Soul Mates

Running

"I hear from everyone at school, that you Mr Pete Dunham have defended my honour". He gave her a cheeky grin as she sat down next to him. He was still waiting for the head teacher to see him.
"And I would do it again in a second" Pete said looking into her eyes. Charley lent into his lips and slowly brushed hers against his. They had both been dreaming about this moment. She pulled away unsure that this is what he had wanted. Her cheeks had blushed slightly. Pete moved his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her back to meet his lips again.

Pete walked out of the head teachers office.
"What's the punishment?" Charley asked smiling up sweetly at him.
"Suspended for 2 weeks" Pete said with a huff. His dad would give him one hell of a beating, and his mom would be disappointed.
She knew what his dad would do. It wasnt fair him getting in so much trouble for defending her.
"Petey" she trailed off as he looked at her. He lent down to kiss her.

"I should go home and face the music" Pete said as they sat on the corner of Charley's road still kissing. It was starting to get dark.
"Pete I dont want you to go, he is going to be so mad. Just stay with me. I will protect you" she said hugging him tightly.
"Char, if I dont go now he will just get drunker and drunker, and he will end up taking it out on my mom" Pete said finally standing up. He helped her up, she had the look of worry all over her face. He hated that look.
"Char, if it's to bad I will come and sleep in your shed again, just make sure there are sleeping bags" he said chuckling to himself. Charley and Pete hadn't been friends for very long when he first slept there, and he had slept there a couple of more times since.

He walked slowly to his house, he could hear his dad before he could see his dad.
"Pete baby, where have you been, I've been worried sick the school rang. Are you ok?" Pete's mother said as soon as he walked through the front door. Pete nodded, his mother had already got a busted lip. He should have come home earlier.
"Are you ok?" Pete asked as his mother as she came to stand next to him. His dad and brother Steve walked into the living room. Steve wouldn't look at his mother.
"I've had the fucking school on the phone boy" Pete's dad started. Pete sneared at his dad.
"Dont look at me like that you twat. Are you thick or something you never get caught fighting. Have you learnt nothing from us" his dad shouted in his face. He looked back at his mom.
"Yeah I have, not to become anything like you. Beating up your wife make you feel like a hard man dad".
Pete felt the first punch but didn't feel much after that.

He lay at the front door what seemed like hours. It was dark, his mom had been dragged up the stairs after his dad had finished punching him. Steve too had gone up the stairs, to scared himself to stand up to the great big bad Ron Dunham. He lifted up his head to check clock hanging above the fire place. 3:20. He slowly got up, and quietly went up the stairs. He could hear his mom sobbing through the closed door of her and his dads bedroom.

He got changed out of his school uniform. He needed to give the house a bit of space for a couple of days. He found his backpack and filled it with what he could. He went down to the kitchen and grabbed the old sugar pot, that's where his dads drinking money was. He pocketed £100 and left the house in the darkness.

He climbed over Charley's back fence just as the rain had started. He didn't expect her to be a sleep in the shed when he got inside. She was covered in quilts and blankets. She knew he would end up in her. She woke up slightly when Pete lay down beside her.
"Pete, you ok?" He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead.

"Let's get away from here".
Pete looked at her face, he thought she had fallen back to sleep they had not spoken in about 20 minutes.
"What?" Pete asked just in case he had miss heard or maybe she was sleep talking.
"Let's get away from here, just for a little while. Maybe a couple of weeks" she said lifting her head up from the pillow.
"Where we going to go princess?" Pete asked lifting his head up as well.
"Anywhere you want Pete, I've got some money saved". He thought about it, his dad and mom would just think he was hiding out somewhere, they would never need to know.
"Ok" Pete said smiling. She squealed and cuddled up to him.

She came back to the shed after packing a bag and grabbing her money.
"Let's go" she said twirling a set of keys. He frowned slightly.
"What, Liam can get to work on the bus like everyone else. We are only borrowing it". Charley knew that Liam had only shown her how to drive incase of an emergency, but she was sure this counted as one.

They put their back packs in the boot along with some blankets from the shed.
"To where the road takes us" she said kissing Pete slowly before they drove away.