I was standing in my backyard, facing a familiar white house as the tall fence crept up on me. Threatening darkness consumed my small figure, leaving me alone with my worst fears.

I felt a cold shiver run down my spine, but I couldn't wrap my head around it. I hugged myself, intending to keep me warm with the night being unbearably cold.

I turned around to face the dark, foreign forest that was constantly calling my name. My eyes were searching for something unusual, a piece that will connect the puzzle.

I had a bad feeling about this situation.

My feet started to feel damp and when I looked down to the ground, I found myself standing in front of a glassy lake. My hands were reaching towards it, although I didn't know why.

I dove into the lake, holding my breath as I have been taught in my swimming lessons since I was a little girl.

The lake was cold, just as I assumed it would be.

Suddenly, I noticed a boy standing in front of me, the exact forest from my backyard surrounding him. He had a desperate look on his face, searching and begging for help.

When his eyes finally met mine, I felt fear. But not the kind you do daily. This felt almost... supernatural.

He was pleading for my mercy and I had to do something. I needed to help him, but I couldn't move.

I couldn't speak.

My entire body froze in place.

He looked behind him when a loud bang echoed through the woods. I heard a girl scream, but I didn't know where she was.

Someone was in danger.

He turned back to me, mouthing 'Help me. Please, help me.'

Another shot has been fired and he looked at me with hesitation, almost like he needed to say something.

Then he turned around and ran back into the woods as fast as he could, not turning back once. I heard the same girl scream once again, before realizing it was me.

I was screaming.

✧

I woke up to the sun shining brightly through my bedroom windows. Oh, dear God. Why do you have to be so happy?

I lazily rolled around in bed, burying my face into a pillow. I most definitely did not sleep well.

My thoughts, as usual, went back to that dream. I just couldn't realize what was it about. It has been haunting me every night for about a week and it was the same one every time.

What does it mean?

C'mon, Aly! You can give it a rest for one day.

Today is my seventeenth birthday!

I quickly shook off all the negative thoughts and energy I felt and put a pressured smile on my face.

It's not the day to lay in bed and bore myself to death like every other. I need to get out there and be a teenager, because what will I have to remember by my seventeenth birthday? I don't turn seventeen twice.

My phone buzzed and I looked at the Caller's ID, still deep in thought.

"Happy birthday, boo!" Carly screamed through the phone, making my ears bleed. I put a distance between my ear and phone because she kept going. "HOW ARE YOU? OH, MY GOD, SEVENTEEN! THAT'S A BIG DEAL-"

"Yeah. Listen, when are we meeting?" I asked, rudely interrupting her.

Gee, she could be a pain in the ass. No, she is a pain in the ass.

"I'll pick you up at nine," she said. "And dress up. I'm taking you to a party."

Well, damn, I cursed myself with that one. That's what happens to me when I say that I won't be boring today.

I don't want to go to a fucking party. There will be drunk people making out and needy sluts grabbing attention.

"Okay, see you then," I said over my will, eventually hanging up.

I need to get out of the house, no matter what. My parents gave me their permission to go out, but I had to be back by midnight or things won't turn out great for me.

What would I do out until then if not go to a party? I mean don't get me wrong, I despise parties, but even if I turn this plan down, Carly will never let me off the hook. There is no way I can get myself out of this one.

After twenty minutes of scrolling through my phone, I finally got my lazy ass up and went downstairs. My eyes instantly snapped towards the purple envelope on the kitchen counter.

"Happy birthday, Alya. Money is on the table."

My foster parents who adopted me while I was still a baby, usually aren't the nicest people, especially not with me. They raised me with an expectation to be a perfect girl, but when they started noticing I wasn't even near that, they would punish me.

Oh, and the punishments. They would beat me to the point where I couldn't walk or leave me without food until I fixed the issue they accused me of.

They don't love me, they can't even stand to look at me.

So why didn't they return me to the Foster Care then? Why did they keep me even though they hate my guts?

"Well, thank you, mum and dad," I said to myself as I put the purple envelope down and grabbed the money from the dining table.

