“Give me a reason not to jump.” She cried out, the cold rain beating against her.
“Please get down from there….I love you.” Was all he could say, his voice shaking.
She looked down and smiled, however this time it wasn’t out of the happiness that his voice once brought her – this time it was simply a twisted effect of her broken state. A month ago she would have gotten down from the ledge, she would have fallen into his arms and given in; but not anymore. Not this time. She turned back towards the edge of the bridge and jumped.
The morning sunlight slipped through the window softly illuminating Liam’s room. The plain white walls giving a subtle glow contrary to the dark colored bed sheets sprawled on the floor. The tired boy lying quietly on his bed stayed still for the most part, tossing and turning on occasion. He smirked in his sleep and mumbled incoherent words into his pillow. Beep Beep, the alarm clock rang obnoxiously. His smile dimmed and dipped into a frown as he fumbled for the snooze button. After feeling around the small desk near his bed to no avail, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, the annoying high pitched beeps droning on. After his eyes finally focused, he looked across the room and saw the alarm on the floor.
“Why would I put it there?” he muttered to himself, getting out of bed and walking to the clock he crouched down pressed the off button. He stood up straight and stretched before placing both hands on his hips. “I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to do something today…” He vocalized his thoughts as he looked towards the door and began making his way to the kitchen. “HELLOOOOO?” he called out, his voice echoing in the empty house. Letting out a sigh, he looked in the fridge for something to eat. Searching the shelves up and down, he settled for cereal, taking the milk out and grabbing a box of coco puffs from the pantry. Pulling out two cups from the dishwasher he filled the cup to the brim with the circular cereal pieces. As he reached for the milk he noticed a small piece of paper placed across the kitchen counter. Curiosity took control of his actions and he reached for it, messy words were scrawled over and he had to strain to make out what it was saying.
‘Gone to work early, enjoy school. I’m sorry that we had to move so far away but please try to stay out of trouble this year. No more fights? Got it? Love, mom.’
Liam’s eyes widened at the sudden realization. Dashing back into his room and gathered his things faster than he’d ever done in his life. After finding his backpack (which he had mindlessly packed the day before in a tired daze) He quickly grabbed the first shirt and jeans he could find, hopping on one leg and trying to get his other leg into his pants as he opened the front door. Dashing towards the bus stop he barely made it as the doors began closing. The Bus driver chuckled as he dashed into the vehicle and cleared his throat with a gruff cough.
“Please take a seat sir” He said in a gruff voice, motioning behind him.
Liam looked up and down the rows, unfamiliar eyes rested on him as he made his way to an empty seat near the middle of the bus. Taking a deep breath he placed his backpack on the floor in front of him. The other kids spoke loudly with unfamiliar accents; it was change – maybe not a negative thing, but a change nonetheless. But it was okay, he was used to change. He’d been kicked out of so many schools because of bullies and fights that it was actually a relief for him to be left alone. Looking out the window and the houses passing by he noted small things committing them to memory. It wasn’t something done of necessity, but Liam enjoyed doing it anyways. The bus halted to a stop before he knew it and the other kids in the bus got up and walked to the front in the bus pushing each other forward. Liam sat and waited until he saw everyone was gone before standing up. Making his way to the front he stopped to thank the bus driver, which simply gave a dismissing nod. Turning towards the door he was knocked forward, and grabbed on to the pole for stability.
