Another hit to the face sent her flying into the wall. "Don't you ever talk to me like that again!" As Jackson picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, Miki struggled against him. "Put me down, Jackson!" She already knew what he was going to do. He was going to do like last time and throw her in the bathtub while spraying scorching hot water over her.
Tears poured out of her eyes. How she'd gotten herself into this abusive relationship, she'd never know. She just wanted to get out of it. She screamed in pain when he threw her down and kicked her in the side. "You wanted me to put you down, didn't you?" She couldn't believe that this was the guy she once loved.
Just as he swung his leg to kick again, Miki managed to grab it and pull, causing him to fall. He winced in pain as his back met the floor. "You.. fxckin'.." Miki took this opportunity to get up and run. When she grabbed onto the door knob, Jackson grabbed hold of her ankle and yanked her down. "You're just asking for an axx whooping." She kicked him as hard as she could in the face, causing him to grab it.
Miki quickly got up and opened the door. She ran as fast as she could, knowing he'd be up and ready to retaliate within seconds. When she made it outside, she felt anxious when she saw a taxi. "Taxi!", she screamed. "Please, stop!" The vehicle came to a halt when she hailed it. It pulled up to her and she quickly got in.
She saw Jackson emerge from the building, looking in all directions. "Go! Go! Go!", she pleaded as Jackson ran up to the window and began banging on it. "Get out right now!", but the taxi sped off. Miki looked behind her to see Jackson running, yelling something inaudible and then fall. She let out a breath of relief. What was she going to do, now? Tears began falling out of her eyes.

"Does he beat you?"

Miki looked up and saw the cab driver looking at her through the rear view mirror. His dark rimmed sea green eyes staring at her, waiting for an answer. "H-huh?" The cab driver returned his attention back to the road and spoke again. "It's just.. the display that was put on back there.. and your bruises.. he must lay his hands on you."
Miki wiped away a tear and looked out the window. "No. He doesn't. He was just trying to get something back from me." She knew that it was obvious, but something about being in an abusive relationship made her feel ashamed. Her mom had told her countless times that Jackson was no good for her. Now, look at her. She should have listened.
The cab driver let out a slight chuckle. "Alright. If you say so." For some reason, his laughter irked her. It felt as though he was laughing at her. Making fun at her. If she could stand up to someone like Jackson, then she was not backing down to any other man. "Look. It's none of your dxmn business, so just shut up and do your job!" He smiled and shook his head. "Alright." The car was filled with silence.

Miki looked back out the window and watched as the buildings went by. "Where to, lady?" She turned her attention back to the cab driver. "Huh?" He once again looked at her through the rear view mirror. "Any place in particular you'd like to go?" Miki let out a sigh. Where was she going? The only person she knew in this city besides Jackson was Ino. "Do you know where 1842 Connelly road is?" The cab driver nodded. "Even if I didn't, I have a gps." Miki nodded in understanding and looked back out the window.
A few minutes later, they'd arrived at the destination. It was about two blocks from Ino's house. The reason why, being she was going to make a run for it when she ditched the taxi without paying. She didn't have any money. "Thank you.", she said. She placed her hand on the handle before taking a deep breath and attempting to yank it open.
It was locked, She looked ahead and saw those same green eyes staring at her. She began to grow nervous. "I already knew what you were trying to do from the start." Miki held her breath as she waited for him to continue. He let out a sigh. "It's fine. You can go." He then pressed a button and she heard her door unlock. "Thank you so much." He nodded. She then got out and closed the door behind her. The sound of gravel under tires was heard as the taxi drove off.
Miki sighed when it was out of sight. She should've just gave him Ino's address. Now, she had to walk two full blocks and her body was still aching. But, what's done is done. She set off on her walk.
When she arrived, she knocked on the pale yellow door. She heard shuffling inside before the door was swung open. There her best friend stood, clothed in comfortable attire. Her face turned an unhealthy pale when she saw the state Miki was in. "What! What the hxll happened?!"

"I-"

"No! Don't speak. Come in. I have to take care of those wounds."

Ino quickly brought her inside and gave her a change of clothes for after her shower. When she'd gotten out, Ino nicely dressed her wounds. As Ino sat beside her, Miki knew she was on the verge of exploding. "So... Jackson did this?" Miki nodded. "You have to leave him alone." Ino always felt that her attempts were futile because she'd been told countless times to stop seeing him, but she was so stubborn. She hated the way Jackson treated her best friend like a punching bag. She hated it even more that Miki let him. Tears rolled down Miki's cheeks. "I'm so stupid." She sniffed. Ino wrapped her arms around her as she cried. It brought tears to her own eyes. "I just.. I love Jackson so much."

"..Why?"

"..I don't know... maybe we could just take a break?"

Ino held onto Miki's shoulders and looked at her in disbelief. "You're really considering it?" Miki nodded. Ino smiled as big as she could. "I'm so proud of you!" She hugged her. "I just have to get away from him." Ino looked her in the eyes. "Where are you going to go?" She didn't want her to leave.
Before Miki could answer, Sai walked into the room. "She could stay with us." Ino was delighted with the idea. She so badly wanted her to. She wanted to be able to keep an eye on her. She didn't want her moving far away. "You could." But, she already knew what Miki was going to say."

