Preface
Daddy please don'tIt wasn't his faultHe means so much to meDaddy please don'tWe're gonna get marriedJust you wait and seeEvery night, the same old dreamI hate to close my eyesI can't erase the memoryThe sound of Julie's cryShe called me up, late that nightShe said, "Joe, don't come over,But Dad and I just had a fightAnd he stormed out the door!I've never seen him act this way,My God, he's goin' crazyHe said he's gonna make you payFor what we done- he's got a GUN!So run, Joey run, Joey run!"Daddy please don'tIt wasn't his faultHe means so much to meDaddy please don'tWe're gonna get marriedJust you wait and seeGot in my car, and I drove like mad'Til I reached Julie's placeShe ran to me, with tear-filled eyesAnd bruises on her face!All at once I saw him there,Sneaking up behind me (Woman's voice: Watch out!)Then Julie yelled, "He's got a gun!"And she stepped in front of meSuddenly, a shot rang outAnd I saw Julie falling!I ran to her, I held her closeWhen I looked down, my hands were redAnd here's the last words Julie said...Daddy please don'tIt wasn't his faultHe means so much to meDaddy please don'tWe're gon...na get... mar...ried...Run, Joey run, Joey run, Joey run, Joey run, Joey run, Joey ruuuuuunn!
Part 1
Joey held Julie as her blood drained from her body. Her dad was still standing there, his gun in his hands. Suddenly, it fell from his shaky hands. As it hit the ground with a loud clang, Joey looked up at him. He had hate in his eyes.
"You bastard!" Joey yelled. Julie's father, Lieutenant Desmond Slater, stared at him. "You killed her you sick son of a bitch! Your own daughter!" Lt. Slater shook his head.
"I didn't mean…I didn't mean to." He said with a stutter in his voice. Joey closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Julie's. Her skin still held an eerie kind of warmth. An empty corpse with a soul barely holding onto it.
"Shut up." Joey whispered. "Just shut up!" He yelled as he set up and glared at him. Lt. Slater looked back at him. That's when the sirens began to pierce the night. Joey looked around as they came closer.
"You're gonna go away for a long time Mr. Spencer." He said. Joey looked back at him again.
"What for?" He asked.
"Murdering a cops daughter…and her unborn child." He said to him. "Your DNA is all over Julie's mangled body. You were angry because she was going to keep your bastard child. You didn't want to have anything to do with it, so instead of convincing her to get rid of it, you just murdered them both." He said. Joey shook his head no. "She was going to keep the little brat and your got pissed."
"Son of a bitch!" Joey yelled. He gently laid Julie on the ground and charged at Lt. Slater. It was right then, because of the lights coming from the oncoming cars, he could see the blood on his hands. It was Julie's blood on his hands, on his clothes, on his face. Undeniable evidence of a crime he didn't commit.
Run Joey. He heard a woman whisper to him. Run. Joey took off then, running as fast as he could away from the scene. Lt. Slater picked up his gun and returned it to the holster. The cops showed up then, but Joey kept on running.
Part 2
He climbed up the giant elm by his window and slid into his room. His room was a mess, clothes thrown everywhere, posters pinned to the walls, an unmade bed, a TV. He climbed in quickly and shut the window and blinds. He had ran the whole way home, leaving his Mustang back at Julie's house. But he knew his dad's truck was still set in the garage, so he would grab it soon. He stripped out of his blood stained clothes and ran into the bathroom. He threw them into the tub and started to fill it with hot water. The water added the liquid back into the mix and soon the clear tub became a deep red. He didn't have time to wash the blood off of himself right then. He had to pack because he had to run.
"Joey?" His mother called from her room down the hallway. "What are you doing?" She had heard him running around.
"Nothin' Ma!" Joey yelled back to her. "Go to bed!"
"You'll go blind if you keep doin' that!" She yelled to him. Joey shivered at the thought of his mom talking to him about stuff like that. He was just glad that she didn't know what him and Julie had done about three months prior. That would be fun to talk about with her.
