I needed to get away.
That’s why I’d packed a bag with the bare minimum items. I didn’t need anything really but a few changes of clothes, a stash of money I kept hidden away and the little box my grandmother gave me. It contained pictures of her and I along with the pearls she’d given me before she passed.
Tonight, I made my move. I waited for my parents to go to bed. By the time the clock struck three a.m., I decided to say screw it and take my chances.
Slinking out the door to my room with my backpack on, I stuck to the shadows of the hallway and quietly made my way to my exit. The closer I got, I heard moans and groans.
Gross.
I might be a virgin, but I’m not naïve. I know what those sounds are. I shudder at the thought of my parents having sex. How two people who are as poisonous as them could have sex with each other is beyond me. My grandmother told me when I become intimate with someone, it should be with love and nothing else.
I made it to the door just as my mother’s screams met my ears. I stilled as she called my soon-to-be-husband’s name instead of my fathers’. Two different grunts can be heard as she goes silent.
Oh God, nausea churns my stomach. This is the life my parents want for me— one filled with deceit and despair.
Yeah, no, I’m good.
“Parker, it will be nice to have you around more,” my mother purrs as I open the front door enough to fit through. I don’t want to hear any more of this.
“That it will. I’ll be more than happy to oblige you once your daughter is mine.” Parker’s chuckles send a horrifying chill down my spine.
Not going to happen, buddy.
I refuse to be with him.
I hold my breath as I pull the door closed behind me, hoping to God they don’t hear the click of the door. I don’t need them to catch me now. I’m too close to being home free of this insanity. Who wants to live like this?
Not me, that’s for sure.
I want my freedom to do as I please. To love who I want. Be who I want and never have to worry what I am to those around me.
Making my way down the road, I get far enough away from the house and use my phone one last time to call the only friend I’ve ever known.
Raven.
Thankfully, she knew I would be calling.
“I see you. Just keep coming a little further and you’ll see the car. Hurry up, though, we don’t know how long it will take them to realize you're gone,” she says before hanging up.
Nodding to myself, I pull the phone from my ear and throw it to the side. I won’t be needing that one anymore. Raven has my new one.
Soon as I get to Raven’s car, she starts the engine.
“Come on, babe, we gotta get some road between us and them,” she states as I open the door and throw my stuff in the back and climb in.
“Yeah, I know we do,” I mutter as I fasten my seat belt.
Raven wasted no time in getting us out of there either. Within thirty minutes, she’s pulling onto I-20 heading east.
“Where are we headed?” I ask nervously. We’d never discussed where we’d go from here.
“Heading to Stonewall Mills, Virginia,” she murmurs.
Stonewall Mills, interesting name.
Now, let’s just hope my parents or Parker never find me there.
