Let Go

Runaway

1

I heard her crying out in pain from downstairs, even when I had the door closed. I pressed my hands against my face, trying to press the situation out of my head. Taking a deep breath I step into the shower, because this may be the last one I get for awhile. Tonight I have to leave, and I won't be coming back.

I take a quick shower, and dress in layers. It's not winter yet, but it will be soon enough. Silently I walk to my room, putting on two pairs of socks and a pair of boots. I dig out my backpack from the bottom of my closet and my sleeping bag I used when we used to go camping. I put in some extra clothes and shoes, knowing I'll have to pack light. I only bring things I think will be useful, leaving enough room to bring some food. Before I leave my room I grab my pocket knife and the money I had been saving.

I slip silently down the stairs, the screams getting louder. I rummage through the pantry, taking a few canned goods, granola bars, trail mix, and things that will keep for a long time. I put them in my backpack, along with his utility knife and a lighter that he left on the counter. I grab a refillable water bottle, and fill it, along with some plastic water bottles. I take all the money from his wallet, it's not like he deserves it.

I hear a loud bang, as if he had just thrown her against the wall. With shaky hands I take out my phone, and dial the police.

"911 what's your emergency?" The lady asks from the other end.

"Hi, my name is Riley Brooks, I'm seventeen years old. I live on 1763 Lewes Lane in Beckton. My mother and I are being abused by her boyfriend. Send the police, please hurry." I sputter out, my voice shaking.

"The police are on their way, please stay on the line with me." She tells me. With that I set my phone down by their bedroom door, so they can hear the cries, and then I leave.

I know I have to hurry, because the police station isn't that far away. I open the door, leaving it open behind me for the police. Then I run, taking the shortest way to get to the forest. Our town isn't small, but the further east you go the smaller the towns get, and they're far and wide in between.

As I run I go through the items I have with me, to keep my mind off of what's going to happen back home.

I have enough food to last me for maybe a week. I have enough water for about five days. I have extra clothes and shoes, and I have roughly $350.

I barely make it to the forest when I hear the police sirens, and I have to stop to catch my breath. My body aches from places where he had left bruises on me, but I push on, because they'll be looking for me.

I don't know how long I run, but it's only when I collapse from exhaustion do I stop. I lay on my back, looking around at my surroundings, trying to think things through.

I look at the time on my wristwatch, 1:37. I left around 11. The thick night sky shines heavily with stars, and my breathing is the only thing that I hear.

I don't bother to lay out my sleeping bag tonight, anything feels nice now that I'm not stuck in the confines of that hell with the devil himself. Quickly my eyes shut, and for the first time since Dad's death, I'm not scared to wake up.

~

When my eyes peel open the next morning, they stare up a clear blue sky, and my ears are greeted by the sound of birds chirping.

"I did it." I say to nobody but myself. I sit up, and stretch out my sore limbs. I shoulder my pack as I stand up, knowing the first thing I need to do is find out where I am. I try to listen for cars in the distance, hoping perhaps there's a road nearby that I can base my direction off of. Though my ears hear nothing.

As I take my first step my body aches, screaming at me to lay back down, but I can't afford to lose another day. The time on my watch reads 10:22. It's a little warmer, so I take off my sweater, and tie it around my waist. I walk in the same direction I was running in last night, hoping it'll take me somewhere.

It's around three when I finally see a clearing in the forest in front of me, and I can see a large field in front of it. Short stalks of corn are growing, and as I approach it I get a better view of what lies before me. In the distance I can see a road, a highway to be more exact. It's the one that leads out of Beckton, east towards the smaller towns. From the looks of it I'm at the far end of the town after Beckton. Knowing this I decide to keep my distance from the highway, so it's less likely I'll be seen, but I walk parallel to it.

I grab a water bottle from my bag and take a long drink of it. I have to restrain myself from swallowing down the whole thing, knowing it's important to conserve what resources I have. I open up one of the granola bars I have, and consume the whole thing because I know I have more food than water.

It isn't until around seven that I pass into another small town. There's almost no cars on the street, but I still stick close to the tree line, just in case. I stare at my feet as I enter a local grocery store, leaving my bag outside in the bushes. Yet my attempts to keep myself hidden are ruined because it seems I'm the only customer here.

The tired looking teenage cashier gives me a brief nod, before looking back down at her phone. I only have one purpose to come to this store, so I make my way to the hair care aisle, and grab a box of brown hair dye. My hair now is blonde, and I know dying my hair won't make me an entirely different person, but it'll help me a little bit. I walk up to the register and the cashier rings up the two boxes of dye.

"Alright, $12.58 please." She says, her hair has blue streaks in it, and they sway back and forth when she moves her head. I hand her some money, and gather my things. I begin to walk away, but hesitate.

"Could you actually help me with something?" I ask awkwardly.

"What is it?" She asks slowly.

"I need you to help me with this." I say, holding up the hair dye.

"Um," she pauses, "Okay." She finally agrees. We go into the small one stall bathroom, and I wet my hair in the sink. For the next hour or so we make small talk as the dye sets, and then she helps me wash it out.

"One more thing." I circle my fingers around her wrist to stop her from leaving.

"Yeah?" She asks curiously.

"I need you to cut my hair." I blurt out. She furrows her eyebrows for a moment, and then takes a step towards the door.

"I'll go get some scissors." She nods briefly, and then returns a few minutes later. I stand in front of the mirror, and she pulls my hair behind my shoulders.

"How short to you want it?" She asks.

"The middle of my neck." I say, motioning there with my hand.

She raises her eyebrows in surprise, "Trying to make a statement or something?" She asks.

"Something like that."

She then lines up the scissors. I hear them cut my hair, and see it fall to the ground from the corner of my eye. Once she's done my brown hair now reaches the middle of my neck, in a neat line, where it once was blonde and cascaded down my back.

"Thank you." I say quietly, gathering up the hair and throwing it in the trash. I take the extra box of dye, and begin to walk out of the door.

"Stay safe." She says, before I exit the grocery store. As if she could sense I was doing this for a reason. As if I had some purpose.

"You too." I tell her, offering her a weak smile.

I throw the dye into my bag, shoulder my pack, and make my way towards the forest again so I can find a place to camp for the night. I make sure I walk a good distance into the forest before rolling out my sleeping bag.

I need to keep up my energy, so I decide to build a small fire, and heat up a can of soup. I find some grasses and brush, and some small twigs to start it, and then as I get a small spark going with the lighter, I add some larger sticks. I open the soup with the can opener of the utility knife I brought. I sit on the sleeping bag, eating the soup with the spoon attachment on the knife. I finish the bottle of water I opened earlier before crawling into my sleeping bag.

As I watch the fire die, there's only two things on my mind;

What happened to my mom and where the hell am I going.