The Runaway (Brollins)

Chapter 1

Rebecca wanted to escape. She wanted to get her and her daughter to safety as soon as possible, but he said he loved her, so why should she leave?

Its just one little fight. She told herself as she covered up her bruises one morning. He apologized and said he loved me. She thought as she picked up the shattered glass throughout the house. That's her father, i can't take him away from her. She thought as she watched her 3 year old daughter color with her dad .

People had told her to get away from him, that all she had to do was walk away, but in reality it was so much harder. Not only was Matthew her abusive boyfriend, but he was the father of her child, which meant if she did leave, he could take her and never let Rebecca see her again.

Since Saylor was so little she didn't understand what was happening to her mother. She thought mommy and "daddy" were playing, but instead it was much worse.

Arguing could be heard from all around the small neighborhood. Glass was thrown against the wall and on other hard surfaces. Crying and screaming from both a woman and a child broke throughout the house, but nothing could be done.

Matthew threw another punch at Rebecca's face, making her stumble to the ground. She held her face as she cried from the pain. She just wanted it to stop, she wanted him to get better, but alcohol was running through his veins, which meant he wouldn't stop.

Matthew then bent down and picked her up kissing her forehead. "You'll be fine. I barely hit you."

Rebecca tried to fight back, to scream and call out for help, but she couldn't move. She just stood there, frozen in time, feeling the blood pour down from her face.

The bell rang distracting Rebecca from her past memories. She turned around to see her 2nd grade students packing up their belongings. "Alright class!" Rebecca said gaining the attention from the kids. "Make sure you grabbed your lunch boxes if you brought one! And remember if you didn't you could always grab a snack from my desk drawer!" Rebecca called out as her students ran to lunch.

Rebecca stepped out into the hallway where Pam was. "Hey Becks!" Pam stood beside of her and chuckled as they watched the kids run through the halls. "They're wild today huh?"

Rebecca smiled and shook her head. "They're just excited. It's pizza day remember?"

Pam's mouth dropped. "I forgot about pizza day! I hope they have some left by the time i get in the cafeteria." Rebecca chuckled at Pam's words. Pam looked over at Rebecca and gave her a small smile. "How's Saylor? I've not seen her in a while..."

Rebecca smiled. "She's doing great! I recently bought her a new stuffed animal and she loves it! She takes it everywhere she goes, alongside teddy." Rebecca laughed.

Pam looked down and laughed. "How about you? Are you doing ok?"

Rebecca's smile faded and she looked down, playing with her skirt. She shook her head and shrugged. "I'm good..."

Pam gave her a sad look. "How about you and Matthew?"

Rebecca swallowed and scratched her head. "We're fine. He's not hit me since last Monday...which is progress! I'm really hoping he gets better."

Pam gave her friend a pat on the shoulder. "Becks...you deserve so much better. I just wish you could see that. You and Saylor don't deserve that douchebag."

Rebecca smiled and nodded at her friend's words, and a few minutes later the kids came back from lunch. They all sat in their seats waiting for Rebecca to come in. She stepped inside the classroom after chatting with a few more teachers and shut the door. "Did you guys have a good lunch?!"

"Yeah!" They all beamed happily.

"Well i'm glad!" Rebecca sat down at her desk and pulled out her planner. "Alright now that you guys are all fed we need to get busy!"

Rebecca worked with her students, helping them understand their syllables. After they were done she gave them all colored pencils and crayons so that they could color until the last bell rang, were they all went home.

After a long day at work Rebecca walked out into the parking lot to find her car. She walked up to it and unlocked it before getting in. She put all of her stuff in the passenger seat and then she drove off.

She drove through the streets of Iowa, getting excited about seeing her favorite people. She pulled into a driveway where a white house stood. She got out and walked to the front door before knocking. A few seconds later her face lit up when she saw Colby open the door. He smiled at her and pulled her in for a hug. "Hey Becks!"

Rebecca smiled and returned the hug. "Hey Colby! Were's my little peanut at!" Colby stepped aside and let Rebecca walk in. When she walked in she saw toys scattered all through out Colby's living room, and then she heard little footsteps running towards her. Saylor came into view as she ran towards her mother. Rebecca caught her swiftly and picked her up cradling Saylor to her chest. "There's my baby girl! Hi Saylor! Did you have fun with C?"

Saylor smiled and hugged her mother dearly. "Mama! Me and C have fun! We play!"

Colby smiled and watched his best friend and her daughter. "Yeah we played all kinds of stuff didn't we Saylor."

Rebecca smiled and kissed her daughters cheek, letting her down on the ground. She turned around towards Colby who still had a smile plastered on his face. "Thank you for watching her. I really appreciate it."

Colby shook his head. "You don't have to thank me. I enjoy being around her." Colby walked around the living room picking up some of Saylor's toys. "Are you heading to  Matthew's?"

Rebecca nodded and put a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah we're going home." Saylor came back and wrapped her arms around Rebecca's leg. Rebecca ran her hand through her daughters dark curly hair. "I guess we better get going huh? You wanna say bye to Colby? Say bye C!"

Saylor waved and blew a kiss at Colby who came over and hugged the little girl. "Thanks for letting me hang with ya! I'll see you tomorrow ok? Bye Saysay!" Colby kissed her cheek before kissing Rebecca's. "Bye Becks."

Rebecca smiled and gave him a side hug then walked out the door. She got Saylor strapped in her car seat before getting in the car herself. She then started the car, hesitant to drive back to their shitty home.