Midnight

"First ticket to Seattle?"
"Is it just you, little lady?"
"Yes, sir..."
"My, where are your parents?"
"...away."
"Oh..well, one way ticket to Seattle will be, let's see, $16.92. Seattle isn't too far from Monroe. Why, I mean, I hope you enjoy your trip."
I then handed him exact change, for I had only brought with me a grand total of $78.29, and walked away. He seemed far too concerned.

My dream had always been to live in a big city like Seattle. And, you know how you feel when you're 13, you think you can do whatever you want, you feel like you rule the world? Well, if not, that's how I felt back then. I was very naive at thirteen. One of my friends, Alaska, had told me what a great idea it was for me to move to Seattle, and that she thought that I could handle being on my own, considering how I had been living, a few days before my 14th birthday. I had told Mr. Cobain about what she had told me and my thoughts on this. Of course, he tried to explain to me that it wasn't going to be easy, and that I would end up coming back home anyway. For some reason, I did not believe a word he said, and I talked my way into him letting me go. I knew my mother would probably not even notice my disappearance, which she didn't, so it would work out fine with her. So, what a better self-bought birthday present then a one way ticket to Seattle at the tender age of 14? Back then, nothing.

At the moment the train I was aboard stopped in Seattle, my heart was racing. I was thinking that I should have planned this out better, but of course, what fourteen year old would do that? It was in the fall. The sky was filled with gloomy, ominous clouds. The forecast had shown this day to be full of isolated thunderstorms. Even that wasn't going to stop me from walking aimlessly around this enormous city. After hours of trudging through semi-flooded sidewalks, I had stopped to get a small, tasty snack at a family owned shop. Everyone in the sitting area had given me strange glances, as if I were an alien of some sort, which I thought was very odd. By the end of my first day in Seattle, I was soaking wet, extremely tired, and on top of it all, I was scared shitless. The best place I could find to sleep was in the wash room of a convenience store that was open all night; no one was there, so, why not?

I awoke the next day to a stranger staring down at me saying, "Hey, kid! Kid, wake up, kid! Why are you even in here? This is the men's room? You look like a girl! Kid, wake up!" Oh, joy. I had fallen asleep in a men's restroom. The man that had woken me up was very nice to me. He wasn't the kind of rapist that you would usually run into all alone in a big city. His name was Nathanial, apparently he didn't like being called Nathan, and he helped me a whole lot. He had let me stay in his apartment for the time being, he fed me, and he pretty much gave me whatever I needed, which was a very nice change in my life. We would spend most of the day together. Usually he would just show me the stunning scenery, take me shopping, and pretty much do whatever I wanted. I had so much fun with him, but in the end I had started to feel terribly guilty for his wasting money on me, and I just couldn't take it anymore. Naturally, he told me that he liked spending time with me and such, but I can't stand using people for my own enjoyment, especially when this person had started trying to make moves on me. That was not going to happen with him, ever. I had stayed with him for thirty-four days, most of which I had enjoyed to the fullest, but when you're fourteen, you can't stay away for too long.

Nathanial had given me a quick ride to the nearest train station. There, he had given me a very cozy hug, and a card, which I thought was a tad bit cheesy for this occasion, which read, "Dear Marie, I have enjoyed these past few days with you. I hope you enjoy it back in Monroe. I'm going to miss you. Keep in touch, please? Also, I'm giving you a hundred dollars for having to put up with me for so long, 'cause I know that wasn't easy! Sincerely, Nathanial." Below his name, he had scribbled his phone number and email address. I would try to keep in touch with him as best as possible, I promised him. While I waited for the my hour-and-a-half delayed train, he stayed with me and kept me entertained. That soon came to an end as the reverberation of bells and whistles pulled into the station, and at that moment I had thanked him for everything, given him another hug, and was on my way back to the hate filled environment I called home. Honestly, the only reason I had gone back was to escape the feeling of guilt I had; I hated using Nathanial more than I hated my home life.