Previously on Alone, Sophia gets in trouble with her unfair parents for getting an A on her report card for math class. They come into her room later that night to find her sobbing on her bed. They are ready to give her her punishment. 

I looked up from my arms, sticky with snot and tears. My father appeared behind my mother, glaring over her shoulder. 

My mother stalked into the room with a black trash bag. She fluffed it open and growled. 

“You don’t deserve any of this!” She ripped the mirror off of my wall and shoved it in the bag.

“No! NO!” I screamed, running to stop her. “You can’t!”

“You get your filthy, dumb hands off of me. You don’t deserve this wonderful life your father and I gave you. You don’t deserve ANYTHING!” She pulled my arm off of her with intense force, sending me stumbling backwards.

My mother shoved open my drawers, dumping my clothes into the bag. I scrambled forward, tripping over a rug as my mother pulled it out from underneath me and shoved the cream colored cloth into the bag. I grabbed a hold of one end of the rug.

“Let go, Mother! Please!” I tugged, hard, but my mother glared at me. Her eyes were glassy and glazed-over. 

“You don’t deserve this.” She repeated, oddly calm, and yanked the rug from my grip. 

“She’s right, you ugly mistake.” My father grabbed my arm and pulled me away from my mother. I struggled against his grip, pulling towards the trash bag. 

“Take her outside.” My mother ordered to my father, dragging more items. My only water bottle smashed to the floor, water spilling everywhere. My father pulled me out of the room, crying, and dragged me down the stairs. Once outside, I shivered in the cold winter air. My mother dragged bags out of the house, piling them in the snow. 

“What are you doing? Mother! Father, stop her!” They both ignored me, their eyes glassy. 

“Sophia.” My mother’s voice was eerily calm. I looked up at her face.

“Tell me to stop one more time and you will never see the light of day.”

“Mom!” Her eyes flashed angrily.

“You do not have the right to call your mother such an unprofessional name, Miss!” She stomped over to the car, ordering her husband to carry the bags. They loaded the bulky bags into the back of the pristine, white car that we owned.

“Wait!” I yelled as the car began to pull out of the driveway. I grabbed the door and tugged. It’s jammed!

“Help! Wait!” I yanked as hard as I could, ripping the back door wide open. I pulled myself in, my dress billowing in the wind as the car gained speed. I slammed the door behind me and glanced at my mother and father. They didn’t seem to notice my presence. 

The car screeched to a stop a long time later at a large, glistening lake. The reflection of our car shook on the water’s surface. Lush, green pine trees lined the edge of the water. I took in the sun, it’s rays shining and nearly blinding me. I shielded my eyes. 

I woke from my thoughts as the door slammed shut, a very uncommon move for my neat parents, and my mom climbed out of the vehicle. 

“Mother! What are you doing?” I climbed out as well, stopping my mother.

“Get away from me.” She growled, grabbing a lumpy, black bag from the clean trunk. She stumbled to the water’s edge and slid off her shoes. Mother has never been in water outdoors before! I stared incredulously as she waded into the water, the bag on her back. Her black, tidy work uniform was soaked with water. 

She didn’t glance back as she hurled the bag into the depths of the water. I watched as everything I’d ever owned disappeared under the surface of the water.