alright ↠ dylan o'brien

ten.

Slow down

The world isn't watching us break down

It's safe to say we are alone now

We're alone now

-A Twist in My Story by Secondhand Serenade

Dylan

    It took me a while to get the guts to go back home. It also took me a while to leave Lola's house. Her father had scared me, and I couldn't imagine how it must have been for her. Unless she was used to it. . .? He had come outside with a bottle of beer in hand, which Lola had said was normal. But she seemed scared and nervous. I also didn't want to get her in trouble, so it was only when her dad looked out the window that I started up the car and left.

    I drove over the Brooklyn Bridge to get back to the city and stayed out about another two hours after I had dropped Lola off at her house. It was two o'clock in the morning when I decided to pull into the parking lot of the apartment building I lived in. I stopped the car, stepped out and went inside. Stairs and an elevator met my eyes the moment I opened the doors. Seeing as I was extremely tired and my apartment was on the sixth floor, I chose the elevator for transportation.

    A feeling of nervousness passed through me at the thought of having to face Stephen in the morning. I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans and impatiently waited for the elevator to come to astop. If I could just sneak in without making any noise and if mom and Stephen were sleeping, I could easily get away with coming home so late. Well, at least for now. In the morning it would be much, much worse.

    The elevator slowed to a halt and then came the ding signaling my arrival to the sixth floor. I took a long, deep breath before stepping into the hallway and taking a left turn in the direction of my apartment. It was the last door to the right and looked dark, as did the rest of the building. The walls were painted a nude creme color, and the doors dark green. But the few lights that lit up the hallways made the walls have a green tint to them, causing everything to appear dim and dark.

    When I reached my door, I took my keys out of my pocket and started to unlock my door. My hands were shaking too much--though I didn't know why-- making it difficult to do this simple task. I opened the door after much of a struggle, and was greeted with darkness. Except, once my eyes focused, I noticed a light turned on in the kitchen which was definitely not what I expected. A new wave of dread shot through me.

Of course either mom or Stephen was going to wait up for me. And since my mother worked more than Stephen, he was obviously going to be the one to do it. As much as I hated to say it, I was more intimidated by him than I liked to admit. He made a feeling of nervousness and fear and deep hatred rise in my stomach. He made my heartbeat quicken and my body shake.

I knew that the door opening wasn't the quietest sound, and apparently, so did Stephen. Right after I closed the door as quietly as I could and right before I could open the door to my bedroom on the left, Stephen came into view as he peered into the hallway. Like Lola's dad, he also held a bottle of beer in his hand.

"Finally decided to come home, have you?" Stephen demanded. Step by step, he began making his way over to me at the end of the hall. "Your mother's been worried sick. The school and said you weren't there. My car just happened to be stolen, meaning I couldn't go to work today to pay for the food that goes on you brats' plates. Whaddya think of that?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but just ended up looking down at the floor, wanting more than anything to just go to the safety of my room. Stephen's face came only inches away from mine. I could smell the alcohol in his breath. I pressed myself back against the door when he got too close. My hands were sweating, my body was shaking, and my breath was coming out in an uneven pattern.