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My escape route was ingenious if I do say so myself. Certainly original. It consisted of crawling out my bedroom window onto the slightly slanted slate roof of the kitchen and cautiously clambering over it, careful not to knock any tiles off as I went, to the old wooden lattice that was attached to the wall at the back of the house. It wasn’t exactly the safest way considering my previous track record of climbing down rickety wooden objects but it was either that or take a giant leap of faith off the roof into a deceptively prickly bush which had a high chance of being seen on camera. With the lattice at least as long as you stuck to the left side, you couldn’t be seen. It was rather easy to remember what side to stay on considering the left side was closer to freedom aka the fence to the outside world.
If climbing over the roof and down the lattice was the risky part, then what came after was definitely the tiring, time consuming part. Going out the front gate was obviously not an option, neither was climbing over the fence because of how insanely tall it was. I was more likely to get caught that way. Or injured. The situation reminded me of that old children’s book. “We’re Going On A Bear Hunt” I couldn’t go over the fence, I couldn’t go under it. So instead, I had to go through it.
Leaving a human sized hole in the fence was without a doubt, not the cleverest idea which meant that every time I snuck out, I had to remove and replace the wooden boards. Removing the nails was difficult enough the first time round so I opted to just keep the boards in place with some strong garden wire.
Charlie had previously asked me how I could possibly be comfortable knowing how easy it was to break in. And my answer was, they were trying to break in whilst I was trying to break out. I knew that house inside and out, every little trick to bypass those pesky cameras and those annoying members of the security team that were typically stationed at the front and sides of the property. No one was getting in. But to ease Charlie’s worries I did keep my windows locked at night on the rare occasion I did sleep in there.
That particular night I was taking a chance by sneaking out earlier than normal, when there was still some level of light left in the sky, the sun a barely recognisable sliver in the distance. Should have known that was asking for trouble. The minute my feet touched the ground I heard the noise that makes my skin crawl. My mother’s ear splitting, high pitched, fake ass posh accented voice. And judging by the deafening volume, she was close. Too close. Looking around I had quickly realised that there was nowhere to hide where she wouldn’t find me and I definitely wasn’t fast enough to climb back up that lattice without being caught. I’m good at acting but I’m not that good. There was no way I could lie my way out of that one when I’m half way up a flipping wall. So I stayed where I was leaning against the brick wall, my hands behind me so she couldn’t see how tightly my fists were clenched. I took in a deep shaky breath as I heard the sound of her heels getting steadily closer and closer.
‘Austin, sweetheart. What are you doing out here?’ My body tensed as my mother rounded the corner wearing her signature skin tight short dress and towering high heels. ‘It’s too late for you to be out here.’
‘It’s still light mother. I wouldn’t consider this too late for me to be outside my own home. I am almost 17 after all.’
‘Ooh, someone’s got an attitude tonight.’ My mother laughed as she crossed her arms and looked at me through half closed eyes. ‘Just tell me what you’re doing out here Austin.’ She began to impatiently tap her fingers on her arm as she stared me down.
‘I was practicing lines for a scene. Since I was having trouble envisioning it, I thought I should come outside as it takes place in a park.’ I explained quickly. Too quickly I worried. She might be able to see through my lies.
‘Such a smart boy I have.’ My mother gushed as she reached out and touched my cheek, her hand swiftly moving down to fix my collar. Then again, she wasn’t exactly the brightest person in the world. ‘You have ugly bags under your eyes. You need more sleep.’ She continued.
Even for my own mother I was never perfect.
Never good enough.
‘I will head back up after I’ve gone through the scene one more time. I want to make sure I do it right. Do the role justice. That’s what the fans want, right? What you want?’ I questioned her.
‘Of course sweetheart.’ I hated when she called me sweetheart. Made it seem like she actually cared about me. Loved me and not just what I brought to her. Money. ‘The better you do with this role, the more likely you are to get other roles. Better paying roles.’
‘Yeah, yeah.’ I nodded as I glanced over at the fence, willing her to leave so I could get out.
‘Well anyways, I’m going out. This girl needs some fun and strong alcohol.’ She shook her hips as she pulled her clothes up dangerously high. ‘You think I look good in this?’
‘Yes.’ I said blankly as I stared over her shoulder at the red rose bush growing big and beautiful. In that moment I couldn’t stand to look at her.
‘Have fun doing your little scene.’ She waved her long nailed claws at me before strutting away down the path.
I waited until I was confident that she wasn’t coming back before I dropped to my knees and started ripping the boards off the fence. That night I didn’t even bother taking all the boards off. It was just a waste of time anyway. Instead, I removed just enough so that I could wriggle my body through the gap, covering myself head to toe in dirt and leaves in the process. I didn’t even stop when my shorts got caught on a loose nail. I let them rip, wincing as it scraped against my skin. As soon as I had managed to get my whole body through, I lifted the boards back up and began fumbling with the wire that held them in place. After many failed attempts to get the boards to stay where they were supposed to, I ended up abandoning the wire and just began running. It’s not like I cared about anyone getting into the house whilst I wasn’t there. They’d get caught quick enough. I just needed to get away from there. Away from that fortress. Away from her. Away from reality.
