Something Different

Chapter 17

It was already 6. They'd stopped for lunch, which led to Donna dragging Alex to a local fair, where they spent two hours roaming about here and there, buying drinks and chocolates.

'Shit, it's already six. How far from Colorado?'

'An hour or something. Approximately 50 miles.'

'Cool, cool, cool.'

Alex's stomach was fluttering. Colorado. She hadn't been there in ages. Her heart thumped against her chest.

Donna, on the other hand, was shaking with excitement. She'd never been to Colorado. She wanted to see so many things there. But that wasn't the only thing that excited her. She wanted to see where Alex had grown up, where she'd spent the first couple years of her life.

Struggling to distract herself from her thoughts, Alex tried to focus on driving. She'd put on some music to sing along to, but her mind refused to think of anything else except home.

Home. What a lovely word. It made her feel warm and mellow from inside, yet at the same time made a shiver run through her.

Her thoughts prevailed. A memory resonated in her mind. Not a very pleasant one.

There was young Alex, with the same dark, choppy hair. Her green eyes flashed like a cornered animal, scared and angry. She snarled in frustration.

A familiar voice yelled, deep and gruff. A man in his mid forties, his face contorted with anger, flushed a deep red color.

'You don't deserve our love, Alexa!'

'Well, you don't deserve mine either!' screamed young Alex, with bloodshot eyes, struggling to keep her tears in.

'STOP IT!' shrieked a shrill voice. It was a woman. She might have once been beautiful, but her face was pale, and her eyes were sunken. Face streaked with tears, she pulled her husband back.

'I'M NOT GONNA STOP MOM, YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING! IT'S WRONG, IT'S-'

A sharp pain shrouded her. Her cheek stinged, right where her father slapped her. She placed her hand on her cheek.

Her father stared at her, breathing heavily. He was obviously shocked by what he'd done, but made no attempts to show it. Her mother burst into tears again, suppressing her sobs by pressing her hands on her lips.

Her hands shook, partly with fear, partly with anger. She bit her lips.

She took one last look at her parents, disappointment, hatred and anger gushing through her veins. Her vision blurred. She ran up to her bedroom.

Slamming the door, she broke down. Her eyes were streaming with tears. She couldn't breath. Slowly sinking into the ground, she put her head between her knees and sobbed.

Alex snapped out of her daze. She pulled the car on the sidewalk.

Donna was startled. 'Alex, where are you-', she started, but was cut off when Alex slammed the car door.

Alex walked away from the car. Something had broken inside of her. Her heart felt like it would shatter any second and her lungs felt as if they would collapse any minute.

Donna yelled out her name. 'Alex! ALEX, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?'

Alex shut her eyes. A tear traced it's way down her cheek. She walked farther away from the car, not looking back.