Joey threw as much stuff as he could into a bag and was ready to run out of the room. He was afraid that he would never be able to come back, so he wanted to have as much stuff from home as he could. He was about to run out of his room when he saw the picture of Julie and him sitting on his dresser. He was in a tux, she in a beautiful prom dress. They were standing underneath a beautiful arch, dressed in flowers and clear Christmas lights. She wasn't pregnant then, but she would be later that night. And though it made Joey upset, he knew he needed to take it with him. After that grabbing the framed memory, he left.
He went out to the garage to where his dad's truck was. It was the only thing he had left from his dad. The keys were still hanging on the corkboard, the same place they had been for the past sixteen years, just a different color push pin marking their spot. He quickly scooped them up and opened up the garage door. He could see the flashing of cop cars in the distance. If he didn't get out soon, he never would. He jumped into the truck quickly and put the keys in the ignition. He turned it, but the truck stalled.
"Damn it you lousy piece of shit!" Joey yelled as he smacked the steering wheel hard. Joey was determined though. He needed to get out of there before the cops showed up. If he didn't, he'd be spending life in a real prison, not juvenile detention. He waited a moment before he turned the key again. This time the truck started right up. "You're a good lousy piece of shit." He said as he rubbed the rough and cracked leather of the steering wheel. He hit the gas and drove out of the garage quickly. He was about twenty miles away when the cops finally showed up at his house, waking up his cranky mother and all her angry neighbors. But even after another twenty miles, Joey couldn't rest. He had to find salvation until the truth was set free.
Part 3
It was the only motel for miles. Granted, it was in the middle of a deserted area, looking more like Nevada and less like Texas. But this run-down place that had once seen better days was a safe haven for weary truckers, long distance bikers, and runaways looking for a new life. It's name was the Desert Flower, and seeing that it was the only place around, it was a welcome with open arms. It was the perfect place for a teenage boy who was being accused of murder, to hide.
The parking lot was dotted with a couple cars and some motorcycles. Joey pulled the truck into the parking lot and set there for a moment. During his trip, he had stopped for a moment to grab some food, along with some water and baby wipes in hopes of washing away the blood. A majority of it had came off, but he still looked stained red. After staring at himself for a bit, he sighed and climbed out. He slowly made his way to the check-in desk.
"I need a room please." He said as he ran his hands through his hair and didn't make eye contact with the woman behind the counter. There was a very uneasy silence about the room.
"Joey?" The woman asked. "What are you doing here?" Joey's body tensed. He was afraid that he had gotten caught. All the hard work he had done to run away from his home, and he gets caught in some no tell motel. He looked up then and was surprised by who he saw standing there.
"Beth?" He asked. He couldn't believe that his cousin Bethany Carson was standing there. He didn't know that she worked here, but being second cousins on his mom's side, they weren't in communication a whole lot. All the motels in the world and he had to stop at hers. Go figure.
"Nope." She said with a sarcastic tone to her voice. "Loch Ness Monster." She rolled her eyes and walked around the counter to look at Joey. "I take it you forgot that my old man left this place to me." She said. Joey sighed and closed his eyes. Beth stared at him. "Did you really kill Julie Slater?" Joey opened his eyes and stared at her.
"No!" He yelled. That took Beth back a bit. "Her daddy did it." He added. Beth's eyes opened wide.
"Lt. Slater?" She asked. Joey nodded his head. "But he let me off with just a warning that night he caught me and Kevin at the park in the backseat of Kevin's Ford." She said. Joey thought he was going to puke at that image.
"I got Julie pregnant." Joey said. Beth's eyes opened wide yet again. "That bullet he shot was meant for me, but she jumped in the way and it hit her instead." He closed his eyes at the memory that would forever haunt him. Beth hugged him.
"It's okay Joey." She whispered to him. "I know you didn't kill Julie. I believe you little cousin."
"Can I please just have a room?" He asked. "I really need a shower and some sleep." Beth let go of him and went back to the counter.
