Aura [bxb]

Fourteen

Laken P.O.V

The bus ride home had given me more than enough time to think hard about what was going to happen within the next hour. I was finally going to have a serious conversation with my mother over the siren situation. I was tired of being the quiet child who took whatever my mother said without a fight. Why was I forced to hide a part of myself when my mother would leave every weekend for a half-day to shift? That's completely unfair. I have been forcing myself to stay away from water my entire life. I should be able to be myself.

Why couldn't I just be myself?

That was going to be the main subject of the entire conversation. I always listened to my mother when she said to stay out of water, never asking why. I should have truly questioned it a long time ago.

I rested my head against the glass of my window. My eyes darted out the window, glancing at the beautiful view of the ocean from the bridge. I lean my head off the glass, knowing the bus was about to hit a bump. After passing over the bump, I lean my head back onto the glass. I was getting so anxious. This would be one of the only times I have ever thought of even remotely ask my mother why? I am so used to just accepting everything she said. I know that I shouldn't have but, I can't go back to when I was a child as demand, why I couldn't go into the shining sea that I felt like was calling me, urging me to fall underneath the waves.

I let out a sigh when the bus pulled up to apartment building. I got off the bus after the children in front of me. I had chosen to sit further back on the bus today, and now I regret it, realizing that they would most definitely beat me to the elevator. I refuse to get into the elevator with them. Especially with what happened last time.

Deciding that I would much rather walk up the eight flights of stairs before I'd want to get in the elevator with those kids. I sigh, walking towards the staircase, opening the door. The stairs were rarely used considering the apartment building provided an elevator for a reason. The only people that ever seemed to use the stairs were the people who lived on the second floor.

I began to slowly walk up the stairs, realizing how much energy it was actually going to take to walk up. I hate stairs. I seriously do. I just hated the kids a little bit more. The only thing worse about the stairs is that the lights didn't work on two of the eight-floor entrances making the staircase incredibly dark in certain spaces. It was kind of scary, like low-key horror movie stuff. I had a fear of the staircases when I was a child because of the lack of lighting but, have since gotten over that unrealistic fear. I refuse to be that one guy whose still afraid of the dark.

Once I made it the sixth floor, I was officially tired of the stairs. Like it seriously was starting to drain out my life force and make me want to just collapse on the floor and never get back up. I continued though, knowing that I had to face my mother . . . and that she'd freak if I didn't get home soon. That form of my mother wasn't fun to deal with. It would be almost impossible to talk to her if I angered her over me being late by five minutes.

When I finally made it to the eighth floor, I had let out the loudest sigh of relief. I just remembered why I loved the elevator. I should seriously not take that amazing invention for granted ever again. If I ever think taking the stairs is okay, I will make myself think of this experience. The stairs shall never be conquered by me again.

I crack the stairs door to the eighth-floor open, about to step out when a loud slamming noise stops me. By peaking my head out of the slightly cracked door, I could slightly see three large men standing in the hallway in front of my apartment. Another large crash noise echoed from my apartment.

"Come on, Rain, just tell us where he is," A loud booming voice said to my mother. The voice sent chills down my spine. It took me a couple of seconds with me trying to figure out if it was me they were asking about or not.