It was a long walk to the bus station near her house, so she tried to walk as quickly as possible. It was hard not to glance around, but she knew if she did she might get afraid and turn back. And she knew that if she turned around, then she would be stuck there, in that miserable house,for another 2 years.And she didn’t know if she could survive that.

The shadows of the trees created patterns on the road, and sometimes she thought she recognized them.In her mind they became a map of everything that had led her to this;her dad’s abandonment,her mom’s alcoholism,her sister’s perfection, and all of the mistakes and bad choices she had made.She knew she couldn’t really pin all the blame on other people;some of this was her fault.But she could have mad it through the last few awful months much better if she’d had a family supporting her,making her believe she was worth something more than her looks.

If she’d thought there was another choice,she would have taken it,wholeheartedly.It was this or a long jump.