Cuts P.O.V

Horn must be insane. We hardly know each other and yet he's willing to take me in. I don't want to burden him. It wouldn't be fair.

Horn seems nice and all. He was nice enough to offer me a place to stay. I just don't want to trouble him. I've made him worry about me enough.

Me, 11:22 A.M.
What? No... I can't ask that of you...

Horn, 11:23 A.M.
You're not asking, I'm telling. Come to D.C. I don't have much here, but I want to make sure you're okay...

Me, 11:25 A.M.
I don't want to burden you...

Horn, 11:27 A.M.
I'm too involved now... I need to make sure that you're okay... Besides, D.C. isn't that bad. You might like it here :)

I sigh to myself and run my fingers through my hair. Horn is persistent about me staying with him. He seems nice. It would be a pleasant change from everyone else I've lived with.

Me, 11:30 A.M.
Okay, I'll come to D.C.

Horn, 11:32 A.M.
Good, I'll see you soon :)

I shove as much as I can into one of my larger backpacks. Normally, I would fold everything and organize the bag neatly, but right now that isn't my main concern. The only thing I'm focused on is getting out of here. I can always reorganize my bag on the train.

I take the house key off my keyring and toss it onto the kitchen counter. There's no point in me keeping what I have no use for. I'm never coming back here.

Counting the cash in my wallet, I have just shy of seventy-five dollars. I also have my savings that I could rely on if I needed to.

Just as I'm about to walk through the door, something catches my eye; Ricky's wallet. Out of curiosity, I count how much cash he was carrying around. Roughly one-hundred-fifty dollars. Normally, I wouldn't feel good about stealing, but Ricky deserves this. Besides, he would only spend it on liquor and girls anyway.

I take only what's mine (besides the cash) and I'm out the door. Exiting the house gives me a feeling of relief and freedom. It makes me wish that I had walked away months ago. If only I was smart enough to leave.

I walk down the street at the fastest pace that I can. The neighbors peek through their curtains to watch me leave. They were always the nosy type.

As much as I hate doing it, I'm forced to walk through the city to get to the train station. People stare and whisper as I walk by. It's not difficult to assume that they're talking about me. I'm already covered in scars. Ricky just decided to give me a matching bruise for every scar.

People will always stare. That's just a fact. To many, I'm strange. Most people have never seen someone covered in so many scars. That's why I'm considered a freak, besides the fact that I'm trans. Unfortunately, I can't control the thickness of my skin or my dermatillomania. Those factors just happened.

I walk through town and bear the stares of people walking in the opposite direction of me. Every once in a while, I'll notice a small child tug on their parent's sleeve and whisper something while looking at me. They're curious, but their curiosity is blocked by their parents. They don't want their child gawking at a freak like me.

A soft sigh escapes my lips as I reach the train station. I walk up to the counter and wait for the woman to look up from her cellphone.

"How may I help you," she looks up and pauses. "Today. . ."

I clear my throat. "I'm looking to go to Washington D.C."

"Round trip or one way?" she asks while turning to her computer.

"One way," my voice is full of exhaustion.

She types on her computer for a few moments. "The next train to D.C. is tonight at midnight," she says while looking at me.

"I'll take it." I slide my debit card across the counter.

The woman swipes the card and the price is rung up. It's about seventy dollars. I don't know much about trains, but a trip from Cleveland, Ohio to Washington D.C. for seventy dollars doesn't seem that bad.

She hands me my card and a ticket. "Have a nice trip!"

I nod and sigh as I walk toward the platform. I have a lot of time to kill before my train leaves. It leaves at midnight and right now it's just passed 1 P.M. I have quite a bit of waiting to do.

Me, 1:15 P.M.
I just bought a train ticket...

Horn, 1:17 P.M.
Great, when will you get here?

Me, 1:18 P.M.
Well, it's a sixteen-hour train ride and it doesn't leave until midnight tonight.

Horn, 1:20 P.M.
Oh...

Me, 1:21 P.M.
Yeah... It's gonna be a while...

I sigh softly and sink down into the chair I'm sitting in. I have about eleven hours until my sixteen-hour train ride. This isn't exactly an ideal situation, but at least I'm getting away from everything here. I'm glad to leave everything here behind.

Horn, 1:24 P.M.
At least you're getting out of there...

Me, 1:25 P.M.
Yeah, but it'll be more than a day before I get there... Roughly twenty-seven hours, actually...

Horn, 1:26 P.M.
Is there anything you can do to pass the time?

Me, 1:29 P.M.
I can talk to you... That's all I really have to do that will keep me occupied...

Horn, 1:32 P.M.
Okay •3•

I smile to myself as I pull my knees up to my chest. Talking to Horn gives me something to do for eleven hours. We probably won't talk for the full eleven hours. I might rest before the long train ride. All I know is that I can't wait to get to D.C.