From The Top of The Mountain

Part 2

   The light rays from the sun woke me up. The heat from natural light and the summer air made me wish I never fell asleep. There was no way, I thought I'll be able to make the trip all the way home. But after feeling so worn down from all the heat I wasn't sure anymore.

   So I began, the blanket went right into my bag and I pulled out some water from the side. As I drank it I started walking the first few steps towards the road in the distance. I hadn't seen it last night. I thought those lights were from the city, not from vehicles passing through.

   I shivered from fear of the treacherous way ahead of me. How was I going to get home before I got caught, now? I shook my head. Just think positive, clear thoughts. You can't risk feeling down and tired. You have to stay alive and excited until you are home. 

  After hours in thought, I was realizing the sound of the cars for the first time. They zipped past as the wind followed. I was close enough to see, but far enough to get away if, by chance it was Robby. I kept my head low and let the breeze from the cars cool me down. The air was starting to get colder due to the sunset. I thought about what I was going to do when I was ready to go to sleep. 
   I couldn't remember my mother's face or my father's. This wasn't going to be that easy. I thought about Bryce, my little brother. How did he grow up? What was he now, like thirteen? I got just a little upset at myself, about how much I missed out on. I would've been able to fight him off, if I had just tried. I had to keep reminding myself that I was only five at the time. No reliving the moment. No going back. 
   So what was I going to be like when I finally got home? Will I act the way I would have if I never left? Or would I be quiet and awkward? These scenarios scared me, to think that I would never live a normal life...
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   The sun finally vanished behind the horizon and I decided I was going to rest for the night. I looked around well the moonlight reflected against the white rocks. I searched for a place to lay or even sit. I decided that I would under a rock where it wasn't so notice able, but it was easy to walk in and out.
  I felt hungry, but this I was far more used to than anything. He starved me for a week straight once. I had pissed him off so bad one day and he had decided that he was going to punish me by hunger. I remember laying in the bed with the old chain around my right ankle. Hearing him mock me and eat food in front of me. The million thoughts of murder or suicide everyday. Lingering inside and out of my head as he treated me worse than his disobedient dog. But who would ever want to obey him? 
   The hunger rumbled inside me as I thought back to that night. The fearful echo of his laughing. 
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  He stumbled closer to me with his bottle of alcohol slashing against the glass bottle. He was pretending to be my friend. He always did this when he got drunk. My God, he liked to make me sick to my stomach. 
   I was twelve years old. Between the ages of seven and fifteen, he was more than a monster. An animal, a coward, but most of all, the devil himself.
   "Brandon, look at me!" he laughed. "I'm only showing my love for you." He climbed up onto the bed and got quieter, "It's not like you're going anywhere. Turn around so I can show you all this love." I closed my eyes. I wasn't going to move a muscle. "Brandon!" he screamed. But I didn't jump. He didn't scare me anymore. 
  For a few seconds I laid on the bed and closed my eyes, just pretending like he wasn't there. But only I could live a fantasy for so long. So opened my eyes, let's just get this over with, I thought. So I opened them up. But for another thought going through my head, I had decided. Why not fuck with him for a change? 
   So I stood up in bed and this caught him off guard. Slowly, he backed off and laid his bottle on the dresser. I heard him open his drawer, but my eyes were on the bottle. Quickly, but not yet sure what I was going to do, I grabbed his last bottle of Jack and busted it against the bed frame. "That's how I feel about 'your love'" I mocked. Then once again I shut my eyes and he pretty much attacked me after that. But it was well worth it. 

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   I smiled at the thought of pissing him off. I dug into my bag and pulled out the chips and water I stole from his house before I left. I ate each chip thinking about how mad he would be by now. He was probably furious by now and stabbed at least a friend of his. But I didn't care what he did anymore. He could not get me anymore. I ran away. For good.

From The Top Of The Mountain

Part 1

   Here I was, running fast and clumsy down the steep hill. Finally away from him. Each step was the terror leaving me. It was all happening like it was in slow motion. I felt so free for the first time in ten years. I started to cry and laugh at the same time. It was the best feeling I ever experienced  in my entire life.

   For years on end I would dream about this day. Smiling as I thought of every moment of my life. The pain and anger filled in each day. The brutal abuse finally over. And all I could do was smile as tears streamed down my face. I jumped from rock to rock. Holding onto the trees as I held my balance. I headed in a straight line.

   Finally, I was going to live a normal life. I looked up at the sky, the twinkling stars reading my thoughts. The fear I knew I was trying to hide. That was just it though. Would I live a normal life? Even if I could, now that its over? Or is it? Robby had a lot of friends who murdered. Who hit, yelled. Were they really the only ones? I slowed my pace. I suddenly stopped. I gazed out scanning the mountain tops and seeing the lights in the far distance. 

   Was it supposed to be like this? Was my life really supposed to be this miserable? I didn't know and there was no way that I was going to find out. Not here. Not in the dirt and trees of my personal hell. The thoughts of real love and a real family. My family. I had a loving family waiting for me just waiting. Tens years of being so far away. But that's just it, I wasn't far. Not at all as far as it felt. I leaned over and felt dizzy.

