Fighting the Stars - A Jack Harries Fanficton

Chapter 21

There comes a moment in every life where there is nothing but silence. The world around you remains still. And nothing is left except for you and the beating of your own heart. You can either choose path A or path B, and while your heart is saying one thing, your mind is saying another.

I stare at the crossroad I have brought myself to. I know which path I choose, I just can't seem to find the courage to actually take it. That always seems to be the hardest part. Just like how making promises is easy, but keeping them is far more difficult.

I swung my legs underneath my desk as I waited for my required Language course to be dismissed. It would be my last class of the day and the weekend would be in front of me. I had all of my plans ready, it was just a matter of going through with them at this point.

Finally, our professor ended her lecture and gave us our assignments for Monday. I practically sprinted out of class and to my room. I darted past students on penny boards and bicycles.

When I finally reached my dorm I shut the door behind me and let out a sigh of relief. I dropped my bag on the ground in front of me and strode over to my desk, where only two things remained: A picture of James and I at his aunt's wedding last July and an envelope.

I picked up the photo in it's golden frame and remembered what that time was like. That was the week before he hit me for the first time. Had I known what was to come, I probably wouldn't be wearing the same smile I was.

Terrance had been the one to snap the picture. He had been going around all evening with that camera of his taking pictures of anyone and anything that would pose. He's always had a knack for photography.

I set the photo back down on the desk and stared at the two suitcases I had stuffed full of all my belongings. There they were, packed and ready to go. All I had to do was get on the plane.

I knew that if I left, my father would disown me good and proper. But after a brief conversation with my mother, I knew that my finances would be secured. She would be sending me monthly checks with money from the account she'd kept secret from my father all these years.

I packed all my bags into my car, ready to leave at any moment. But something was keeping me from leaving just quite yet, I just don't know what. So, I sat in my room, staring at the wall.

All the bullshit and tormenting I'v gone through for the past fourteen years will finally be behind me. I will no longer have to live in fear of being abused and beaten. I will be free.

And for some reason...that kind of scares me. This life of torture is all I've ever known. How do I expect myself to recover from that, to go back out into the world and try to fit in like nothing was ever wrong with me in the first place? And what if I end up right where I started?

Then sun set early and it was already dark, even though it was just past seven. I had been sitting in my room for over two and a half hours.

Suddenly, there was a firm knock on my door. I knew this was it. This was what I had waited to do. I opened the door to reveal a well-dressed James.

"Hey babe," he said, pulling me to him and kissing the top of my head.

"Hey," I choked out.

"Dinner?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. Then he took a step away from me and scanned my emptied room. "What the hell is going on?"

I took a deep breath and gained all the confidence that I could muster. "We need to talk,"

His eyes sparkled with anger as he clenched his fists together. "I know what 'talk' means, Sophie,"