After I ate my casual, everyday breakfast - eggs and bacon with orange juice - I dragged myself up to my room. I laid across my bed and all I could think was 'What would I give to have a boyfriend'?

I've been feeling lonely and depressed since I know about myself and the only thing that seemed to help me was music. It was as if nobody understood me except the enchanting tunes and fairytale lyrics.

Sudden tiredness overwhelmed my body and I could feel myself drifting into sleep with two things on my mind.

Loneliness and depression.

✧

"I'm not sure that I like it," I said to Carly over the phone while looking at my outfit in front of the mirror. I have been standing in it for the past half an hour, not exactly sure whether I like it or not.

I'm not usually wearing this type of clothes, it's just not my style. I'm more comfortable in oversized shirts and baggy sweatpants, not dresses and tights.

"You'll look amazing, I promise you! And put some makeup on! I'll be there in thirty," she exclaimed and hung up.

Ugh, I don't like parties. Why do I even have to dress up? It's not like anyone will pay attention to me.

I put on some makeup, just as Carly has told me, and straightened my hair, making it look shiny.

The color of my hair was incredibly weird - it was almost white! It didn't match with absolutely anything I wore and I was always so self-conscious because of it. So, I usually stick to plain black and grey outfits, which I don't mind.

After I finally finished, I took the last look at the finished results. My legs were wrapped in the black fish-nets and the oversized, black shirt I wore as a dress barely reached my knees. The makeup was simple - I had nothing but some concealer, mascara, and lipgloss.

Overall, I looked good. I finally felt good in my skin.

I took a small, black purse where I put my phone, wallet, and keys.

"I'm here, babe! Come down!" Carly texted me.

I sighed and took one last look at myself, before I headed downstairs, locking the door behind me.

Although it only passed nine p.m., it was already dark which was weird because it was Summer. I looked up to the sky and then I realized - full moon.

I always hated it because it gave me strange energy which I couldn't comprehend.

"Come here, birthday girl!" Carly squealed, wrapping me up in a tight hug. "You look a-maze."

"Thank you," I said as we got into the car. "So, who's throwing the party?"

"Zac Jackson," she smiled and started the engine. Oh, shitballs. Of course, it had to be him. He is the biggest jerk in the school, which meant he was the most popular. His parties mostly consisted of sex, drugs, and alcohol.

That's exactly why I avoided them.

"Don't be like that," Carly grinned, pinching my arm.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "Like what?"

"I saw that look on your face. Aly, we're gonna have fun, stop being so resistant. Loosen up a bit," she said, flashing me a cheeky smile.

I couldn't even begin to describe to you how many times she has told me that. It's not that I don't want to be relaxed, but I can't. My brain refuses to get into that kind of mindset.

Okay, I might have got a problem.

So I decided to fake a smile and turn on the radio to distract myself from the awkward silence. I don't want to talk anymore.

"Eek, we're here!" she squealed and turned off the car.

"I see we're here. It's not like there aren't dozens of drunk people already passed out on the porch," I mumbled to myself after she got out, eventually exiting myself too.

C'mon, Aly, try. It's your birthday!

Carly took my hand and guided me through the large house. "Well, if you're sober and driving, I'm getting wasted!" she screamed over the music while doing a little I'm-getting-shitfaced dance.

She took one of those red cups from the plastic bag and poured too much vodka in it. "Cheers, love!" she raised the cup to me and downed it with no problem whatsoever.

That's how the party went by - I was sitting on the kitchen island while Carly stood next to me, drinking way too many drinks and talking to irrelevant people.

The only thing I drank that night was Pepsi because I simply can't stand the smell of the alcohol.

When I went to my first high school party last year, I tried vodka, and let me tell you a secret - it was the most disgusting thing I ever put in my mouth.

I won't even begin to imagine how blow jobs tasted like.

I puked that entire night and to this day, I can still feel the burning liquid in my mouth.

"Hey, we need to get going! It's 11:30!" I yelled to Carly, who was throwing herself around and bending in unnatural places like she has no bones.

She pouted and looked at me with puppy eyes. "Why can't we stay here all night? That would be so much fun!"

She's drunk and out of her mind. Why would anyone want to willingly stay here?