    My breathing slowed down. Was I supposed to feel different? I didn't think this through, I thought. But what was there to think, Brandon? I thought. Nothing, absolutely, nothing. I had years to think about what life could have been. This is your life, I thought. This will never go away. The burdens will haunt you for over decades until the day that you die, I continued in my daydream. 

   It's been tens years. I had forgotten where I lived. Not the house, but the route. How was I going to make it home. The thought of being caught again, made me shiver. I was five years old when I was taken. And now that I was fifteen, abuse and hunger was all I knew. So was there a normal life for me out there in the city of which I lived the five perfect years? I stood up and walked the rest of the way down the mountain. I quickened my pace, but didn't run. I wanted time to think. My future was only so close, yet so far. I was made to be miserable. There was no leaving this world without pain. 

   I thought about my parents. Not that I never did. It was just the fact that I never had hope like I did now. And seeing the life I used to live in the distance, enchanted me to believe it was going to go right where I left off. Never had I thought about the reality. I am a fifteen year old boy, who has three years left of being considered a child. And I can't live a perfect childhood in just three years. 

   I thought about school. I never really been to school. I thought about my brother and how my mom had been pregnant when I was kidnapped. 

   I shivered, I blamed it on the chill of the air. Though I knew it came from a much deeper source. I had never met my other sibling. Was it another boy or a girl? A part of me hoped for a girl, just to have hope in something new until I finally got home. 

   I smelt the air. Against my skin, it felt nice. The bruises seemed to be so visible in the moonlight. I didn't expect to see them so clearly. I pulled out the thin blanket from the bag that had been dangling from my back since I left. I laid it under the trees and sat on it. I got even colder and wrapped it around me instead. Was I even far enough? It wouldn't matter. I took care of him. He can't get me now. 

The Runaway 

Part 1

   I laid in the bed with my eyes closed. The clock on the wall was ticking and it began to annoy me. I could hear them fighting from downstairs. Their voices echoed up the stairs and through the hall finding its way to my room. Somehow over the years I've learned how to push out the sound. But other times, I can't help, but let myself listen. To every threat, every curse word, every excuse. It just never ended.

   And so I put in my head phones and played my iPod. I put it on shuffle so I wouldn't be picky. The sound disappeared and I the music played. I kept my eyes closed to every song and fell asleep. 

   I woke up to the smell of bacon cooking. Of course, I thought, she's gonna pretend nothing happened. So I slowly got out of my bed and headed down the stairs. The bacon was sizzling and I looked around. Our family photo's frame was chipped. Dad. I thought. I shook my head and walked into the kitchen.She was singing in her pink robe.

   "Where's dad?" I sat down and poured some juice.

   "Asleep, Hun." She turned around. There on her cheek was a bruise.

   "Mom?" I stood up, "Why are you letting him do this?" I whispered.

   "It was an accident. I shouldn't make him so angry." She put her hand on my cheek. I let my eyes wonder her face. Scars and more bruises laid across her face. Screaming at me the past of dozens of beatings from him. And she just continued to let it happen. Like it was absolutely nothing. 

    I sat down and slowly chewed the bacon. 

   "Tell your sister to come down for breakfast." I walked upstairs and peeked in my parents bedroom. He was there laying on the bed with a Jack Daniels bottle on the dresser. I shut the door and headed to Lizzy's room. I walked in and shook her. 

   "Get up!" I yelled. Me and Lizzy did not get along at all. We were constantly fighting over everything. I always considered that it was a possible reason why there was always so much stress on my mom. But seeing her everyday miserable was always making me upset. 

   Lizzy always complained that she also wanted them to divorce. She once said she wished she could be a daddy's girl, but at the same wished she didn't have a dad at all.

    I usually ignored her. There was no point in trying to change my mom's mind. 

   "You're gonna be late to school girls" My mom put my plate in the sink.

   "I'm not going" I headed back to my room.

   "No, I don't think that's a good idea" My mom pointed to her bedroom door. Indicating that my dad would be mad at her again. I hated school and so I hardly wanted to go. But I forced myself, I was acing math and I loved to paint and so I decided to be the past at them both. I never showed my parents the awards I received. They wouldn't care. They were always in a fight. They had no time for me. 

   So I pulled my back pack over my shoulder. And went into my room to get dressed. I threw it on my bed and sat next to it. I looked into my closet and there was my suitcase filled with new clothes. I had been working at a Victoria Secret for almost a year. I saved every penny and the only money I spent was on gas and very rarely I bought clothes to fill my suitcase. I had a plan to get out of this house since then and I still had it now. I forced my suitcase deeper into the closet so no one could see it. I hurried to get dressed.

   I headed into my car well Lizzy followed. She was a sophomore at the high school well I was a senior and we avoided each other in the halls. On the way to school we listened to music like always.We always tried to pretend everything was okay with us. But we both knew we hated every second that went by.

   Finally, at school, we separated and for the rest of the day I thought up the perfect plan for tonight. Tonight, I thought, tonight i'm getting out of that house and i'm leaving it all behind. 

