CHAPTER ONE
UNTIMELY MEETINGS

Kimberley Jenkins was cursed.

Cursed with the single curse which she had somehow managed to inflict upon herself over the years, yet, the single curse which she found herself unable to break.

Cursed with an eternity of suffering at the hands of depression. Well, at least it felt like a curse.

Depression is an awfully powerful thing. Inviting itself into ones mind unannounced, tugging on ones heartstrings and emotions, twisting and warping ones insides until the once content, carefree victim is thrown out the other side an unrecognisable, sorrowful mess.

It's a bittersweet thing, to look back on the person you once were. So innocent and full of life, unaware of the dangers and horrors the world had to offer, in contrast to now, where you're left with nothing but a ghost of the person you once were.

Somewhere along the way your innocence slips away from you without warning, leaving room for all the sadness and desolation to seep in, leaving nothing but a blur to fill your memories as you watch yourself slowly disappear. An unrecognisable stranger filling the role.

One can easily lose themselves to depression.

Depression comes in a wave. A great formidable wave that can drown you if you aren't careful enough. One wrong footing and you're gone, sinking under the crashing waves of your inner sufferings, unable to breathe as it pushes you under, until finally, you snap. You just want it to stop, you just want out and away from it all.

That's exactly where Kimberley Jenkins found herself at; the breaking point.

Too far gone to come back to the girl she once knew. Though it was different for Kimmy, for she appeared to be the only one who was unable to recognise the stranger who would stare back at her in the mirror each morning.

No one else had noticed the fight she had been battling within herself for the past years. No one else had noticed the way the once altruistic, playful girl was now running solely on the hurt that pumped through her veins on the constant.

No one had taken the time to care, nor her peers or her family. They didn't want to care, and she didn't blame them. She wasn't a concern to them, not worth a second thought - and why should she be?

She didn't necessarily have any friends. But Kimmy couldn't help but think it was her own fault. She'd had plenty of chances to get herself just one friend, although she'd either pushed people away or been pushed away by others. It got to the point she stopped trying. She'd seen the way many of her peers acted and behaved both from afar and up close, and she decided it was maybe for the best she was alone.

Often, Kimmy felt conflicted. While she wished to attend school in hope to get away from her house and all the horrors which continued to haunt her within the walls, she had also grown a distaste for school. Seeing how more often than not she was either victim of awful words thrown at her, being blanked and ignored, or very rarely laid hands on her.

However she had no other option but to suck it up and deal with it. She'd much rather be faced with the constant harassment and anxiety which would pump through her veins as she walked the halls of the school rather than the overwhelming flush of fear which would numb all other feelings and senses while she entered the small, rundown, dingy building she had the displeasure of calling home.

Her father had a bit of a drinking problem, Kimmy couldn't remember the last time she seen him without a drink in his hand. The older man's temper only growing triple in size when he'd had just a drop of alcohol  - a temper which was already most likely double the size of any other man his size and age.

Her mother never stepped in to help Kimmy out when the man's temper got the best of him and he began yelling which in most cases resulted in the twelve year old girl landing with a body painted in bruises as well as a bloody nose and often a few cuts or scrapes.

In fact, that very night she had a deep cut rubbing across her cheek thanks to her father, she could still feel it bleeding as she peered over the cliff below her.

It wasn't that her mother was scared of her father, she just didn't care and Kimmy knew it. It didn't take a genius to work out neither the two adults particularly cared about their daughter, it wasn't something either the two tried to hide.

They didn't like her and they made sure she knew it.

Kimmy couldn't remember the last time she had spoken to her mother, despite living under the same roof. The older woman was often blacked out drunk on wine on the living room couch during the day.

Kimmy didn't expect to live very long, she never had and she didn't want to. But if for some breathtaking miracle she ended up living to at least make it to high school, she'd never pick up a drink. Not one drop.

She'd hate to end up like either of her alcoholic parents. 

Kimmy had reached her breaking point. She was sick of suffering quietly while everyone passed her by. Before, there had been quite a strong possibility she could have bounced back to her old self eventually. After she had left school and was granted with the ability to run away. When there was still a glimmer of hope left for her.

But it was too late now. That slight glimmer of hope had shattered to pieces and she had had enough, she just wanted out.

She wanted a way for it all to stop, to find some numbness.

And that's exactly what she intended to do.

Which was why she was out where she guessed was at least a mile away from her house, looking over the edge of a small cliff above a quarry, watching as the water below crashed roughly against each itself as the wind continued to pick up. The fall alone would finish her off, she didn't have to worry about how cold the water may be. Kimmy just had to gather the courage to actually step forward and leave her content spot at the peak of the cliff.

She took a deep breath, shaking her head slightly as she closed her eyes for a brief moment, allowing herself a chance to go over her options silently before her feet made the swift decision for her.

The wind was picking up around her and the usual blue skies were clouded over with a dingy dark colour, indicating a rainstorm was close by. Kimmy figured it was best to get it over and done with as her clothing was anything but warm and cosy.

Clutching tightly onto the ends of her dull sweater sleeves, she took a small step forward, etching her feet closer and closer to the crumbling edge.

"What are you doing?"

The voice was soft and gentle, yet the looming presence caused Kimmy to flinch violently before snapping around to meet the strangers eyes. 

A boy stood a few feet before her, watching carefully. He was sat on his bike, one hand on his handle while the other was placed firmly on his head in hope to keep his black hat from blowing away in the wind.

