Runaway
A short story by Nicolle Andrew
Copyright ©2017
The roaring river and song birds wake me up slowly. A luxury I’ve grown accustomed to. The amount of sunlight tells me I have some time to relax before the fire needs to be started. I roll over on my side and my chain slides towards my face. The dog tag shines the name vibrantly in the morning sun. I know he hates me now but I had to leave that house. Dad and Mom couldn’t stop fighting, not even for their children. They probably still haven’t noticed I left, and its been four months. Kyle’s name stares at me until I shove it back in my shirt and head outside.
With the fire started I grab the bucket I set aside last night. Just as the water begins to boil, leaves rustle in the back of my camp. I get a firm grip on my bow beside the tent. Loaded, I round the corner.
“Who’s there?” More twigs crack, “I won’t hesitate to shoot!”
I see a pine branch sway slightly and then there’s silence again. No leaves rustling, no twigs cracking, no rocks scraping under boots. It’s just me. I should know by now that animals run by the camp quite often. But I still get on edge every time I hear a sound.
I decide to go back to the fire, “I guess no one was there.”
Tera looks up at me and leans her head back down to her paws. Her tail slowly moves back and forth in the dirt. The fire tickles the small tipi I’ve made with kindling. I gently blow inside to make the embers roar to life. Once the flames take over the larger logs I stand up from the stump. Tera gets up with me like usual. As we walk down to the river, I notice smoke in the air from the South.
“What do you think that’s coming from?”
I know this is not a camping ground. Technically, I’m not even supposed to be here. In the four months I’ve lived in this forrest, not a soul has come around my camp or even around this part of the woods. I scoop the ice water up in my canteen and walk slowly to the smoke stack rising above the trees.
I whisper to her, “Shh, Tera. We don’t want to scare them off.”
As I get closer I expect to hear voices of campers, maybe children running around, but there’s only silence. I hook the canteen on my waist then grab my bow and nock an arrow, ready to aim. A fire roars on and a small tent is pitched near the corner of this open space. My parents have the same tent.
“It’s just campers.”
I turn to leave, putting my bow on my back once again and the arrow in the quiver. But, just like at my own camp, I hear twigs breaking. Faster and faster. Someone’s running towards me. Without turning around I yell at Tera and run along the creek.The pebbles under my boots cause my ankles to go in two separate directions. My palms and knees hit the rocks hard. I attempt to scramble to my feet again but a large stern hand pulls me back down.
A river of emotions flows through me, “Kyle!”
He pulls me in and rambles, barely breathing, “I’m sorry I didn’t come for you sooner. I came as soon as I found out you left. I was jumping from place to place hoping to find you. I’ve been looking for you for a month now! I was beginning to think…”, he takes in a deep breath.
“I’m sorry… I just… Well you know. I couldn’t stay with them.” I pull away to examine his face.
“Look, I know how Mom and Dad are, I lived with them for eighteen years and” I cut him off.
“No. They were so much worse after you moved out.”
He places his hand on my shoulder, “Zoe, I know you had it hard. But I just don’t understand.”
“Understand what?” we turn and start walking to his camp.
“Why didn’t you just move somewhere else like a normal person?” he pushes my head in a playful way.
“You know why… They would have found me.” I sit on a camp chair I remember seeing in the garage on the shelf.
“I wouldn’t have let that happen if you just asked me for help. You know that.”
My mind falls into the world I used to live in.
Four Months Earlier:
“Zoe! Get down here!” That all too familiar rough voice hollers up the stairs.
I don’t hesitate getting up off my bed. At the bottom of the stairs he stands. His hands are in fists, veins pumping. I know he’ll be even more mad when I tell him I have absolutely no clue what I did.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
I keep my distance a few stairs up, “What’d I do?”
“You can’t be serious. You’re that stupid?”
I give him my best blank stare.
“You forgot to do the dishes. I told you last night to do them before I got home. Guess what, I’m home.”
“I’ll go do them right now.” he places his big hand on the railing, blocking my path.
“Do that one more time and you’ll wish you hadn’t.”
I take in every word, “Yes, sir.”
He lets me pass and I immediately roll up my sleeves and head to the sink. While scrubbing a pan I hear the front door open. The clock reads 4:15. There is no doubt in my mind that it’s Mom.
