Chapter 1: Moving On

Hannah couldn't look at her father in the eye. As she walked away, she couldn't help but have a sense of guilt looming inside her. She walked into her room. Her room was clean and orderly with everything was put away. She quickly finished her homework. On the last problem of her math packet, Hannah looked up through her window that was positioned right in front of her desk. The window overlooked the town she loved.

Soon enough the sun went down and Hannah felt restless. She changed into some comfortable sweat pants and a warm jacket. She sneakily crept out of her room and grabbed her backpack. She then stuffed her wallet and phone inside.

Hannah sighed. What was she doing?

She slowly walked down the stairs and slipped on her shoes. Before closing the door she heard the faint sound of a bottle shattering. Her father must have been drinking again.

*Click*

The door shut and she sprinted as fast as she could down the street. She cried as she ran until she ran out of air and was forced to stop. As she caught her breathe, she noticed a small food stand. Her stomach grumbled as soon as she realized that she hadn't eaten dinner. She smiled and walked over to the stand.

There was a man standing in the stand with a hair net and some plastic gloves. The line was only a few people long, and the other stands were all turning on their lights for the rush hour. It was Friday.

"Hello young lady," the middle-aged man at the stand said, "how can I help you on this fine evening?"

"Hey, Bart. Can I get some rice to go? Size small, please." Hannah asked politely.

Bart looked at her confused, "That all, Hannah? Here let me get you some leftover pork." Hannah nodded and thanked him.

She pulled out her wallet and grabbed the last of her coins and paid the man. She thanked him again quickly. She started to walk back up to her house. She had lived in this neighborhood for whole life. As she looked up at the glistening moon shining down on the dark street, she felt a pinch of relief. She rubbed the small cat keychain that was lying in her pocket.

She finally reached her house after going up two flights of stairs. Out of breath, Hannah sat down on the small wooden bench next to the door to her house. Her pale blue eyes shined as she looked down at the keychain in her hands. Her black hair almost glistened.

She turned to go in the door but saw her father standing there looking really drunk. He smelled of alcohol. Hannah looked at her father's face. She could tell he wasn't happy that he would have to close down his gym. She quickly hugged her father and held in her tears.

"We can do this," Hannah whispered.