The sun woke me up at seven; Jon had opened the curtains for me before he left for work. He’ll never learn. I got up and shut out the worlds view into Jon’s apartment. I ran to the back of the house to see if the windows were open there, too.  They weren’t, to my surprise. I looked around the kitchen for something more substantial to eat than the sherbet I had a couple of hours ago. Luckily, Jon never grew up, and there was an abundance of sugary cereals to choose from. My eyes drifted across the names: Frutie Pebbles, Captain Crunch, Apple Jacks,-
     “KIX! My favorite!” I said out loud. I went to the refrigerator and grabbed the milk, along with everything else I needed. I set the bowel on the table, and there I saw a note written from Jon.

     Lisa,
          I’m at work, and I’ll be back around three in the afternoon. Help yourself to
          anything in the house. The Saturday morning cartoons are on channel five,
          so enjoy them while they last. I put some of your clothes in the washing
          machine for you, but they need to be put in the dryer. See you soon, Sis. I   
          love you.

     I continued with my breakfast, reading the note over and over in my mind as I ate. I wanted to memorize every part of it. I loved his handwriting. I had at least three bowls before I was satisfied. I had eight hours all to myself before Jon came home. I decided to take a shower; I didn’t get a chance to bathe properly at the hotel. I turned on the TV, it had been on the AUX channel; no doubt that Jon played video games before he left for work. I turned it to channel three, where the satellite can be viewed, and then turned it to the music channels. I turned the TV up as loud as it could go, then started to get ready to shower. It was nice having the music up so loud; I couldn’t her my terrible singing, or the loud thumps that my clumsy body made when I danced.
     It was nearing twelve o’clock when I got out of the shower. The cartoons were over by now, and I didn’t have anything to do. I scanned Jon bookshelf for anything I hadn’t read yet. Sadly, Jon isn’t much of a bookworm, and the books he did have I already read. I grabbed Stephen King’s Insomnia and settled into the couch. This would be the third time I read this book. Following the familiar storyline, my eyes got heavy, and I curled up for a nap.

Chapter Four

     When I awoke, Jon was home already with a cigarette pressed between his lips and a video-game controller placed snugly between his hands.
     “How was work?” I asked. Jon seemed upset, and I wanted to know what was wrong. He usually didn’t  have as serious a look on his face.
     “Listen, Lisa, I can’t have you staying here for much longer,” he sighed, and lit up another one of his Reds. “The school will get suspicious as to why your not in school. They’re gonna think you dropped out, and then they are going to call Allan. When Allan says that you have ran away, before your eighteen, they will have no choice but to notify the cops; its their policy. The authorities will interrogate him, and then they will do the same to me. It’s only a matter of time before you’re going to have to go back home.” Jon then took a long drag and let the smoke fall out of his mouth. “I think I need to call Allan soon; it’s my responsibility as an adult, and as your big brother.”
     I sighed, because in the back of my head, I knew he was right. I couldn’t stay here forever, but there was no way in hell I was going back to Father’s house.
     “You already called, didn’t you?”
     “No, I wanted to talk to you about it first, so that you knew that it was coming, and you could prepare yourself. I know you don’t want me to call, and trust me, I don’t want to call either. But-”
     “No. It’s fine. I was thinking the same thing while you were at work. I just… I wasn’t expecting to have to go back so soon. I was kind of enjoying myself, being a rebel teenager and whatnot. But you’re right, I have to go back eventually. Do you think we can call in the morning instead? I want to get another good night’s sleep before I go back to Callahan, okay?”
     “Deal. We will call in the morning. Thanks for understanding, Lisa, I thought you would be more headstrong than that.”
     I didn’t say anything the rest of the night, I was too busy planning my escape. There was no way that I was going back to my small town home until I was eighteen. No way in hell. I knew it would kill Jon, especially knowing that I lied to him. I would leave in the night, while Jon was sound asleep. Then, I would head to the nearest drugstore and buy some blond hair dye, and some colored contacts. I needed a new name, a new identity, a new look. This was going to be a long night.


keep your eyes open for part eight.
add me to your watch so you dont miss anything.