She sat shivering in the car wondering why they had brought her along on the trip. I'm not going to eat anyway so what's the point? she thought turning up the volume on her ear buds and looking out the window. They always made her do things she didn't want to do. As they neared the restaurant she saw woods in the corner of her eye. They seemed to stretch on forever as so longed to be there instead of this fast food restaurant with her asshole family. They went in leaving her behind as they usually did like they didn't even notice her. Why bring me along if you're just going to leave me, she thought rolling her eyes and focusing on the woods again. She could easily just go into the woods and never be heard from again. She looked back at the restaurant one last time before heading to the woods, They're already in, let's see if all those times that said they loved me was true or not. An evil smirk stretched across her face as she ran to the woods crossing the busy street and almost tripping down the hill into the thick dark trees. Now she had made it away from them finally she was free but she wondered where she would go, who she would have, and most of all, how she would survive. Looking down at her phone she noticed she was still on full battery so she had a way of contacting people if she had to. She hiked through the woods kicking up small piled of leaves stuck together with rain water and dirty with mud. It was cold and she wondered where she would go for heat. She decided to walk back to her house. It wasn't far but her family would take a while to eat and maybe even look for her. As she walked along the poorly painted lines of the road she could have sworn to hear her name yelled in the distance but she brushed it off and kept walking. There was a police car slowing down "shit" she mumbled to herself putting her head down. The car stopped and a tall man stepped out and walked over to her, "Hey little girl, are you lost?" he asked her. She glared up at him, she was not a little girl she was 17 years old turning 18 in a few months. "I'm not lost." she said with confidence, looking him right in the eyes.
"Where are you going so late at night? It's past cerfew you know."
She panicked trying to think of an excuse "My uh- my car broke down and I was walking to the nearest gas station for help because my phone is dead?" she felt so stupid, dead phone? broken down car? she knew she would be busted.
"Can I have an ID?"
Luckily she always kept her license with her, she pulled it out and he nodded.
"Alright well would you like a ride then?"
It would be faster she thought, but it was too risky he might take her to the station saying she was lost. "No thanks I'm okay" she smiled nervously and started to walk away again. He shrugged and got back into his car. It took about an hour to walk home, she was walking slower because her feet and legs had become numb from the freezing weather. She knew she still had a while as she realized she didn't have her key with her. "well fuck what am I-" she cut herself off, "The window..." She climbed up the tree in the front yard and hoisted herself up to the roof outside her bedroom window. She had left it unlocked last night when she closed it after she let Jinx back out. Jinx was a stray black cat she let inside and fed and cared for then let back out before her family or the dog could find her. She grabbed her bag and started packing, she packed her charger, clothes, and all the essentials. She grabbed her laptop and looked for plane tickets. The airport was a while away but she would manage, she couldn't rick taking the extra car in case they filed it missing. She crawled under her bed and lifted the loose board of the floor and pulled out a small box. She opened the box with the rusty key around her neck. Inside was the cash she had been saving up her whole life for this moment. She slipped it into her sweatshirt pocket and placed it back in its spot in the floor. She felt bad leaving Jinx, maybe she would bring her with her. She grabbed her stuff and took one last look back at what her life had been as she closed the window behind her leaving not a single trace she was ever there.
Jumping down from the rooftop she heard a gentle meow, it was Jinx. She picked up the frail cat and nuzzled her face into her, "you're coming with me" she said lovingly, inviting her into her sweatshirt. She walked down the street with only the flickering street lamps lighting her way, it was peaceful, she was finally free.
