The Runaway House

Twenty-one . Fight or Flight

   Since I'm exhausted, Travis delivers the letter to Penelope. I stay upstairs, hoping I'll be able to leave tomorrow.

Because when it comes to my fight or flight instinct—flight is winning.

I curl up on the bed, facing the door. At least this way I'll be able to see Ben coming at me.

The clatter in the kitchen is followed by scents of lunch wafting into my room. I can't quite place my finger on what Penelope is cooking—nor do I care. My stomach is twisted in knots.

Where's your bravery now, Lee?

I close my eyes from the tears. Oh how I just want to leave—to flee this place until Penelope decides to make Ben find someplace else to stay. I can only hope that my words will be enough to sway her. Otherwise, I don't know if I'll be able to come back.

But where would I go? Home? How would my parents react?

Will they accept me with loving arms? Will they let me recover? Will they understand that I'll need to? That my head is a blurry mess and I'm suffocating from all this pain, all this running this hiding.

I need this place to be my safe haven. The Runaway House—a home where we can all be still, find peace, find the love that I have. The bravery.

And even thought it seems like I've lost it, I know I can get it back. Just not now—when I'm trembling and my heart is crumbling into little pieces. I'll be okay. But I have to get out of here.

Over the next few hours, I drift in and out of a sweaty and breathless sleep. I finally wake as the last rays of a dimming sunset shine through my window.

Slowly, I sit up. Travis is sitting in the chair that, at some time over the past few days, has stayed beside my bed.

"Hello," he says as he smiles.

I blink my nightmares from my eyes and give a smile. "Hi."

"I talked to Penelope."

My eyes are wide as I look up at him—my heart goes wild.

"I told her about the incident with Ben this morning, and I gave her the letter."

I nod, urging him to go on.

"She wants us to leave now."

My mouth opens slightly. "Now now?"

"Yes. She's going to think on what to do with Ben—but I think we've won it over. Hopefully he'll be gone by the time we get back. But she doesn't want you near him."

I nod. "So . . . we're leaving now."

He smiles and brushes a few strands of hair from my face. "Yes, Jubilee."

I blush.

"Penelope has already packed a bag for you." He offers a hand to me. "I hope you got your rest—because we have a long ride ahead of us."

. . . .

I climb into the passenger seat, and the first thing I notice in the dim light is the ceiling.

"All these names . . ."

There's more ink-covered fabric on the ceiling than not. It's patterned with name after name, starting from the front all the way to the back.

"Every kid that's been here has written their name in here," Travis says. Then he nods toward me with a grin. "Seatbelt."

I giggle, obliging. He's been giddy ever since we got downstairs. The sun is behind the trees, but he's glowing all on his own.

I oblige. "Where's your name?"

"Haven't put it on yet." He turns the key in the ignition. "Can't decide where. I brought a marker for you if you'd like to put yours on."

I peel my eyes from the ceiling to his smile. "Maybe later. For now—why are you in such a good mood?" I settle back in the seat, feet up on the dashboard.

"She gave me her blessing." His lips twitch up in a smile, but his eyes stay on the bumpy dirt road we're on—if you could even call it that. It's more of a path.

"For what?"

"Us." He finally looks at me, and it's like his eyes are the first that have ever truly seen me.

And I'm staring at him with a faint smile on my lips and fear in my eyes. Heart racing, hands sweating, a giggle bubbling up in my throat. He sees all of it.

And he understands every single piece of it.

So when he reaches his hand out to me, I suppress my fear and take it. I have a lot of questions—about his past, about this murderer, about Jeff.

And I have a feeling these roads we're traveling will unleash those answers.

hello there, beautiful people! thank you for reading part twenty-one of the runaway house! there will be about two or three more chapters, and then this lovely book will be finished. (i do believe i'm getting sick again though, so please bear with me. i'm sorry this chapter is shorter.) please do vote, comment, and follow!

xoxo,

rebekah