My Own

I have to escape I can’t live like this anymore. Not knowing when I’m going to get my next meal or if I’m going to get pushed down the stairs in our two-story house. I’ve actually got to know those stairs very well. There are twenty-two of them and on the last two, there was rough patches from where my blood dried on them. I’ve been kicked and punched by my mother and father for two years. When I turned sixteen I guess they thought I was going to turn into one of those teenagers that does drugs and party all night, so if I did something wrong they would go crazy on me. I remember the first time, I got home a little late because I fell asleep on my friend Jessica’s couch after watching a movie. When I got home they were waiting for me, each of them with a glass of clear liquid and I was pretty sure it wasn’t water.

Let's just say that was the first time me and the stairs got acquainted. I sit up in my bed and swing my feet out of the covers and they hit the cold floor. I get up and walk into my bathroom. My parents get me whatever I want because they don’t want to look bad. I would give up everything to have a peaceful home. I’ve been saving money and hiding it in my mirror. I found a little while in it a year ago and have been putting the money, my parents' gave me, in there. I have five thousand dollars and today is my eighteenth birthday. I’m leaving and going to Minnesota. No one will look for me there, now all I have to do is get out of the house. I will leave right after school. That's what I’ll do.

Today at three o'clock I will be gone. I feel happy already. Today's going to be a good day. I get, dress in skinny jeans and a nice blouse. It's navy blue and see through but with a navy blue tank top under its perfect for today. I put on navy flats and grab my bag. I rush downstairs and out the door. That was the quietest I’ve ever been. I take a deep breath and notice someone is staring at me. Okay... I start walking to school. Oh it's Kyle. Kyle is my best guy friend, we’ve known each other for like five years and he doesn’t know about the beatings. He starts running towards me.

"I want to help you." What the heck... how does he know, play it off.
"You wanna help me walk." I say good response I think to myself.

"No, you know what I’m talking about." He says and I look around we’re down the street from my house. "I want to help you escape." He says. He’s the son of my parent's close friends. Why would he want to help me? I notice he has a backpack on and he looks about my age. I’m so happy this is the last day of school. We already had finished our graduation too, we didn’t have to go to school today but this was the only way I could get out of the house. I have a whole bunch of clothes in my locker at school and I transferred my money there.

"I have a car." He says, he’s a year older than me, my friends at school don’t even now about him.
"Did your parents buy it."
"No."

"Do they know anything about it, insurance anything."
"No, I just brought it yesterday and it's hiding down the street."
"How did you know what was happening to me."
"Our parents would talk at my house about their methods of abuse."
"Wow."

"I need to leave, so are you down with me going with you."
"Yeah, but are you down with going to Minnesota."
"Why Minnesota?"
"No one will look there, unless you know people in Minnesota."
"I don’t."
"Okay then." I say and I’m almost at school.

"So are you ready to go?"
"What now?"
"Yeah now."
"I have to go to school, I have my money there and clothes."
"Well let me take you." He says and walks over to a car. I follow him and get in. He drives to the school. I get out and so does he.

"You don’t have to come with me." I say.
"Yeah I do." He says and we walk into the school. I see my friends and they walk up to me.
"Who’s the cutie Cha." They says in unison. My name is Chanel Davis.

"That's Kyle, he’s my neighbor."
"Oh okay, I’m so happy you came."
"I’m leaving actually."
"Oh okay, well text me."

"I will." I say and go to my locker. Did they call Kyle cute. I look at him. He is, but I never saw him that way before. I get my stuff and Kyle grabs my bag and we walk out to his car. I see my parents pull up. But I’m far enough from the school so they can’t see me. I get in and duck down. My dad looks my way and sees me, he starts walking towards us. "Drive now." I say and Kyle gets in his black mustang and pulls off. He drives so fast. I saw my dad get in the car and start driving after us. I can imagine what he will do, if he finds us.

*** Kyle's POV ***

I can’t believe I’m in the car with her. I am one year older than her, I’m nineteen but I have been in love with her from a distance for two years, that first time I saw her walking to school. I saw the little bruise above her eye and I knew she was going through the same thing. I’m Kyle Mathews by the way. I’m slightly tan and fit, not steroids fit but I have abs and muscles. We’re both Italian and our dads are work buddies. She just told me to drive, so I did. We’re now on the highway and I can see a car following us. It's her dad. Oh crap we have to get away from him. She starts crying. She is deathly afraid of this guy. I start driving faster and I turn and he’s stopped by the light. I go into a car parking lot and go out the other way and get back on the highway and start on our way to Minnesota. I can’t believe I’m going here, but I had to leave. I couldn’t take it anymore, I had to go.

"We have to get rid of our phones." She says with her sweet voice, cut me out of my daydreaming.
"Okay, but where." I ask."
"Give me your phone." She says and I give it to her. She tells me to go to the lane closest to the lake and I do. She rolls down the window and throws it on the road and they shatter into pieces. I look at her.
"So um we should get to know each other since we’re starting a new life together."
"Together."
"Yeah aren’t we."

"Um yeah, I guess but I thought we were just going to go our separate ways after this."
"Oh well it doesn’t matter."
"But we should get to know each other though, well we know the bad, so let's just talk about the good. I never want to think or talk about what's been going on ever again."
"Okay I won’t ask you, But um what's your favorite thing to do."
"I love to swim. I was on the swim team but when the beatings start I had quit I couldn’t cover up the bruises."
"I’m sorry."
"It's not your fault."

"Hey, so should we get new identities."
"No, I think we’ll be fine as long as we don’t use our parents' stuff, we’re good.
"So happy birthday by the way."
"Well thank you, this is probably the best birthday gift." She says and starts smiling. After ten hours of driving it's nine at night. I’m so tired.
"Hey, you want to stop or switch."

"No, we can stop. I’m pretty tired but I kinda want to go to the drug store, get hair dye our parents probably gave our pictures to the police."
"Okay." I say and turn off the highway. We’re in South Dakota now, far away from our parents.