Chapter One: Mariah

I look around, taking one last glance at my home. Sure, maybe it was just a run down, one-story shack in the middle of nowhere that my mother was barely able to afford, but it was still the only home I’ve ever had. And now I’ll be leaving it and her for some fancy mansion with the man I have not once in my life met. All because the court just had to arrest my mom for shoplifting some stupid bread.

I’ve been saving up my tips as a waitress for the past few months to finally be able to get a ticket to some place in Europe. All I did was call my father to tell him the situation, and when he agreed to take me in, I handed the lady the information and the money, then took my ticket and headed home.

I’m going to miss this place...

I take a deep breath, branding the scent into my mind, then start walking towards the airport.

•••

It took forever just to get through the security check, and I only have about ten minutes to get on the actual plane. I start running, what few belongings I have in my bag bouncing against my back. When I finally get on the plane, I sigh, heading towards my seat in the back. Of course, it’s the middle seat of three. Well, nobody ever said it would be a comfortable ride...

I sit down, putting my things in the upper cabinet, then lean back in my seat, closing my eyes and preparing for take off. I look around for a while, taking everything in. There’s so many people here, more than I’m used to, but it’s not as busy as the actual airport.

I lean over to look out the window and notice that it’s partially cloudy, but otherwise the weather looks fairly calm. I smile slightly and relax back into my seat, putting my seatbelt on when the pilot tells us to.

Take off was a little bumpy, and the kid behind me kept kicking my seat, making it jerk forward, then bounce back. Every time it bounced back, my head hit the relatively hard seat, and I’d make a small noise of annoyance.

Once we were at cruising altitude, the flight attendants started walking around, handing out free bags of pretzels. I took one, just a little something to snack on, and the lady handing them out smiled at me. I watched the scenery out the window, looking at the clouds and occasional bird, then pulled a book out of my bag. It was one of my favorite books, The Book Thief.

I was just getting to the good part - well, it was all good, otherwise I wouldn’t be reading it over and over again - when the guy next to me elbowed me in his sleep and the kid kicked my chair again, totally ruining the moment. I turned around and was just about to tell the kid off when I noticed what looked to be his father, covered in tattoos and bald with ripped muscles that say “I can kill you with my bare hands.” Not to mention the fact that he was covered in scars.

If I had ever seen a gang member before, he definitely looked like one. And the look he gave me? No way.That kid can kick my seat all he wants. I turned back around and shrunk into my seat as the kid kicked it again. Stupid kid...

I just managed to turn the page before the guy that elbowed me leaned against me, drooling all over my shoulder in his sleep. I made a noise of disgust and used one finger to try to push him back to the other side, but this guy obviously didn’t agree, because he proceeded to hug me and mumble something that sounded a lot like “I love you, baby.”

Don’t get me wrong, he was cute and all with his brown bedhead, but he was probably thirty years older than me, and I’m really not into that kind of thing. I shuddered and wiggled out of his grasp, pushed him away gently, then got right back to my book.

Author's Note

This chapter was written by Silent Wolf.