Prologue

This story is 
dedicated to someone
who told me to never give up.

 

 

PART I

FULL

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prologue

I lay down listening to the birds sing and the trees sway. Everything was peaceful, nothing was perfect. But in that moment, I really didn’t care. It was quiet and that was the only thing that mattered.
I close my eyes and sink into the grass. The sun’s rays falling onto my face. I open my eyes and sit up, I grab the ice cold drink from next to me. I sip a bit before putting it down again and pushing my back to the grass. I keep my eyes open and stare at the clouds.
If only life could be like this every day.
A few years ago, I had moved away to L.A and now, I had to go back to England. It was my last day and I was determined to spend every minute in the sun. I had found this place a few months after I moved here. The trees were tall enough that no one ever knew I was there. The sun could reach me easily and the ground was soft and flat.
I sigh and sit up, knocking my drink with me.

‘Crap’ I whisper.

Someone laughs and I turn quickly. He’s standing at in front of an oak tree looking at me. He comes closer and picks my glass up for me. His eyes look into mine, they’re a dark blue. A bit of his brown hair falls into his eyes and he pushes it away. I take the cup from him.

‘Who are you?’ I ask.

‘My name’s Tom, Tom Ivor’ he smiles. ‘What about you, clumsy?’

The corners of my mouth turn up.

‘Ruth, Ruth Cold’

He nods and I stand up. The glass still in my hand, I look at him and frown.

‘What are you doing here?’

‘I was exploring and then I found this place. I saw you and I was about to leave. When you spilt your drink’ he points to the glass. ‘And I laughed. Your go, what are you doing here?’

‘I found this place a while ago. Since it’s my last day I came out here for one final time’

He nods.

‘How old are you?’

I frown.

‘What?’

‘You heard me’ He laughs.

‘Thirteen, why?’

He shrugs, ‘you look older’

‘How old are you then, nosey?’ I ask.

He chuckles again. ‘Fourteen. It’s a shame I’m just meeting you for the first time’

I smile. ‘I guess it is’ I wrap my arms around myself, the glass presses against my back.

‘I better go, my dad will be looking for me’ Tom says.

I nod.

‘I hope I’ll see you again. Ruth Cold’ He turns and walks away, I watch him go.

I sigh and after a few minutes, I head back to the house. My hands are to my side, the glass still in my hand. My mother is packing her bag, she straightens up when I walk in.

‘Finally! Where have you been? You need to pack, we leave for the airport in an hour’

‘I went for a walk’

‘There’s no time to walk. Go pack, and quickly.’ I roll my eyes, place the cup on the side and go to my room.

It’s a mess from this morning when I rose early and left. I go over to the bed and pull out my suitcase from underneath. I place it on the bed and unzip the lid, I push it back. Inside there is only one thing. A small brown box. I grab it and open it. Inside is a black gun. My father gave it to me before he died a year ago, I never thought we’d be going back to England. I put it back in the box and place it in the suitcase. Turning round, I kneel on the floor and start folding up shirts. I put them into piles of four and then I move on to the drawers. After the maximum amount of shirts I could hold, I place them in the suitcase. I bend over and pick up the ones on the floor. I then go to the Wardrobe, I pull out every single pair of shorts and jeans I own. Folding them before placing them into my bag. I start packing in books, shoes, films, medals and other things into another bag that I pull out from under the bed. I grab my hand luggage and slip my phone in as well as my laptop. I put it on my shoulder before zipping up the cases and putting them on the floor. I pull up the handles and drag them into the front room. My mother is chucking her books into her bag. She looks up when I enter.

‘Ah, you’re done’ she zips up her back and walks over to me.

‘Let’s go.’ We head for the front door, my mother leaves a pair of keys on the counter before turning to me. ‘Oh and Ruth, I know about the gun. Don’t worry, your father and I have contacts. How do you think we got the thing in, in the first place’ I smile, trust my mother to know everything.

We head for the Ford Minivan, we put the suitcases into the boot and the back seats. We slip into the front and my mother turns the engine on, she reverses and pulls out of the drive. I see Tom watching us and I smile. I was defiantly going to miss this place, but I knew why we were going. After the death of my father, life here was a struggle. My mother couldn’t find a job that would pay our bills and leave us money for food. She got a part time job as a cleaner at a Hospital, she was a part time sales assistance, a part time sectary and finally part time receptionist. Three jobs paid our bills.  The fourth was to supply food for us, but it was getting too much. I saw my mother less and less every day, until one day I didn’t see her at all. She had enough and applied for a full time sectary to a famous law form. My mother had gone to law school, but when she left she couldn’t get a job. So she got part times here and there. Now, she had to work her way up the job ladder, starting with a well-paid sectary.

‘You should get some sleep. I heard you wake up early this morning, it’s a long drive’ I nod and close my eyes.

Even though my mother is paranoid about timing she is just amazing. We aren’t just family, we’re best friends. I’m home-schooled and never made any real friends.
But the day I did, I had to leave.
Little did I know four years later, life would be completely different and that four years to this date; I’d meet Tom again.