Running From Miracles

Renae

1
Renae
   
      Breathe. She kept forgetting to breathe. How do you breathe?
    She couldn’t breathe. Not now. No time to think about anything but running. 
    Faster. She needed to run faster. Her feet were bare and bleeding, turning the water in the flooded street red, giving them a little breadcrumb to follow. Maybe if she remembered to breathe she could run faster than them, faster than the storm, fast enough to finally get away. 
She kept an eye out for Lex, but it seemed as if he had gone home once he’d seen her safely to the house and money had been exchanged. She prayed she’d see him. She didn’t know who she was praying to but it was probably to Lex. She always prayed to him. He saved her,  protected her, gave her more than everything she needed. So where was he now? She needed him to appear. She knew the rule. She knew she shouldn’t and couldn’t go there but it was like her legs didn’t know how to go in any other direction. As she reached the street, she began to run even faster towards the small brick house, which, in another life, could have been a Hallmark home,  with its gorgeous brown stained oak door and a front porch perfect for gathering and drinking hot cocoa with friends on a snowy day. 
That wasn't the life of this home now though.  These walls currently housed four to six different women throughout the months as well as a mated pair of black Timberwolf guard dogs and their puppies. 
Oh, and Lex. These four walls housed Alexander,  the girl's Savior. 
 Finally she reached the door and banged harshly at the glossy wood door. 
“Open up! Please! Lex, open the damn door!” She looked behind her, hearing footsteps coming closer.
 “Please, Lex!” she begged, her voice hoarse, tears burning in her eyes. Where was her savior?
She slammed her fists on the solid wooden door before collapsing to the cold stone of the entryway, dragging her hands down the smooth wood, all while shouting until her throat was too raw to make any sound louder than a squeak.
She looked off the porch at the road as she heard the barking of the dogs cut into her own screams of help.  Through her boiling teads saw the officers approaching the walkway of the old home. 
"Ma'am!" The taller of the officers called out over the noise,  "Please,  we mean you no harm, you are not in any trouble!  We simply want to bring you home!  Your family is very concerned and-"
Renae didn't wait to hear what else the man had to say. She staggered her way to her feet as swiftly as she could,  grabbing a loose brick that was next to the door for clients to place drop offs of money or for potential clients to drop off phone numbers. She stood and with all the strength she could muster, she threw the large stone in the direction of the officers before taking off back into the rain. Over the sound of thunder,  she heard one of the pups yelp as the brick made contact.  Renae flinched,  but couldn't pause for remorse as she distantly heard the officers' heavy boots take off into a sprint behind her.  There was no time to think about them following her right now; all she needed to focus on was adding distance between the two of them and her.   She was so tired, so very tired ; but she was never gonna stop running if it meant getting caught. 
She turned a corner, not slowing her speed even as she slipped on the slick concrete and almost fell to the ground.  
Renae prayed again for Lex to appear. He had to, didn’t he? He always had before.
She started to doubt he would show though. She was out of energy, out of time, out of hope. 
She was caught. 
She started to slow down, started to give in. She knew when she’d been beat. 
 It felt as though even before she stopped, the officers were calling to her. 
“Put your arms above your head and get down on the ground.” Renae guessed they were no longer trying the nice tactic.  Throwing the brick had ended that.  She was a risk, so she required restraint and cuffs… a true criminal.  She would've laughed had she had the energy.  
Defeat. 
She lowered her head in shame. She wanted to cry, wanted to scream. All she could do,  however, was just as the officer told her to- Renae placed her hands above her head with the last of her energy as she slowly dropped to her knees and stoopped her head into her chest as she silently cried.  
All she could do was accept her fate.
"You have the right to remain silent.  Anything you say can and will be held against you in the court of law.  You have the right to an attorney-" the officer continued on as he picked her up off the ground like a rag doll and clicked cold metal rings around her tiny wrists. 
She had to accept this… 
Lex hadn't been there to save her this time.