Adrianna’s POV
February 3rd, 2014
The cold winter air was starting to sting my lungs as I desperately tried to catch my breath. I couldn't stop, not when I was so close to having a taste of freedom. I couldn't see through the tears that fell from my eyes as I ran. I run and I run, but I'm not getting anywhere. It felt like I was trapped. I always return to their house out of sheer fear that they will later find me and break me beyond repair. I just wanted to leave the family to pursue my dreams. I'm just a few weeks shy of eighteen and they try to claim that I'm nothing more than a troublesome kid that they dearly love. They do not care for me, they never have.
My family make me want to do absolutely anything to escape. They cause me pain: physically, mentally, and emotionally. My father is the reason the hope in my eyes has died. My mother is the reason why the brightness of my smile has dimmed. My older brother is the reason why my voice has quieted. They are the reasons my pride is no longer inside. I have tried to reason with them, I truly have tried. Yet, they don't want to listen. They are too caught up in their world that they seemed to have forgotten that everybody else is entitled to live a life of their choosing. It's one of the reasons why I must remind myself, "I'm not one of them."
I finally stop on a bridge to catch my breath. I grab my phone and the screen glares up at me while I check the time. '12:07am' I left an hour ago. I look out over the bay of my hometown, sighing to myself as I climb up on the stone railing to sit on it. The zephyr cools my sweat ridden face as I stare out across the water. I sit in silence, listening to the waves gently crash on the bank underneath the bridge.
I hear loud voices and loud laughter behind me but I do not turn around to see if they were drunks or just loud people taking a walk. I swing my legs as I tear my gaze from the water and I look up at the starry night. Every time I run away, I make sure it's a moonless night to avoid being seen. I close my eyes, hearing the loud scuffle behind me suddenly stop.