She enters the kitchen, “Where’s your dad?” her voice is stern.
I keep my eyes looking into the soapy water, “Outside.”
Without another word she marches to the backyard in her six inch heels and pencil skirt. I know what’s about to happen. She’ll confront Dad about something, he’ll yell, she’ll yell back, and then it turns into a blood bath. I just wish it didn’t have to happen where all the neighbors can see and hear.
It starts with Mom, “Want to tell me who the hell Martha is!”
“Not this again!”
“Oh yeah, play the innocent card!” I can just imagine her hands on her hips.
“You’re so insane, woman!”
I hear a shatter, “I know what’s going on, Stewart!”
For years Mom has been accusing Dad of cheating on her. For years Dad has been cheating on her. She’s not wrong to confront him. It’s just that she always picks the wrong women. By the time she investigates them, Dad has already moved onto the next one, clearing the evidence. She should hire me to find them. On second thought, no thanks.
With the last dish loaded I put the soap in the machine and hit the little start circle. Jumping two stairs at a time I run into my room and lock the door behind me. As I always do, I grab the blanket off my bed and sit in the corner behind it. Usually they just argue and then ignore each other until the next morning when something else is bothering them. I honestly wish they would just divorce already. But, I don’t know what would be worse, living with Mom or Dad.
Sitting in the corner I hear footsteps climb the stairs. I sink deeper into my knees, praying they don’t come near my door. They get louder until there is a loud banging on my door. I stay put.
“Open this damn door! NOW!” it’s him.
I toss the blanket and open the door slowly.
“Come with me.” he grabs my forearm and yanks me downstairs.
Mom sits on the couch with no shoes. Just a whole bottle of wine and her hair strewn across her face. Dad slams me down in a chair.
“This is your daughter. She doesn’t do nothing around here. Whines all the time, is a mess, and probably ain’t even done her homework.”
I don’t dare say a word.
“Well she’s your daughter too you know. I sure the hell didn’t cheat on you! She has your idiotic qualities and your disgusting brown hair. You’re right though. She doesn’t do anything around the house. She’s as lazy as you!” Mom gulps down more wine and Dad steps towards her.
I run back to my room. I’m done with being a prop. I’m done with being a punching bag. I’m done. Under my bed lays a packed bag, just in case. I throw it over my shoulder and grab my bow. I’m so done with this.
Present:
Kyle looks at all my things, “You really want to live here forever?”
“Beats living at the house.”
“No I get that…” his eyes get lost.
“I didn't have anywhere else to go.”
“No friends?”
I shake my head and look down, it’s my turn to get lost. The last time I saw my one and only friend, she basically cussed my out and told me to never see her again. I don’t really know what happened between us. I was always busy when she wasn’t and she was always busy when I wasn’t. We never really got a chance to hang out much after junior year. Then when my parents started to get worse I had less time to get out of the house. She refused to understand me. And I refused to let her in.
“Well, Zo, you can’t keep living here like this. You’re a mess.”
I look down at my clothes. It’s true, I’m covered in dirt head to toe. The last time I washed my hair in the river was 2 weeks ago. I have a toothbrush but ran out of toothpaste. And I haven’t had a decent meal since I came here.
“I don’t have a choice.”
“Come live with me.”
“What? You, your roommate and your girlfriend? Yeah no thanks.”
He comes closer, “Anything would be better than this wouldn’t it? And besides, I’m on my own now. Tyler moved into a house with his fiancé. And Lexi… She wasn’t right for me anyway. And, I’m not even allowed to go back to the base. They discharged me because of my leg.” the scars remain from the grenade accident a year ago.
“I don’t know. If I’m not off the grid then they could find me…” Tera comes over and licks my hand. She hasn’t had a decent meal or a bath in a while either.
“I’ll protect you. I promise.” his eyes look sincere.
I let myself cry for the first time since I came out here. I collapse in his arms. He smells like camp smoke. I can’t imagine what I probably smell like. But Kyle lets me hold him for as long as I want. Warmth goes inside of me. I don’t feel alone. I finally don’t feel alone. I let him pack up my things while I put out the embers in the pit. We load up his stuff and walk to the nearest road.
With Tera on leash I utter words I’ve never said in my entire life, “We’re going home.”