"No. I could never do that. I couldn't put any burdens on you guys. I'm actually thinking about going back to Suna with my mom and starting over... I was going to call her in the morning."

Ino slowly smiled. Suna was so far away. Miki noticed the sadness in Ino's eyes. "Don't worry. I'll visit at every chance I get and always keep in touch. Plus, I'll be moving back." Ino smiled a sad smile. "I know." Sai, noticing Ino's discomfort, walked over to her and kissed her forehead. "It's okay, love. It's what's best for Miki." Ino nodded and smiled as Sai planted a loving kiss to her cheek and then her lips.
Miki smiled at the loving scene. She'd hoped that one day she would find someone as loving as Sai. She was happy for her friend. Ino looked at her. "Well we might as well make the best of tonight!" That night they stayed up laughing, reminiscing and making fun, new memories. Miki swore that she'd cherish them.
The next morning, Miki woke up to a knock. She gently shook Ino who had fallen asleep beside her. "Mm.", she moaned and turned over. "Ino." There was, yet another knock on the door. "Ino." She turned back over to face her and looked at her through sleepy eyes. "Hm?"

"Someone's at the door."

"Okay."

She once again lost her to sleep. The knocking once again resounded from the living room. Well, since no one else was going to get it, she decided she would. She threw the cover off of her and got out of bed. She quietly made her way to the door, but was beat to it by Sai. He looked at her and smiled. "I got it. You may go back to bed if you like."
He twisted the knob and opened the door. It was the red-headed cab driver from the day before. She froze when she saw him. Was he here to collect the money? How did he find out where she was? When he noticed her, he gave her a gentle smile. "Hello." She placed a strand of hair behind her ear, feeling nervous under his gaze. "Hi."
Sai looked back and forth between the two of them. "Do you two know each other?" The red-headed man turned his attention back to Sai. "No, not really. I'm sorry to bother you like this, but I've been going door to door trying to see if someone could help me jump start my car. My battery is dead." Sai nodded. "Yeah. Let me go get my jumper cables."

"I appreciate it."

When Sai left, he looked towards Miki. "Are you alright?" She nodded. "Thank you for letting me go yesterday." He gave her a gentle smile. "You're welcome." Miki couldn't help but stare as he smiled a charming smile. She had to admit that his features made up a very handsome face.

"Alright. Where are you parked?", Sai asked as they walked out the door together.

She couldn't hear their whole conversation, but she did see them laugh at something the other had said.
Later that morning, Miki found herself on a lonely stroll. She'd been thinking non-stop about Jackson. Could she really leave him behind? She felt stupid for not trying to do something about it sooner. Tears cascaded down her cheeks. He was just so amazing. Or at least he was. That's more than likely what kept her by him this long. She was stuck in the past.
Whenever he'd look at her with disgust, she'd think about how he used to smile at her presence. When he spoke words of insult, she'd think about when he use to speak words of love. When he struck her, she'd find herself thinking of what happened between them. She took a breath. She just had to face the fact that the Jackson she'd fallen in love with was no longer there. He was not coming back. It was going to be hard for her to accept, but she was going to have to.
Miki stopped in her tracks when she saw a couple of men huddled in a corner, throwing hits at someone. Something drew her in. When she inched closer, she saw a flash of red hair. It couldn't be. It was. The same red-head from earlier. What were the odds? She quickly jolted over to him. "Hey! Stop it! Leave him alone!" The men turned to face her. "What have we got here? You know you shouldn't get into business that isn't yours."

"Get away from him."

The men came closer to her, laughing. "Why? What are you going to do about it?" They began grabbing her arms. "Hey! S-stop!" Before they could do anything further, the red-headed man that was on the ground, got up, his body still aching and pulled one of them off of her, punching him in the face. The others then let her go and proceeded to fight him, landing punches and kicks. Every time Miki tried to pull them away, she was roughly pushed into the wall or knocked to the ground.

"Is-is he dead?", one of them asked, panic coating his words.

They took the money out of his wallet and threw the wallet itself on top of him, the I.D. sliding out in the process. "Let's get out of here, man!" They all tool off, one of the robbers bumping her in the shoulder in doing so. Miki quickly ran to the aid of the red head and shook him. "Can you hear me?" She got no response.
She saw his chest rising and falling, so she knew he was still alive. He was just unconscious. She searched his pockets for a phone, but did not find it. She looked behind her and saw it laying a few ways away. She quickly got up to get it. It was cracked, but still worked. She then ran back over to the man before dialing 9.1.1.

"Konoha Police Department. What's your emergency?"

"There's a man who was robbed and he's unconscious. I'm with him, now."

She picked up the I.D. and read the name. "His name is Gaara No. Sabaku." She'd never heard a name like it before. "Alright, ma'am. Could you give us your exact location?" Miki looked around for any street signs. She quickly gave their location and was told she was being sent an ambulance. She sighed in relief and looked down at the unconscious man.

"Everything is going to be alright."