Pieces of You

One.

In life, people run when things get hard. That's what Kennedy did, and that's what others do. The pain they feel is too much to bear to continue living the life they once knew; so they run from it. Thinking that it will fix all the other problems in their lives and mend the path for a better future.  But sometimes the things that they're running from catch up to them

Kennedy was 20 when she experienced her first life altering event that forced her to pick up and run away without telling anyone. Not that she had anyone to tell; she had been living on her own in her car, since she was 18 and finally was able to escape jumping around from foster home to foster home. It was hard for a teenager to get adopted, especially with all the baggage Kennedy carried along with her. Her parents weren't the best role models when she was younger, seeing as they're both currently in jail for money laundering and drugs. 

So Kennedy's upbringing always involved violence, random strangers over to party, and alcohol. Until her parents got caught, and she was forced to keep up a facade for the parents whose house she would reside in. It never lasted long. No one wanted the child of former drug dealers involved with even bigger people, so she never lasted more than a month in a home.

Her life finally started to take a turn when she turned 18 and was able to get a job. Waitressing wasn't exacting the most career-filling job, but it allowed her to save money. Especially since it was at one of the most high-end restaurants where all the fancy, rich men and their families come in and tip well if you do as they tell you. 

That's how she met Caleb.

The charmer, rich boy off of daddy's money who was used to getting what he wanted. And when he had decided that he wanted Kennedy, she didn't have the option to say no. The relationship, if you can call it that, started off great. He took her to fancy dinners, parties, showed her off wherever they went. Caleb opened a whole world to Kennedy that she only used to dream about.

At first, it was more of a business arrangement; he needed to prove to his dad that he was growing up and becoming serious about life at the age of 23, and Kennedy needed someone to take care of her. But as time went on, her feelings for Caleb became serious, and she actually began to look forward to the time they would spend together. 

Caleb became everything to Kennedy; her world revolved around him like the sun revolved around the earth. She would've done anything for him if he would've asked. Their relationship went on for a year or two, and then Caleb started getting involved in bigger parties, and even worse crowds. Crowds that didn't involve Kennedy, and she wasn't sure she even wanted to be included in them.

Kennedy saw Caleb less and less, until one night a pounding came on her front door of the apartment that Caleb had moved her in at the beginning of their relationship. She ran to the front door. It was still dark outside, so she knew it was the early hours of the morning. When she opened it, she was surprised to see Caleb, covered in fresh cuts and blood. She held in her gasp, but she knew her face showed the surprise she was feeling. 

"What happened?" She asked him, as he brushed past her and inside.

"You should see the other guy," he said. "I won the match." 

Kennedy closed her eyes, trying to calm herself, and closed the door.

"I thought you weren't going to do that anymore." She didn't wait for a reply from him, but simply raced to the bathroom to grab the first aid kit that she had used many times before on Caleb.

"The money was too good to pass up." She sat down next to him on the couch and began to clean him up.

Kennedy never understood why Caleb always got involved in these fights for money, when his dad basically paid for his entire existence. The only answer she ever got when she asked, was not to worry about it. But that was something she was never able to do.

When she was done cleaning him up, he sauntered off upstairs to the bedroom and immediately fell asleep in their bed. Kennedy was unable to fall asleep herself, as she stared at the man she loved and wondered where it all went sideways. 

She must have fallen asleep eventually, because the next morning when she woke up, Caleb was already gone. She sighed, and forced herself out of bed, trying to push away the thoughts that she knew it would be awhile before she saw him again. Without Caleb, she had no one. But it began to seem with each passing day that even Caleb was drifting away from her as well. All she could do was keep herself busy until the next time Caleb needed her. And that was harder than it seemed.

The next time she saw Caleb, he stumbled into the apartment at two in the afternoon, completely smashed off whatever his alcohol of choice was that day. It had been at least two weeks since their last interaction, and Kennedy was aching to make every moment last until he ran off again. So when he kissed her, for the first time in what felt like ages, she accepted it regardless of all the thoughts in her head. Because having Caleb again for one night was better than never having him at all. At least that's what her mind kept telling her. 

Caleb left immediately after, and Kennedy couldn't say anything to him to make him stay. That's not how it was for Caleb. But the hold that he had on her got stronger each time he lured her back in. And all she could do was accept it, because in the end Caleb was all she had. 

After another week without Caleb, Kennedy began to get stir crazy. She very rarely left the house, but today she had decided that a bit of fresh air might calm her nerves and thoughts of Caleb, so she went on a walk. She had never had the chance to explore the neighborhood Caleb moved her to, since Caleb always told her to stay inside. And she always did as Caleb asked. It was a short walk, but apparently not short enough for someone to take the chance to enter her apartment. As she arrived to her door, she noticed it cracked open. 

The chill that took over her body was cold, and she reached for her phone to call Caleb. As the phone began to ring, she could hear the ring of his phone coming from inside the apartment. Slowly, she entered and tip toed her way throughout it. She walked upstairs to the bedroom, and stood frozen at the sight in front of her. A trail of clothes leading to the bed, with Caleb at the end of it. But not just Caleb; another woman on top of him. Kennedy tried not to make a sound as she turned away, but the creek of the floorboard ratted her out. She looked back at the eyes of a startled, but not sorry Caleb.

And then she ran, leaving pieces of herself behind.