Escape
1339 Words
Ammy,
I sat on a bench, right under the shade of the largest tree in Fredon Park. My usual spot seeing as to how I come here every time I need to escape the hell that is my life. You see Fredon Park, unlike the park in my home town is located in the middle class district. Were families can afford to take their kids to the nice schools, buy most if the newest fashions and tech and more importantly everyone here seemed to have their lives all figured out. perfect families, good neighbors and the like.
A heavy sigh escapes my lips and I tug the sleeves of my hoodie lower and my hood cap closer to my face. The wind picks up and the clouds now cover the sky blocking out the very last streak of sunshine.
Down from where I'm sitting I see a little girl run into the arms of her father who then lifts her high into the air laughing joyously. A beautiful woman walking hand in hand with a little boy join the man and the girl. Both parents smile and hold hands as they walk out of the park. I watch them until they walk out of sight then sigh heavily again.
Probably time for me to get going too. It's late, at least the weather makes it seem that way, not that my aunt would care about the time I get back home, but it's better safe than sorry she does have her moments. After all Mellow garden district, where I live, is anything but safe.
I stand and pull my phone out of my hoodie pocket and plug in my cheep earphones which don't do much in the way of blocking out all the outside noise but do have their benefits. With my favorite music list in play I move down the small hill until I step into the wide enough pavement and head for the park exit. The events of the past few days start flooding in and everything seems like noise, all of a sudden the happy voices around me seemed like a torment that I need to get away from. This is what happens whenever I leave the park and the reality that is my life crashes down on me.
My eyes stay glued to the pavement I'm walking on. I take long breaths to clear my mind. Happy thoughts.
"Maybe by the time I get home the house will be empty and I can get some actual sleep and -"
" Hey watch out!"
My head snaps up to see who was speaking but it's too late to react. A cyclist was headed straight for me, my feet refused to do what my mind knew was the right thing to do.
The next thing I saw was the pavement way too close to my face and a strong pain pulsing through the whole of my face, my entire left body felt grazed. I lay there for a moment trying to digest the pain before getting up. Not that the fall was deadly severe but because it all happened too fast.
A small crowd began to gather and a woman rushed over to lift me and ask if I was okay. When I was seated upright I looked opposite to find the cyclist who I suspect must have called out to me right before the crash. He had managed to get up and I could tell that he was in much worse shape than I was. He limped over standing two feet away from me, his head still in his bickers helmet which was more of a motorcycle helmet really, and began to apologise. It wasn't a rude or rushed apology, It was sincere and his voice was full of concern.
"I'm so sorry. I should have chosen the other side of the lane-" he was cut off by someone in the crowd.
" You don't have to apologise! That's her job. You had called twice before you made a collision with her. It's her fault she spaced out!"
There were a few agreeing murmurs even from the woman who had just helped me up and soon everyone offered their care for him and left me on the pavement with my butt getting cold underneath me.
They were right, I stood slowly making sure to lean my weight as best I could on my right leg and arm. I had expected that every one was gone by now. The park had pretty much cleared out, or I would like to think it was. I couldn't bring myself to look up to say for sure, my eyes filled with tears that weren't just from the pain shooting through my body but the many years that I had kept a brave face for all the people in my life and those around.
After all this the best I could hope for is that no one remembered my face and that I could continue to come here in order to escape my miserable life without having people notice me as the deaf girl that got hit by a bicycle.
An arm came around my wrist and pulled my left arm gently to rest on a chest with solid muscle that I could feel from even underneath his coat. A small gasp escaped my lips as I raised my head to look at who it was.
"They're wrong you know, " It was the cyclist, "I was in the wrong . This isn't even the cycling lane, it's just that I was... Never mind. I'm still really sorry. Are you hurt?"
All the while he was speaking I had been trying to place his accent it was one she had never heard before. He still had his helmet on and so I couldn't see his face. But if voices alone were looks he would be gorgeous. My face turned to the ground.
"It- it's fine I was to blame." Tears filled my eyes again and this time I couldn't hold them back. I bent to pick all my phone and winced as the pain shot through my body. my eyes caught sight of his knee which had a dark patch now spreading through his trousers. guilt hit hard.
"You should get that checked out." I mumured quickly indicating to his knee. He paused for a while and I couldn't tell his reaction at my statement because his face was still covered but he later looked at his knee, by the time he lifted his face to talk to me I was running towards the park exit. I heard him call behind me to wait but that only made me run even faster.
I didn't want anyone to see me cry, and honestly speaking I was afraid of having caused harm to someone so as I ran I ignored the pain in my body.
Some distance ahead of me outside the park three tall buff men dressed in black suits rushed in my direction. I panicked and hid in the nearest shrugs waiting until they ran past me into the park. I had to get back home before they found me.
I was still too close to the park so I hid a little longer, I didn't trust my legs to carry me anywhere especially if even just one of the three men I saw earlier would be chasing after me. A moment later two of them walked out with the cyclist from before, each of them held him literally of the ground while the third rushed down the street and came back shortly with a car. It seemed like they took forever to get him in and leave speeding off when in reality it was the pain I felt that made me feel the a few minutes was as good as a whole hour.
When I was sure I stepped out of the shrubs and limped all the way to the train station so I could get home.
so much for peace and quiet.
- Writer
