Prologue
At that very moment, Jordan knew. It didn’t take him a whole minute to figure out what he was supposed to do. Leave. It was so apparent, so obvious and could never be clearer. Deep down, in the back of his mind he knew that it was bound to go full circle at some point. As he reached onto his desk from the bed to grab his duffle bag, a tear sparkled in his right eye.
He was debating with himself and trying to weigh the odds that were incredibly stacked against him. He was now in denial. He started thinking of those simpler times, picnics in the park and relaxing strolls on the beach at night. This is not the right time for this. He lazily pulled the duffle and the contents fell to the wooden-tile floor. Everything seemed a tad odder tonight, it was quieter outside, except for the blaring horns that came from the train.
He realized that his laziness was unwarranted and quickly got up to gather the books that had fallen to the floor. If he was to leave, he had to do it as soon as possible. He couldn’t possibly fathom his stepfather’s rage. The man was a mixture of ire and something much more sinister. The entire apartment was quiet except for him fumbling through his belongings and trying to find out what he needed in the littlest time possible.
His mind was so occupied that he didn’t even stop to think that turning on the light would make him see better. The light that was coming from the street lamps did so little to his advantage. The room was now an absolute mess. He crept over to his dresser and pulled open the bottom drawer. The contents of the drawer were brought out with the utmost care and placed on the top of the dresser. He ruffled the crisp, carefully folded clothes to reveal a yellow envelope, which he opened to see if the money was all there.
His phone buzzed from the desk, startling him momentarily and then there was an indifferent look on his face after gazing at his phone. Collin. He placed the phone back on the desk face down and decided to wrap up his task. He grabbed a jacket from the closet and gathered everything else that he needed. He had a lot to miss and a lot to put behind him. Memories were definitely made in this place and the decision to leave was one that was quite hard to make but also quite necessary at the same time.
The wooden stairs creaked so loudly beneath his feet, the rest of the apartment was silent and all the lights were off. He hadn’t felt the need to turn them on today, he was dead inside. Everything was completely normal downstairs, almost too normal. No one was there either; the lights were off too. A cold chill went down his spine, he had no idea what was next for him. For the first time in his life, he was not only figuratively alone but alone in all its aspects. The walk across the lobby to the door seemed longer than usual.
It seemed to take forever to put this place behind him, like quicksand it had been drawing him in and entangling him in its mess for as long as he could remember, for as long as he wanted to remember. The cool night breeze slapped his face as soon as he opened the door and stepped outside. Murmurs from people in the near distance, they seemed to be going away as the chatter immediately started growing colder and colder. He didn’t mind the cold air outside on this particular night, it seemed to rejuvenate him and uplift his broken spirit. For the first time, he was embracing his decision. He was giving himself a clean slate, a new beginning.
