Dark Secrets

1.

He had to stop and listen. After just narrowly escaping his stepfather's grasp, J.J.s heart pounded in his throat. It was making it hard for him to distinguish that from the pounding footsteps of his ever-nearing stepdad. J.J. was half tempted to jump out and fight Tom, but at thirteen years old, that would only make the situation worse for his mother and two sisters.
He may have been five feet tall and more athletically fit than Tom, but Tom would hurt his mother and sisters, one of whom was only three. That's why I'm out here, he thought to himself sternly, now that dad's dead I have to be the man of the house, I have to protect them!
He sat stock still, afraid to even breathe as he heard Tom near his hiding place. Tom was viciously throwing things about, opening and closing doors, and J.J. knew it was only a matter of time before Tom reached his hiding spot. A part of him thought it would be a relief to get out of this cramped closet with his mother's itchy fur coats stashed in it. The only problem was, when he hid there, he forgot about keeping an escape route, as it was, when Tom opened the door J.J. would have to jump him and make a run for the stairs. He would run to the pre-arranged safety spot where his older sister Brook would be waiting, calming Mella while fearing the worst herself.
Suddenly the footsteps stopped right outside the door. J.J. tensed, ready to leap up and charge Tom down if he was spotted. A second later, the door whipped open, the harsh breeze it made reminding J.J. to at least try to hide. Squatting down on the floor of the closet, he blinked at the sudden shift from the closet darkness to the bright lights of the house glaring at Tom from his hiding spot.
There he was, the man J.J. hated more than anyone else. He was close enough for J.J. to smell the alchohol on his breath, his chestnut eyes skimming the closet for any sign of J.J. Waiting in the closet, J.J. had a moments hesitation where he thought that maybe his hiding spot had actually worked, but when Tom turned away he didn't re-close the closet. Oh shit, he's going for the gun! J.J. thought desperately, trying to think of a way to escape.
Tom had left down the staircase.
Did he dare it? His mom was at work, so she was safe, and his sisters should be at their meeting spot. Thinking of them, he knew it didn't matter. He had to do it, not for himself but for them. His stepfather was only five foot two, that made J.J. just under two inches shorter than him but J.J. was under weight at eighty-seven pounds. Tom's mere bulk of one hundred and sixty pounds would squish him easily. J.J. would have to race down the stairs and out the door before Tom realized he was no longer in the closet. Jay closed his eyes and started to count, "one....two....three!"
JJ leapt out of the closet, down the stairs and closed the door just in time to see Tom as he came out of the room where they stored the guns. He was halfway down the street before he even dared a glance back. To his dismay, Tom was there hot on his heels; he would have to lose Tom before he could meet up with his sisters. Therefore, he began randomly darting down alleys and side streets always keeping in mind where he was compared to where he was going. Soon he was able to lose Tom and begin heading towards the abandoned tree house, out on what is now state land, to meet up with his sisters.