I raced down the grassy hill at the back of our house, barely able to keep myself from tumbling straight down it. As soon as I was safely at the bottom of it I pulled my hood up over head and began tearing down the middle of the road, my trainers pounding against the concrete beneath my feet. I could feel the cool wind against my bare legs and face as I ran, trying to push me back. Trying to keep me from getting where I wanted. Anywhere but that god damn house. It was exactly like what my mother was doing. Keeping me from getting out. But all that was doing was making me angrier and angrier until one day I would inevitably explode. That night felt like I was letting a bit of my rage out even if it was by just simply going against my mother’s orders. It allowed me that slight taste of freedom that helped keep me going.
I gradually slowed down to a brisk walk as I found myself on the street at the back of Charlie’s house. The street lights flickered and blinked out of the corner of my eye as I ducked into the alley by the side of the house. Only then did I stop and truly look at myself. At my dirt covered clothes and the bits of grass and leaves that were sticking to me. At the enormous tear in the brand-new pair of cargo shorts I was wearing. I remember cursing myself under my breath. I had only just bought them the other week using money I had set aside from a modelling job and I had already ruined them. Couldn’t blame anyone but myself though.
I jumped as my phone went off with a loud buzz. Please don’t be mother, please don’t be mother, please don’t be mother I prayed as I pulled my phone out of my pocket.
177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5eoGxnMm5b
<[Are you alright?]
177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4AzLJ0yu1a
Just Charlie, caring about my well-being. A small smile flashed briefly across my face as another text came through.
177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtplSIeETHP
<[You’re taking longer than normal to get over here. Just want to make sure you’re ok. I won’t be offended if you’ve changed your mind about coming over. Xx]177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxUU4VLOwN9
177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6zSjodQuE
Little did he know I would never change my mind about going over to his. I could have been hit by a car that night and I still would have found a way to get to Charlie’s. I could feel the anger draining from my bod as I wandered round the corner and hopped the white picket fence into Charlie’s garden. I glanced around me, checking that there was no one watching before laying down on the ground and gazing through the basement window. I could see Charlie sat cross legged on the floor, staring anxiously at his phone obviously waiting for a reply from me. He was wearing his favourite frog pyjamas which were covered in little kawaii frogs. He wasn’t even that big of a fan of frogs but he adored those pyjamas for some reason. I knocked lightly on the glass and laughed as Charlie quickly looked up at me, a big grin on his face.
‘What took you so long?’ Charlie energetically threw open the window and practically dragged me in. ‘I was worried something happened to you Blue.’
‘I’m fine.’ I reassured him as I clambered in through the window, careful as always not to break anything. As soon as I was in the room Charlie had went to throw his arms around me but stopped as he noticed the state I was in.
‘Blue?’ He pushed me back and looked me up and down. ‘Why are you so filthy? And wearing ripped clothes?’
‘I didn’t take all the boards off before I went through the fence. Couldn’t wait any longer to see you.’ I grabbed his waist and pulled him closer to me. ‘You can’t say you’re not happy to see me. I saw your face when you spotted me at the window.’
‘Yeah, but all you needed to do was take 2 minutes to remove just a few more boards and you wouldn’t be looking like a homeless person.’ He twisted his body to get out of my grasp and took a step back. ‘What did she say this time?’
‘The usual. Just it seemed to irritate me more than normal tonight. I knew you’d be able to calm me down.’
‘Calm you down or remind you for the 1000th time how ridiculous that woman is?’ Charlie let out a deep sigh as he turned and wandered over to his wardrobe. ‘Throw a bucket of water over her and be done with it. Simple.’
‘My mother is not a witch Charlie.’
‘Agree to disagree.’ Charlie spun round and tossed a pair of pyjamas at me. ‘Here. I’m not having you ruin my nice new bedding with your muck.’
‘Could always wear nothing.’ I smirked. Charlie gave me a look as he went and sat on his bed. ‘I’ll take that as a no then. Anyway, I didn’t think you’d want the son of a witch in your bed.’
‘Thought you said she wasn’t a witch. And even if she was, that would only make you a half-witch and for that I’ll make an exception. But only cause it’s you.’ He blew me a kiss.
‘You’re such a nerd. A cute one though.’ I shook my head.
‘Austin?’
‘Yeah Charlie?’ I stopped mid change, my t-shirt around my neck like a necklace.
‘If you don’t want to take the risk of getting caught again, we could always talk on the phone more. I know it’s not the same but as long as we hear each other’s voice, we’ll be ok, right?’
‘Red, listen to me.’ I walked over to the bed where he was sat to stand in front of him and placed my hands on his shoulders. ‘The one thing that keeps me going throughout the day, the one tiny little thing is the thought of seeing you at night. And I am not prepared to let my mother or anyone else on this planet, witch, vampire, whatever, take that away from me.’ I leaned in close to whisper into his ear. ‘You are worth the risk Charlie Summers. You always will be. I would kill for you Red. Even that’s worth the risk of being with you.’
ns 172.71.223.109da2
