2 chapter 1

I stood in front of a dirty mirror, in the disgusting gas station bathroom. I had just finished cutting and 'dying' what used to be my light brown, curly, waist-length hair but now it was jet black, mid-neck-length, and I had bangs. I, now, know why my mother told me I didn't have the face for them.

The dyed black hair made me look like a 2 cent hooker but I wasn't even good at dying hair.

I had already taken out my septum, side nose, and eyebrow piercing. I had a thick and large bandage covering my neck tattoo. I had no clue what I was doing and that was the only thing besides make-up, which by the way I was not very good at doing, So I went with the large bandage.

My real name is Nova Micheals but like with my appearance I have to change my name, Jupiter Fields, I know a mouth full but that's what my parents, siblings, and I all agreed on, a few months before everything went down.

I'll figure out everything later right but right now, I need to get out of his nasty ass bathroom. I collect all my things from the countertop and put them in the plastic bag from the store a few miles up. I grabbed my Louis Vuitton wallet, my dad got it for me for my 16th birthday and that's the only reason I didn't refuse the gift.

I open the heavy door of the bathroom and walk out to my black Jeep SUV, I throw the plastic bag in the slightly open window, and I start to walk into the extremely cold gas station, my hands rubbing the sides of my very loose sweatpants. I went back to the drinks, grabbing one of those big ass CORE water bottles and one the way up to pay for the water, I grab sour patch kids, and a bag of funyuns and cheddar jalapeno Cheetos

I throw all of my items on the counter, this should last me. I looked at my phone seeing it was 11 pm, I sighed slowly. I had to go from Utah to Las Vegas and I still had 6 more hours to go.

The small women at the cash register with the name tag that read, "Janet"

"Hey, sweetie. How are you doing tonight." She smiled as she smacked her gum at me, I smiled back at her and responded with a sweet tone.

"Could be better, how about you?" I ask her. Looking at the lighters on the counter, and grabbing a black one, throwing it with the stuff she still has not rung up.

"Same old, same old." She told me, as she scanned the last item. "That all adds up to $21.23." She told me smiling. I grabbed the money out of my wallet and slapped a 20 and a 10 dollar bill on the counter. "Keep the change," I said to her, grabbing my bag of goodies.

"Thank you, have a goodnight, darling." She told me. I walked to my car, and when I was out of sight of her, I threw my iPhone on the ground, and picked it up, and threw it again. I then threw it in the trash bin that was outside of the station.

I got into my car and threw my plastic bag from the station in the floorboard of the passenger seat.

Before leaving the station. I grabbed the lighter and my mom's old cigarettes and lit one and I started to put the false information on my new phone that I got a few towns back.

~~~~~~~~~

I woke up suddenly to the loud thunder that shook the hotel room I was in, I sat up looking at the clock. 11:30 pm. I sighed loudly.

Last night, I decided that I was too tired to drive for the 6 hours, so I got a hotel room, paid in cash, under my new ID.

I threw my feet off the bed, rubbed my face, and pushed my hair out of my face, the TV was still on from last night and so was the bathroom light.

I grabbed my phone from the charger and threw myself back on the pillows, I hadn't been able to sleep in a bed for almost a week.

'I might as well get some breakfast while I'm here' I thought to myself.

I picked up the phone calling for room services, telling them from off the menu what I would like.

"Of course, Miss. We'll have it up in about 20 minutes."

"Okay, thank you," I told the women on the other end of the phone. 20 minutes, probably a good time to take a shower, I haven't been able to take one in two days, so I needed one.

Before, getting in the shower. I got my small bag out and started to pick out the clothes I'd wear to travel in.

I grabbed some high-waisted grey sweatpants shorts and a tie-dye shirt that we made, about a month ago.

I placed them on my bed and walked into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror, I stood in one of my dad's old red t-shirt and nude-colored underwear. I took my hair down from the short poney-tail, I actually got to fully look at my new self.

My black hair just made me look goth and my light eyes looked less pronounced than they used were due to the long and gangly bangs. I sighed, I took off my clothes and climbed into the shower, I turned on the water but it was boiling hot, I tried to add just a little bit of cold water to it but it turned freezing and I turned all the way to boiling again and decided I'd suffer through it.

I grabbed one of the tiny bottles of shampoo, adding it to my hair, massaging it through my scalp.

I started to think of everything that could go wrong with the plan that we made.

If something goes wrong, I could go to prison. They could trail me as an adult, I mean I was 17, even if I did look 20.

And if they caught any of us kids, then there was no way, we'd all end up in the same place, so I'd probably never see any of them until I was like 27.

I felt my nervous building up in my stomach, I breathed out and started to tap all my fingers on my thumb, individually, and I counted to try and soothe myself.

I cleaned myself up and got out of the shower and put my clothes on and went into the room grabbing my toothpaste and my toothbrush.

As I brushed my hair with my fingers and then I heard someone knock on the door, I walked over slowly to do peep-hole, letting out a breath seeing that it was just a worker.

I let him in the small tray of food, he put down on the bed. He stood there, I smiled at him grabbing a 5 dollar bill, giving the young worker the money. He smiled and walked out of the room.

I ate eggs, bacon, hash browns, and an assortment of fruit and the water I ordered. I watched the re-run of Phineas and Ferb that was playing on the TV as I ate breakfast. This is the first food that wasn't from a gas station or a drive-thru in a week, and I was savoring every bite of the otherwise shitty hotel food.