The Wallflower

New Neighbors

Sang

My footfalls took me far, through random yards and over high fences. Jade lived in a more upscale, residential area compared to Sunnyvale drive, which was surrounded by forests as far as the eye could see. It was a small cul-de-sac but it was home, I guess. It would be a bit of a walk to get there and I hoped I could use that shortcut through the woods but with how dark it was, I didn't think that was a good idea.

The sirens were distant but quickly fading with my every panting breath. My pursuers were far behind me, but I wasn't taking any chances. I had to avoid North and Silas; if they ever desired to look for me after I all but ran with my tail between my legs. My shoulders slumped at that thought and once again, I was brought back down to my sad reality. I'm such a loser, I thought dejectedly.

After a while, the streets grew quiet. The residential area bled away and I stuck close to the light poles with my hands stuffed in my pockets and my head down. I huffed out a tired breath as I walked silently down the empty sidewalk with my eyes alert. I had no desire to spend the night locked in a jail cell and I knew father would skin me alive if he found out he had to bail out his youngest daughter because she was caught at some high school party. It wasn't so much the party but the illegal activities that had me worried, though. And the car! Oh god, the car!

I slapped my forehead, berating myself for letting Marie take the keys. If Dad found out the car was missing, Marie and I were dead meat. I just hoped he'd drunk himself into oblivion again and that he was passed out on the sofa so I could sneak downstairs and just double check. I don't think he'd care either way.

These days, dad rarely ever saw me, if he ever did at all, I'd never know. I still wasn't going to take any chances, sometimes he got violent when he drank too much. I just hoped Marie was either sleeping over her boyfriend's house again or already upstairs with the car safely parked in the driveway. Wishful thinking on my part, of course.

Maybe it was the adrenaline running through my veins or the second-hand smoke I could smell upon my clothes but my head felt foggy, almost lightheaded as I turned the corner of Sunnyvale Drive. With my head down and my hands tucked into the sleeves of my sweater, I quickly made my way to my sad, two story house near the end of the lane.

Halfway down the street, I noticed a dark colored sedan driving down slowly with their headlights dimmed. Frowning, I halted my footsteps and just managed to duck behind a massive, soccer-mom van that most likely belonged to Mrs. Bennett across the street. My breath fogged up the glass as I tried to place whose car it was but my mind was drawing a blank. I tried to ignore the nervous shiver that rode up my spine at that thought but I didn't recognize the car from around here. I knew almost everyone up and down Sunnyvale Drive and we never got new neighbors. Had someone finally moved into that empty, grey house near the end of the lane?

My curiosity burned and I was instantly filled with the need to find out. I had other worries though and my late-night musings could wait for another time when I wasn't ducking behind objects and avoiding strange cars.

Through the van's rust-colored windows, I tried to pick out who the occupants of the car were but their windows were too dark, a likely product of the dark tint they sported. Thankfully, it passed by me without pause and I released the breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. Laying a hand over my chest, I stood to my full height and just managed to catch the heads of two dark-haired individuals. On closer inspection, I realized that one of them was a redhead, the dim glow of the streetlights illuminating his sun-kissed features and that of his companion, whom bore dark framed spectacles upon his face. They were both clad in dark clothes and their striking features were unmistakable, even in the dark.