"Let's go," I said, taking her hand. I dragged her out of the crowd and into her car, securing her belt. It's a good thing I brought my Driver's Licence because I wouldn't have been able to drive without it.

"Are you sick? Do you need to throw up?" I asked her before we took off. I don't want her puking her guts out in the car.

"I'm AMAZING!" she screamed and waved her hands in the air. Okay, well.

I got in and closed the door, driving off to her house. She's so lucky her parents aren't home.

They're actually on a business trip, where they were most of the time, so Carly did pretty much anything she wanted.

That included me having to spend time there because she was lonely and we were "best friends".

Yeah, right.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate her. I just don't see the reasons behind most of her actions. And did I mention she talks too much?

When we finally arrived, she was already asleep. No, Carly! I can't carry you!

"Hey, Carly!" I whispered, shaking her shoulder. She fluttered her eyes open, drooling on the seat. "Let's play a game!"

"Ooh, what game?" she asked, suddenly awoke and completely interested.

This is why I will never get drunk. She's acting like an idiot! Who knows what would I do? I don't need to embarrass myself more than I already do.

"There's a special bunny in your room. If you get him, he's all yours," I said, helping her out of the car.

I took the keys and unlocked the front door. "I need that bunny!" she squealed, walking on four legs up the stairs and to her bedroom. She looked like some freak you see in horror movies, that walks on walls and turns it's head 360° like an owl.

I went to the kitchen and took two pills of aspirin and a glass of water, taking it up to her room. She will most definitely thank me in the morning.

As I suspected, she was already knocked out on her bed. I covered her up with a blanket and put the cure to a hangover on the nightstand next to her bed, as well as the keys to the house and car.

It's okay that I have to walk home because it takes me usually five minutes. What's not okay is the fact that it was already 12:28 and I'm late to my parents.

I'm not joking when I say that they'll murder me. Maybe if I get through the back door, they won't notice me. Maybe they're asleep.

When I reached my house, I sneaked over the fence that led to the backyard, facing the back entrance to the house.

All lights were out, which was a really good thing. That meant they were asleep.

When I thought I'd feel relief, my whole body stiffened and I felt a cold shiver run down my spine.

It was really cold for a Summer night. I wrapped my arms around me and turned around as my instinct told me. Now I was facing a dark, foreign forest that I never dared to step into.

It was scaring the living shit out of me.

I felt something drawing me towards it, but I didn't move. My eyes were searching for any sign of a creepy creature or an alerting movement.

That was the moment when someone shot from a gun and the noise echoed through the woods. Soon afterward, a tall boy came sprinting towards the edge of the forest and his eyes met mine.

He stopped running as soon as he saw me and now was looking at me with despair.

Even though there was 50 meters distance between us and it was dark, I could see the pain in his facial expression. He mouthed 'Help me. Please, help me', waiting for my reply. His eyes were full of tears and his face was glistening under the white moon.

But I was too late to do anything. Another gunshot has been fired.

He flinched and snapped his head towards the deep end of the forest, starting to run away from me and never looking back.

I couldn't just stand here and ignore the fact that he might be in danger. So, my legs decided to obey my brain's orders and I started sprinting in his direction.

I was scared to death, I couldn't even go that deep into the woods. I kept looking ahead of myself, trying to catch the boy's figure.

But another gunshot was fired, the third one and it was so close to where I was standing that I collapsed to the ground from shock.

I realized my whole body was trembling and not because I was freezing to death, but because I was afraid for my life. Is this how I die?

I followed my instincts and ran the hell away from that alluring and terrifying darkness, never wanting to see it again, just like the boy.

When I finally reached the back entrance of the house, my mind was still trying to process what I saw.

Was he in danger? He looked terrified like something was deeply wrong with him.

As I walked into the warm living room and slammed the door behind me, it hit me - my parents.

Fucking bullocks.

It was 1:30 in the morning and they were standing in front of me, with blank facial expressions and superior body language.

"You're going back to Foster Care first thing tomorrow," was all they said before they walked back to their room.

It was also the last thing they ever said to me.

✧✧✧