These Lives Of Ours.

I plugged my mp3 player into my ears and switched on my favourite song by my favourite band. “I’ve found the cure to growing older…” I sang quietly as Patrick Stump’s voice filled my head and made me feel a little better. Music was the only thing that had ever gone right in my life. It was the one thing that I could turn to on those lonely nights between houses.

I finally wandered my way to the local park and sat down on one of the swings. I needed some time to figure out what to do next. I had no money, no food, and no parents. I wasn’t even sure how to contact any other member of my family if I ever really got stuck. Honestly, every time I end up here (it’s happened before) I wonder how I’ve survived all these years of being alone. It surprises me that I’ll have made it threw 14 years in August.

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I ran and ran until I reached the local park. It seemed like the safest place to collect my thoughts and figure out what I was going to do next. I had no money, no food, and no home. This was unmarked territory. This was something I’ve never done before. This was fucking scary!

“Hey.” I mumbled, sitting down next to some girl. She had a bulging backpack as well, but I figured it was for different reasons. She couldn’t possibly be in my situation. “I’m Chip.” She smiled and stuck out her hand. “Ryan. Nice to meet you.” I smiled back. She really was quite pretty. Her small face was tanned and framed with long, dark, wavy hair. She had pretty normal features with chocolaty eyes. Did I mention a killer smile? Ya, that too.

“So what’s in the bag?” I asked, suddenly wanting to know everything about her. Where she had come from, where she was going, and why she was sitting in this park talking to me. “That bag? That would be my entire life.” She spoke sadly, reminding me of my own situation. “How about you?” I looked down at my own bag. “Same as you; my whole life.”

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I stared at the strange boy sitting next to me on the swings. He was very good looking if you could see past all the bruises. It was quite sad and I wondered how he got all of them. I decided, for the time being, it was better not to ask. “Ryan.” Was of average height, brown hair and eyes, and of course, covered in cuts and bruises.

“Why is your whole life in that bag?” I wondered if he was in the same situation as me, but concluded that it was impossible. “I ran away from home.” He explained the whole situation with his dad, which then explained the bruises. I almost understood where he came from. I had been with an abusive family for a little while. Luckily I escaped there quickly, but the time I did spend with them was pure hell.

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I don’t know why I was compelled to tell, “Chip” everything, but it kind of slipped out. Now I was wondering about her though. She had said the same thing as me, so why was she out all-alone? And why was her entire life contained in that one bag?

“So what about you?” “Parents died when I was little.” She explained all about the different homes, the night spent starving and on the streets. It was so sad, and left me feeling the quite the lucky little boy. At least I had a family, a crappy one, but I still had a family. “I’m so sorry!” We exchanged weak smiles and stood up awkwardly. “Uhm…there’s a Fall Out Boy concert tonight. Wanna go?” I glanced at my watch; we’d been sitting here talking for hours. The concert was starting soon. “It starts pretty soon.” “What money are we using?” I gave her a devious smile. “Who needs money?” She caught on quickly and soon we were running down the street towards the concert hall. Completely ready to sneak in.