"The sewers are a great place to play in the summer!"

I sat on the couch in the living room, drawing in my sketchbook. I was paying little attention to what was playing on television.

"Come play in the sewers with us, we'll have lots of fun!"

I sketched the outline of a small robin, sitting on the fence of an old, broken down house. I was having trouble colouring its tail.

The creepy house on the corner of Neibolt street inspired me. Since I couldn't ride a bike anymore, I payed more attention to my surroundings and everytime I walked past that house I got the shivers.

I was about to start pick up an orange pencil when I noticed something weird in one of the windows of the house. There was a white smudge, but I didn't remember making it. My sketchbook paper was slightly yellow so I knew I didn't just miss a spot. I sighed and looked around for my rubber.

"If you come down to the sewers, we'll all float together!"

I finally found my eraser in-between the cushions of the couch and turned back to my drawing, looking for the white smudge. I examined the window that I had seen it in, but it had disappeared. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, I must have been imagining things.

I picked up my pencil and continued to work on the bird, but then saw the white smudge again. This time it was in the doorway.

"What the shit." I whispered as I reached for the eraser again. I seriously needed to get more sleep. I was about to rub it out when I noticed that it wasn't a white smudge at all, it was a face.

A face of a clown.

I sat there in surprise. Surely I couldn't have done that by accident. I put the rubber to the paper and started rubbing, but it wouldn't go away. Its red lips were turned up in a smile.

"Float with us Lara, float with us!"

I kept rubbing, but the face remained unchanging. If anything, it seemed to start smiling wider and wider as I rubbed harder and harder. I threw the sketchbook off my lap, breathing heavily.

"Float with me." a voice whispered from behind me. Hands wrapped around my neck.

My heart stopped and I screamed, the hands and the voice disappearing instantly as the door opened and my mum stormed in.

"What the fuck was that?" she asked, rubbing her eyes and smudging her mascara.

"There was a voice.. and hands..." I spluttered, terrified.

"God dammit Lara, I thought you stopped having nightmares ages ago. Snap out of it, you were dreaming."

I looked down at the sketchbook that was lying on the floor, face down. I couldn't have been dreaming, it felt so real.

"The book," I said, pointing to it, "there was a clown and I tried rubbing it out but it wouldn't go away."

I picked up the book and flipped to the page that I had been working on, but the face wasn't there.

"I could've sworn.." I mumbled, wiping my forehead.

"Yeah, whatever." my mum said and sat in the seat next to me. "It's Tuesday, you know. It's been a week."

I looked at her angrily. "Yeah, and how the hell was I supposed to make five hundred dollars in a week? Do you even make that much?"

"If you used the list I gave you, you could've. I've already made a thousand." she said, examining her fingernails.

"You're disgusting." I muttered. She turned to look at me angrily.

"What did you just say?" she asked, daring me with her eyes to say it again.

"I said you disgust me." I replied, pronouncing each syllable slow and clear.

"You don't speak to me that way, young lady. You're going to use that list I gave you and make five hundred by the end of next week."

I was about to protest but she stopped me. Her sudden persistence unnerved me.

"Don't test me. I'm making it easier for you this time, but I can very easily make it a thousand."

- - -

I laid against a tree at the Barrens, the packet of cigarettes I had stolen from my mum's drawer in my hand. I was angry at the world for giving me this life, angry at my mum for not understanding, and angry at myself for being too weak to stand up to her. I could feel my mental state slowly crumbling.

I placed a cigarette between my lips and lit it carefully, covering it with my hands so it wouldn't burn out. I took a deep breath and sighed at the relief it gave me. I blew out the smoke and closed my eyes, leaning my head against the tree. By no means was I an addict, it was just something I did once in awhile to escape the pain. I took another puff, feeling my lungs warm as they filled with smoke.

"I didn't know you were a stoner, new girl."

I opened my eyes to see Patrick Hockstetter leaning against the tree next to me, a playful look in his eyes.

"I'm not a stoner." I replied and stood up, brushing the dirt from my legs.

He walked over to me. "Then what are you?"

I looked into his dark blue eyes and felt something wash over me. "I don't know."

He stared at me for a few seconds before taking the cigarette from my hand and inhaling deeply. He breathed out the smoke into my face and I closed my eyes.

"Patrick." I sighed. He stepped closer and I felt his body warmth against me.

"I think that you're a girl who pretends to be all good and innocent, but you're really the opposite." I opened my eyes and saw him looking down at me through thick, long eyelashes.

"How would you know?" I asked. He pressed his body against mine and I could feel the tree digging into my back.

"I can see it in your eyes." he replied. "I can see your anger, pain, and desire to hurt."

"You're wrong." I replied, shaking my head.

I heard him drop the cigarette and stomp it out, his face so close to mine I could feel his breath tickling my forehead.

"Am I? Because I'm all too familiar with those feelings Lara. All too familiar."

"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

"Taking what's mine." he replied, before bringing his lips to mine.

I almost pulled away. Almost. But an unfamiliar hunger took over me and I felt myself wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. His hands slid down my waist and I let out a soft moan.

Our tongues fought for dominance, battling against each other's lips. It didn't last long, though. He let out a low chuckle as he took control, lifting my leg up and wrapping it around his waist. His hands found my ass while mine tangled in his hair.

I felt a pressure in my crotch as his hard-on pressed against me and I pulled my mouth away from his with a quiet gasp. He moved his lips to my neck, sucking and biting in a way that made me feel weak at the knees.

What was I doing? This was wrong.

But my mind wandered back to what my mum had said to me earlier and I felt my hand slight down his chest, stopping at his groin. He stopped and looked at me in surprise.

"This is going to cost you." I said before getting on my knees.