Secrets, Lies, and Captivity

CHAPTER ONE

Ashley's Point of View

My last day as a senior student finally ended after completing my final class, Calculus. There was a huge smile on my face as I left the classroom and approached the front of the school. The day went by as it usually would; I was extremely excited all day to be finally completing high school. Now that I was done, I would only have graduation to think about, and this summer break.

Graduation. I still can't believe I'm graduating... these four years felt like they went by so slowly, yet looking back, the years passed so fast...

Graduation day would be the last day I would see a lot of my friends, since most of them had plans with their families and were planning on going out of state.

Thankfully, my best friend, George, would be here for the whole break, so I would be able to spend time with him. We were also planning on going to the same university, Donners University. We wanted to stay in state and close to our family. This was the best university to choose that was close to home and fit our career choice.

As I stepped out of the building and began to walk out of the Rosewell High school grounds, I heard someone calling my name, "Ash!"

I quickly turned around and saw George jogging towards me. He was wearing a baggy blue pants and a plain yellow shirt. His black curly hair bounced as he approached me. "Hey George! I haven't seen or texted you all week! How are you?" I gave him a hug.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that, I have been having some issues at home. It was especially bad this week."

"Oh really? Is everything okay?" We started walking off campus.

"I'm honestly not sure...my parents have been arguing a lot lately, and-" he looked distorted, hesitant to continue.

"What...what happened?" I was slightly afraid of what his answer would be, thinking of the worst.

"Oh, nothing happened, it just feels like they are going to divorce soon," he looked down, his walking pace slowing down.

"Oh no," I placed my hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure that will not happen. Parents fight all the time...even mine. I'm sure that everything will calm down soon."

"I don't know about that Ash, it's really bad. I just have to brace myself... if the supposed day comes." I didn't answer, I didn't really know what to say, didn't know how to make him feel better; didn't know how to make his whole situation better. I felt like it was better to say nothing than risk saying something potentially wrong or insensitive.

In silence, George and I walked our usual path home together. We didn't live far away from school, so we've always walked home together. We both lived on the same street, Rode's Avenue, for all our lives and lived about ten minutes away from each other.

George and I had been friends for a long time, almost 12 years; there was never a time that I could remember that we were apart from each other for a long period of time. Our friendship provided a safe haven where we could be ourselves, free from judgment or pretense. We shared our dreams, fears, and aspirations, knowing that we would be met with unwavering support and encouragement. Our friendship meant a lot to us.

Oh, there is the cop car again. Every single day, almost as if a routine or a weird ritual, we see a cop car parked near our house. The police inside the car would watch us as we passed. We both saw it as creepy and felt uneasy, but never really talked about it. We both thought that he was just constantly patrolling this area, and although we tried to ignore them, we still had a sinking suspicion that we were being watched.

"Ash?" George said.

"Yes?" I turned my head towards him.

"I am going to stay at your house for a bit, and maybe stay for dinner. I don't want to go home right now. Peter just texted me saying that our parents are arguing again, and it sounds like it's worse than last time."