get out of here.”
We got in and Justin started up the car and backed out of Matt’s driveway. I pressed my forehead against the passenger’s side window and watched Matt’s house get smaller and smaller as Justin drove down the road. Finally I leaned back and took a deep breath and shut my eyes. I didn’t know what lay in store for me; I didn’t know if I was joining the military or sleeping on the street that night. All I knew was at that exact moment, driving down the road with Justin, I was finally free.
***
A pair of double doors at the back of the lobby opened up and an older gentleman in a business suit walked out with a clipboard. “Good luck!” Toni whispered before she scampered back off to the receptionist desk. The gentleman scanned the lobby before saying out loud, “Is there a Sarah Burleton here?”
Hold onto my trembling hand and be near me today. Amen.
I stood up and held my head up high. “Yes, I’m Sarah Burleton, and it is a pleasure to meet you!”
Chapter 3
Apartment Sixteen
“Coming up on your left!” I curled myself up and grabbed my knees as I sped down the hill on my rollerblades past a pair of bikers. As I reached the bottom of the hill I slowly stood up, raised my arms high into the air, and shut my eyes as the wind whipped through my fingers. As the wheels on my rollerblades began to lose speed, I dropped my arms and opened my eyes to take in the gorgeous blue sky and open prairie surrounding me on all sides.
“Sarah! I’m right behind you!”
I glanced behind me and smiled when I saw my boyfriend, Aron, speeding down the hill behind me on his matching set of rollerblades. I moved to the other side of the bike trail and Aron stood up and braked to a stop beside me, sweat dripping down his forehead and fog steaming up his sunglasses.
“I almost beat you down the hill that time,” he said with a grin on his face.
I ruffled his brown hair and smiled. “Maybe next time.”
Aron leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “Or maybe I’m just letting you win,” he said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me into his chest.
I shut my eyes and laid my head on his shoulder, drinking in the beautiful moment and realizing how lucky I was to be living this moment of light and love when so much of my life had been spent in darkness.
***
When I packed my Hefty bags into Justin’s car and left Matt’s house forever, I had this grand idea in my head that I was going to just join the military with Justin and run away forever. I didn’t even know what branch Justin was joining or what joining the military even meant; all I knew was that at the time, it was the most logical way for me to leave my terrible past behind me and try to start a future on my own. Once Justin and I had reached the city limits of the little town where I had endured so much abuse and trauma, Justin turned to me and asked, “So, how did Matt take it?”
I shook my head. “I couldn’t even tell him, Justin. I couldn’t even bring myself to do it. I snuck out while he was at his brother’s house for breakfast.” I snuck a glance over at Justin, expecting to see him looking at me with disappointment, and was surprised when he actually started laughing. “He is going to be so pissed! God, I always thought that guy was a dick!”
“Really?” I said with surprise. “I never thought that about him! What, did he do something to you? Why in the hell would you think that?” Everyone I knew seemed to think that Matt was the greatest guy around, so to hear this from Justin, someone who I considered a friend and had eaten lunch with almost every day, it was a shock.
“Sarah, everyone thought he was a dick,” he replied. “I mean, he was cool and all because he’d buy us cigarettes or beer if we wanted, but what kind of twenty-five-year-old guy freakin’ lives with a sixteen-year-old girl?” Justin’s face was starting to fill with patchy red spots. “He could have gone right back to prison for what he
We got in and Justin started up the car and backed out of Matt’s driveway. I pressed my forehead against the passenger’s side window and watched Matt’s house get smaller and smaller as Justin drove down the road. Finally I leaned back and took a deep breath and shut my eyes. I didn’t know what lay in store for me; I didn’t know if I was joining the military or sleeping on the street that night. All I knew was at that exact moment, driving down the road with Justin, I was finally free.
***
A pair of double doors at the back of the lobby opened up and an older gentleman in a business suit walked out with a clipboard. “Good luck!” Toni whispered before she scampered back off to the receptionist desk. The gentleman scanned the lobby before saying out loud, “Is there a Sarah Burleton here?”
Hold onto my trembling hand and be near me today. Amen.
I stood up and held my head up high. “Yes, I’m Sarah Burleton, and it is a pleasure to meet you!”
Chapter 3
Apartment Sixteen
“Coming up on your left!” I curled myself up and grabbed my knees as I sped down the hill on my rollerblades past a pair of bikers. As I reached the bottom of the hill I slowly stood up, raised my arms high into the air, and shut my eyes as the wind whipped through my fingers. As the wheels on my rollerblades began to lose speed, I dropped my arms and opened my eyes to take in the gorgeous blue sky and open prairie surrounding me on all sides.
“Sarah! I’m right behind you!”
I glanced behind me and smiled when I saw my boyfriend, Aron, speeding down the hill behind me on his matching set of rollerblades. I moved to the other side of the bike trail and Aron stood up and braked to a stop beside me, sweat dripping down his forehead and fog steaming up his sunglasses.
“I almost beat you down the hill that time,” he said with a grin on his face.
I ruffled his brown hair and smiled. “Maybe next time.”
Aron leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “Or maybe I’m just letting you win,” he said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me into his chest.
I shut my eyes and laid my head on his shoulder, drinking in the beautiful moment and realizing how lucky I was to be living this moment of light and love when so much of my life had been spent in darkness.
***
When I packed my Hefty bags into Justin’s car and left Matt’s house forever, I had this grand idea in my head that I was going to just join the military with Justin and run away forever. I didn’t even know what branch Justin was joining or what joining the military even meant; all I knew was that at the time, it was the most logical way for me to leave my terrible past behind me and try to start a future on my own. Once Justin and I had reached the city limits of the little town where I had endured so much abuse and trauma, Justin turned to me and asked, “So, how did Matt take it?”
I shook my head. “I couldn’t even tell him, Justin. I couldn’t even bring myself to do it. I snuck out while he was at his brother’s house for breakfast.” I snuck a glance over at Justin, expecting to see him looking at me with disappointment, and was surprised when he actually started laughing. “He is going to be so pissed! God, I always thought that guy was a dick!”
“Really?” I said with surprise. “I never thought that about him! What, did he do something to you? Why in the hell would you think that?” Everyone I knew seemed to think that Matt was the greatest guy around, so to hear this from Justin, someone who I considered a friend and had eaten lunch with almost every day, it was a shock.
“Sarah, everyone thought he was a dick,” he replied. “I mean, he was cool and all because he’d buy us cigarettes or beer if we wanted, but what kind of twenty-five-year-old guy freakin’ lives with a sixteen-year-old girl?” Justin’s face was starting to fill with patchy red spots. “He could have gone right back to prison for what he
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