It didn't take long for the embarrassment to settle contently in the depths of Kimmy's stomach. She was suddenly self conscious of herself, all too aware of her every action as the only thought that was now running though her brain was how her previous actions may look in the eyes of a bystander.

Her brows furrowed and a look of confusion etched itself into her face before she had a chance to stop it. She felt her eyes move on their own accord, trailing over the boy before her as she desperately scrambled her brain in hope she could put a name to his face, though she was supplied with no answer.

He had dark green eyes, the type that looked so inviting that Kimmy was sure they held a series of enthralling secrets that were destined to be explored if they were ever given the time of day. Though, they seemed to be adamant in hiding behind a group of sandy blond hair that blew onto his forehead.

Splattered across his cheeks and nose were faint youthful freckles, accompanying his rosy cheeks that had reddened ever so slightly with the force of the wind thrown his way.

His green eyes never once left her dark blue ones, and she couldn't say she appreciated that. She could see the way the gears behind his head were turning at a rapid pace as he appeared to be doing his best to analyse her, picking her apart piece by piece in hope to gather a better understanding of the girl stood opposite him.

All without a singular word being uttered between the two of them, with nothing but a single glance in her direction, and he appeared to be forming his own opinion on the girl. It made Kimmy feel uneasy. She didn't like the feeling of being scrutinised and judged, whether he be doing it aloud or not, she didn't like it one bit.

The boy wore a look of concern that caressed his kind features, with his brows knitted together and his lips pulled into a frown. That seemed to snap Kimmy from her semi-trance as she wished for nothing more in that moment than to wipe the look of pity clean off his face, for it felt as if that made everything all too real for the girl.

She had wanted so desperately for someone to take an interest in her - to show concern for her and show her that her life, at the very least held a slight sense of importance. To show her that she mattered. That she was important.

And here it was, staring her right in the face, the boy was concerned for her - whether it be concern for her actions, wellbeing or her intentions, it didn't matter. Though, the sight of someone looking her way with a look of anything but anger stirred too much emotion for the girl to handle.

"That's not really any of your business, is it?" Kimmy eventually answered weakly in a scratchy voice, mumbling so quietly she wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't heard her. "You don't even know me."

Kimmy didn't know what to do with herself, though one thing she knew for certain was that she couldn't look the boy in the eye any longer. She couldn't be a subject to his inner debates any longer.

Not when it caused such strong feeling of discomfort to erupt inside the depths of her stomach and spread swiftly to each of her senses before she even had a chance to decipher and name the drilling sensation.

"Aaron Harrington," blurted with a faux confidence, simply offering her a nod of his head while he spoke. "Uh- that's, that's my name."

The name rung a bell but she couldn't find it in her to bother rummaging her brain to find from where.

Instead she did nothing but stare back at him, standing in a minor state of perplexity at his simple gesture.

"Well," he pressed curiously after a moment of silence, though the nerves were clear as day in his voice. Kimmy watched him peculiarly while he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly at the lengthly silence. "Aren't you going to introduce yourself? I can't read minds you know."

Kimmy scrunched her face up in annoyance at his response, though it had been halfhearted. It was as if his words had brought the girl back to her senses, suddenly reminding her of where she was. And she wanted nothing more than to leave, to get away from the boy and get back to her room where she could return to her yearly routine of ignoring anyone in her presence and pretending there wasn't an ongoing battle taking place in her head.

"Kimberley." She instead replied in a faint voice, moving forward to walk past him as she was suddenly quite eager to drop this awkward conversation and get back to her house before the rain came crashing down and drenched her head to toe.

There was a sound of breaks squeaking before a heavy sigh ripped through the air, Kimmy doing her best to ignore it and walk away as soon as she could.

However it didn't take long before the sound of frantic footsteps could be heard behind her, causing Kimmy to roll her blue eyes so harshly she was surprised they hadn't gotten stuck facing the back of her head. Kimmy didn't turn to look at the boy, but she had known he was there, walking briskly to her right as he pushed his bike.

Side by side, yet not a single word to be uttered between the two of them.

They went on that way for quite some time. An awkward silence had consumed the air between the two for so long that Kimmy was sure the boy wouldn't say anything else.

And he didn't.

The night was cold, wind blowing harshly as rain began to pour.

Once clear, calm blue lit sky, now painted over with grey dingy clouds, thunderous bangs erupting from the sky at each given moment. The sound of trees thrashing together furiously due to the harsh gust of the nightly winds, puddles of water forming on each side of the road as the down pour of the rain soaked anyone who dared walk below it.

Due to this fact, Kimmy was shaking with the cold. With nothing but her now soaked through knitted sweater to keep her warm.

She sniffled as she walked, bringing her hand up to her cheek to wipe away the blood which was now running due to the heavy rain pour.

The young girl was very much regretting her decision to leave home now, though she wasn't left with much of a choice. Not unless she'd rather remain home with her father and unconscious mother.

Now, she was on her way back to the dreaded place, her tears blurring and washing away with the rain.

Upon arrival at the house, Aaron had quickly turned away from her, mumbling something about how he was sorry about what had happened but he was already fifteen minutes late to his curfew after stopping to check on her.

That cold night in the year 1983 was when Kimberley Jenkins first met Aaron Harrington.

And despite their friendship which would soon develop from that point forward, Kimmy never would find out what exactly the boy was doing out that stormy night, or rather what home based problems he too had been trying to run away from.

Not for a good few years anyway.