   I sat in my car after school and waited for Lizzy to get in. Then I saw Brayden walking towards my car. Brayden was my best guy friend who knew of my plan. I rolled down the window.

   "Hey" He said as he looked into the car. He looked around the car. Before I could say 'hey' back he went on "So when are you leaving Bree?" He sounded inpatient. 

   "Soon, dude. I think tonight. My dad hit her again and I can't do it anymore." 

   "I agree. I'll be home all night, kay? Just stop by when you're out. I got your bed and room and everything. Then we'll just live together and you won't ever have to see 'em again." I smiled. Since the day I was fifteen I told Brayden everything because he told me about his mom's affair with his dad's brother. He told me how his uncle threatened to kill him if he spoke a word. Then I told him my life. Every since then, we've been the best of friends. 

~The Night of the Party~        

  I see him standing there. With that smile of pride and confidence. For the longest time I hated it. Sometimes I pretend it doesn't bother me, when I know inside, it burns me. I know what he did to her last summer. I watched with my own eyes. She walks around this school in heavy sweaters and dark make up. how do people not know? Why don't I tell someone? Is it because he threatened to kill me? Or because she made me promise not to say a word.
          Ashley Thomas. One of my classmates. We weren't really friends. The only time we talked was if we were partnered up with each other during an assignment. Sometimes I wish I would just ask her why. But I know she'll hate me if she hears me bring it up. So I won't.

         It was Friday night, not much was going on just a late party that seemed to go on for too long. I walked out the back with my jacket on. I walked around looking for where I parked my car. "Let me go!" I heard a scream from behind me and I looked back. I saw Ashley and her boyfriend Greg fighting. He was trying to get her to lay in the backseat of his Ford pickup truck.
          "Just once, babe, that's all I ask for" He tried to drag her in, but she kept kicking.
"I said no Greg, knock it off!" She punched him on the shoulder "You have two seconds...to put...me down!" She got away and ran toward the house. I pulled my keys in my front pocket and walked up towards him
          "Leave her alone Greg!" I yelled "Or i'll call the police"
         "You don't scare me, you little bitch!" He yelled back
          "Ash, i'll take you home" I called out to her.
          "Yea, that'll be fine, thanks" She walked towards me, almost running. But then he snatched her again.
          "I told you I was taking you home, now get in the truck," He punched her in the face. She fell to the floor as I hurried to help her. He kicked me in the ribs and I let out a cry.
          "I'm calling the cops!" I screamed. He kicked dirt in my eyes and I let go of Ashley. She held her face and cried as she tried to get up. He picked her up over his shoulder and ran over to his truck. He slammed the backseat door and waited as the lights faded. I held my ribs as I ran toward the truck. He locked it. I banged on the window and started to scream "Open the door, or i'll call the cops!" I started to cry in a panic. "I'm telling everyone at the party!" I let go of the handle and tried running to the door of the house. Holding my side.
           He must of been planning to do this tonight, because his friend Ron, hurried to catch me. "Go away!" I yelled.
         "Where do you think you're going?" he laughed "I'm sick of you being a little cock blocking bitch! We all know you can suck a mean dick," He laughed "Get on your knees bitch!" He threw me to the floor and I reached into my pocket for my phone. He snatched it. "You won't be needing this, kay?" he spit in my face and threw the phone. I got up and ran back to the truck where I saw Ashley run out with no pants.
         "Ashley!" I called out. She ran into the darkness of the trees. "Ashley!" I ran toward her. Both Greg and Ron went back in the house.
         I saw her kneel in the bushes and started to pray. Ashley was a very religious girl from the south. "Ash" I knelt beside her, "You Okay?" I laid my hand on her shoulder. "I'll take you home"
        "Go away please, we both need forgiveness." I looked at her confused.
         "I don't...I don't understand"
         "You could have saved me Olivia, but you didn't. I should have never came here." She prayed. "Leave me here, i'll be fine." She got up, and stared me in the eyes. "Don't ever tell anyone what happened here tonight. Understand?" I nodded, confused.
          "I tried to save you, I'll take you home. And we'll forget everything. I won't say a word. I promise." I looked around the trees.
          "Greg is taking me home."
          "He raped you!"
          "Shhh! Nothing happened!" I saw a bruise forming the the moonlight.
         "He hit you!"
          "It was my fault!" She walked back to his truck and sat in the passenger side.
          "No, Ashley, you're coming with me!" I tried to pull her out of the car, when Greg suddenly pushed me down.
          "Go home bitch" He laughed and walked around towards the drivers side. He started the car. I got up. Ashley rolled up her window and starred out the windshield.
            "Ashley!" I banged on her window. No response. They drove off. Leaving me standing there. I went to look for my phone. The screen was badly cracked and the battery was missing. I threw it back on the ground and started looking for my keys.
            When I got home I went on Facebook and saw that she posted on her wall saying, she had a great night. She tagged Greg and all her friends.
           Ever since that night, they have been together ever since. She's three months pregnant. And she was kicked out of her house. They have never spoke to me since.