Runaway

Autumn leaves are falling outside. I don't see my Papa anywhere.

"Papa? Are you there?" I call into the cellar, which is empty.

"I'm up here." His slurred voice calls.

I follow his voice to his room. The smell of alcohol is prominent here. My papa is the town drunk. You can almost always smell liquor on his breath.

"The doctor said to stop drinking."

"And are you the doctor girl?"

"No Papa. I'm just trying to help you."

"Like when your mother tried to help both of us when she left you here? Left me to care for a sickly infant?"

"You know what I mean Papa."

"Come here," I refuse to budge. It's never good to go towards him when he is in on of his common drunken moods. "I said come here! Now!"

Never loved by anyone, a nineteen year old girl flees the only place she calls home. What comes next isn't expected by anyone. Especially her.