Being twelve years old was not easy in your eyes. Middle school was full of bullies, teachers who scolded you for misspelling a word here and there, and office staff who criticized you for coming to school late. On top of that, home life wasn't at all easier. Your parents didn't get along and both of them had their separate addictions and issues. Your mother smoked like a chimney- sucking in any type of nicotine or drug she could. She was possessive and clingy yet hated you and your father. Any time you dare spoke a word, she would scream at you and spit in your face, intimidating you and mistreating you. On the other hand, your father was an alcoholic and spent his time away from home. You hardly saw him but when you did, he was drunk and watching TV.

On top of these struggles, you suffered from depression and severe anxiety. No one in the town had hope for you and their comments about you being the child of a druggie and alcoholic hit deeper than they knew. Those comments were the reason why you had run off from home, but unfortunately your parents had called about you missing and you were dragged back home. Your attempts had gotten so popular with the police that they finally decided to put an ankle monitor on you and give you your own parole officer.

The parole officer was a tall, muscular man who called himself Simon Riley. From what you could understand, he was ex-military and from somewhere in England. He also had dark brown eyes and a tattoo that covered his entire arm. He was gentle and kind to you, but it didn't make him any less intimidating. His face was always covered by a mask and his eyes were sharp. You did your best not to irritate him, but some days you just couldn't help it. Today happened to be one of those days.

Midnight had struck and your parents had been arguing for hours. The sound of breaking cups and dishes filled the house alongside your mother's screams. The noise was overbearing and you finally had enough. Grabbing your backpack and pulling on your shoes, you opened your bedroom window and slipped outside. The grass was slightly damp, but as you shut your window, the screams and breaking dishes eventually faded. Instead, crickets and an owl's hoo filled your ears. It was a sound you had fallen in love with.

Your feet carried you to the street and from there, you walked your way toward the edge of town. You knew your ankle monitor had alerted Simon, so there was no point of taking backroads or the woods. All you could do for now was wander in the silence of the night.

Just as you had assumed, two police cars rolled up behind you within a span of ten minutes. You looked back at them and stopped walking, watching as Simon quickly got out of the first car and ran over to you. He bent down and hugged you tightly, sighing heavily as he cradled you for a moment. The officer behind him gave him some space, shaking his head slightly at you.

"What are you doing?" Simon murmured, finally pulling away from you and swallowing a knot in your throat. "You know how worried I was? It's past midnight and you're walking this road? This road!?"

You flinched at Simon's tone but you didn't answer. He had never been this upset with you before, and you couldn't help but freeze up at his words. Simon noticed your tense posture and he hugged you again, picking you up in his arms.

"I'm sorry, kid." Simon whispered, walking you to his police cruiser.

He sat you down in his passenger seat and put his hat on your head, knowing it was too big for you. A slight smile broke on your lips as the hat slid over your eyes. You pushed it off your head and Simon nodded to the other officer, sending him on his way.

"Let's get you back home, ok, kiddo?" Simon murmured.