“Happy seventeenth birthday, Chloe!” shouted one of my close friends, Michelle. I smiled, trying to hide the sadness that I felt every year I heard those words. I knew that soon I would be forced to run again and start over somewhere new. “How many years has it been now?” I thought to myself. I realized that this was the 138th year of turning 17 and honestly, I do not know how I will be able to make it another year. I took a deep breath and headed to Chemistry. I went on with my day knowing that it would soon be over and I could finally head back home. Finally, stepping outside in the bright summer air I felt at peace. I was slowly forgetting about the depressing day I had and all I could think about was crawling into bed and sleeping off the horrific memories. Your seventeenth birthday is supposed to be an incredible day where you 're almost an adult but can still act like a child, but for me it was a nightmare that never ended. I have lived through so many tragedies and I will never be able to erase those haunting …show more content…
Everyone was so caught up in telling stories and laughing that the rain was barely noticed. Suddenly there was a light tapping at the door and everyone froze. We were used to have unexpected dinner guests because our house was on the way to town so it was a convenient resting spot. Papa, my grandfather, stood up from the table and headed to open the door. We waited for about two minutes and when there was no sound Father went to make sure everything was all right. When he did not return, everyone became a little nervous. We decided to go check the problem out together, but as we were standing up there were two loud bangs in the distance and our hearts sank. We all knew what had just happened, but no one was willing to admit it. We rushed outside to see if our worst suspicions were true. There, right below the old oak tree, laid the bodies of my father and