.

The sun is such a brilliant thing. It rises through everything, no matter if there's rain, clouds, thunder and lightning, or a clear night sky, it will always rise and bring light to the world. Orange battles black, black battles pink, purple pushes the hardest against the dark, seeming to be in a never ending fight with it. At night, the sun goes down with red and orange, almost like blood. Like it's trying to convince you that the dark has won and the sun is gone, and it will never return again. Even so, it always comes back, seeming with more colors than before. Brighter, more breathtaking, hundreds more shades than it left with, stronger.

"Have we arrived?"

George snapped me out of my writing trance and I quickly put the pad away, shoving it into my bag.

"Not yet." I said, watching the sky.

The colors were almost completely gone, the black hiding on the other side of the earth, waiting to come back around and take over the sky again.

"How much longer?" He asked, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

I shrugged. "Maybe an hour?"

He nodded and leaned on the train seat, closing his eyes again.

I continued to watch out the window as unfamiliar surroundings passed, a new sight flying by every moment. I hadn't let myself think about him. My father. It would only give me anxiety and maybe even convince me to go back. I didn't want to go back. I wasn't going back.

In just an hour, we were arriving in London. George and I didn't talk much, some small talk here and there. We sat in comfortable silence, watching out the train windows as the world passed by. It was the city now, not scenery like the country. Not that the country isn't pretty too, but it's just not as pretty as the city. I've never been one for the country.

"I think we're arriving finally." George said as the buildings started to slow down, becoming less blurred and clearer.

The train came to a stop, the doors opening for the first time in hours. I grabbed my bags and so does George, we walked out of the doors and onto the London sidewalk, something completely alien to me.

"Home, sweet home." He smiles.

"Yeah, home."