Runaway
AN: This story is written from Todd's point of view and it is based on the following lyrics:
"I'm a-walking in the rain
Tears are falling and I feel the pain
Wishing you were here by me
To end this misery and I wonder
I wah, wah, wah, wah wonder
Why
Why, why, why, why, why she ran away
And I wonder when she will stay
My little runaway, a-run, run, run, run, a-runaway
Run run run run runaway
Run run run run runaway" (Lyrics from Queen's Runaway)
I looked out the window and thought of her - the woman that I had hurt more than I had anybody else. It was ironic that she was also the woman that I loved the most and because of that she haunted me especially on stormy nights. "I'm going out," I called to Blair as I walked out the door.
I ended up outside the KAD frat house like I did on most stormy nights. I hadn't seen her since the night that I had raped her. She disappeared without a trace. I had looked everywhere for her so that I could make amends but every time I was close to finding her she would run away again.
It had been one year exactly since the night I destroyed our lives. Maybe that's why I felt compelled to enter that haunted house. I walked up the stairs and slowly opened the door. I felt as if I had been kicked in the stomach when I saw her sitting on the bed holding a baby.
"Marty?" I gasped not wanting to make any sudden movements that would cause her to run.
"Todd?" she asked as if she was questioning whether I was really there or just a ghost from her past.
"What are you doing here?" I asked as I took a step closer to her.
"It's been one year since you changed my life forever and I'm tired of running away. My therapist suggested that I come here so that I could get closure and put the past behind me so that the nightmares can stop."
"I'm glad that you're here. I've been trying to find you for a long time...there's something that I've wanted to say to you ever since that night."
"What?" Marty asked as she wrapped her arm protectively around the child that she was carrying.
The baby girl had Marty's eyes and I couldn't help but wonder if she was our child. "I'm sorry that I hurt you. I regret that night more than anything and I would do anything to take it back. I'm never going to forgive myself for hurting you the way that I did and I want you to know that I will do anything that I can to make up for the pain that I caused you."
"Thank you," Marty stated.
"Why are you thanking me?" I asked as I stared at her with confusion.
"You really hurt me that night, but you also left me with a precious gift that helped me make it through the darkness. I really needed to hear you say that you were sorry. I've hated you for so long and I hated myself for ever falling in love with you, but your apology confirms what I've always known about you."
"What's that?"
"That you're not all bad...that there's something good in you...I only hope that our little girl got your good traits."
"Our little girl? She's mine?" I asked.
"She's proof that good can still prevail even on the darkest nights. She was the one good thing that ever came out of that night."
"What is her name?" Todd asked.
"Lilly."
"Can I hold her? I promise that I won't hurt her," I stated
Marty stared at me while she looked into my eyes and then she moved closer to me and placed Lilly in my arms. "I would have never survived the past year without her. She's helped me to heal and I know that she can help you heal to. I'm ready to leave this house and all the memories that come with it," Marty stated as she opened the door.
I cradled Lilly in my arms and I followed Marty out of the KAD house. She lit a match and threw it on the house and we watched the haunted house burn to the ground together as a family and I knew that are days of running from the past was over.