The corruption of innocence

I spit at his shoes and drag myself to my feet. Raising my pounding head, I look him straight in the eyes and whisper, "I have a heart, you suffocated it. I have a brain, you tried to freeze it. I refuse to sit around any longer and let my heart be filled with your madness, or my brain squashed by your fist. I won’t-“

Grabbing my shirt, he throws me against the wall, trapping me with his body, ready to yell in my face, "Little girl, escaping us is a dream you'll soon forget, because it won't happen until you're dead!" he spits.
Laughing, I reply "Tell me- if escaping was just a dream, then why do I feel as though I just woke up?"

I used to think that freedom meant the end of the school bell, or the day I got a licence. 
But recently I had an epiphany.
While I was stuck longing for air, my bones just rubber & my heart cracked in pieces I noticed one thing.
Freedom isn't something you're given, it's something you steal- and it's my turn to steal it back.