"Right away Mr. Wayne." She said. She grabbed the guest book and wrote the name Alex Wayne down in it. She smiled as she handed Joey some keys. "Come on, I'll show you to your room. Anything you need, just come ask Cousin Bethany." She laughed. Joey smiled and shook his head as he followed her out of the office and down the sidewalk to his room. As she got ready to unlock the door, she looked out over the parking lot and spotted the truck.
"What are you looking at?" Joey asked as he followed her gaze. She looked back at him.
"Are you just going to let that truck sit out in the open?" She asked. He looked at the truck then back at her.
"Well…yeah." He said, unsure. She smacked his arm.
"I guess I have to do the thinking for the both of us, you idiot." She said with a loud sigh. "I'll hide it in the garage. You just go and take care of yourself." He walked into his room and shut the door.
Part 4
After settling into his room, Joey stepped into the bathroom and stood under a hot shower. The water hit his red colored skin and the runoff was a red color as well. It dripped off his frame and went down the drain, the last little bit of Julie that Joey had making its final trek away from him. She was gone.
"I'm so sorry Julie." He whispered to himself. He remembered seeing all the bruises on Julie's face from her father's attack. Lt. Slater had been pissed at Julie before. Well, pissed was an understatement. He used to get so furious with her, and it had really started the day that she started dating Joey. But nothing had been as bad as this time. "I should have save you." He rested his forehead on the cold tiles and let the hot water wash over him like a warm blanket. He scrubbed the remaining blood off of his body and watched the last little bits fall down the drain. The blood may be gone, but death still hung over him.
Joey got out of the shower and stood in front of the misty mirror. Physically, the blood was all gone, washed clean of his skin, but mentally, it was still there, forever stuck to him like a drunken tattoo. He didn't want to see it anymore, but he had to. It would never leave him alone. He looked down at his arms just to see if it was still there, but after checking, he looked back at the mirror. But instead of his own reflection there, it was Julie's.
"Run Joey." She whispered to him. He took at step closer. "Run Joey, run." He reached forward, trying to touch her face, but since she wasn't real, he couldn't touch her. Instead, he touched the water on the mirror. Julie disappeared from view then. Joey closed his eyes.
"JULIE!" Joey yelled out. He suddenly grew very tired. Unable to stay up any longer, Joey pulled on tome clothes and soon he set down. Not long after, he passed out on his bed.
Part 5
Joey was awoken to the sound of something hitting his door with a loud force. When he first heard it, he thought it was the pounding of his heart matching the throbbing of his head. Slowly, he got up and made his way to the door. Opening the door and being greeted by a very awake Beth, he slightly calmed. She smiled at him.
"I brought you some food." She said as she looked at him. She noticed how tired he looked. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He had been through a lot. More than person his age should be. She handed him the bag.
"Thank you." Joey said as he took the greasy fast food bag. Beth kept standing there looking at him. He noticed.
"I hope you know you're safe here." Beth said. Joey looked at her. She touched his shoulder. "And I hope you know that Julie's in a better place now. She's in heaven Joey." Joey moved away from her so she couldn't see the pain on his face.
"Thanks for the food Beth." Joey said again. She nodded and took her cue to leave. She quickly returned to her place in the motel office. Joey shut his door and went back to his bed. He set down and placed the bag by him. He grabbed the TV remote and turned on the small TV in his room. The local news was on.
"Last night, Julie Slater from Shane county, was found murdered in her backyard by her father, Lt. Desmond Slater." A picture of Julie's senior picture and Lt. Slater's press release photo appeared side by side on the screen, just to the left of the woman's head. Joey saw how happy Julie looked in the picture and he felt horrible that her life had been ended so soon. "Suspected murderer, Joseph "Joey" Spencer, is now being searched for since his disappearance late last night. He ran from the scene and has not been seen since." Joey's mug shot from a couple years ago replaced Julie and Lt. Slater's pictures. "Lt. Slater had this to say." The woman said. Her face was replaced with a video that showed Julie's dad crying.
"Joey got my little princess pregnant." Lt. Slater cried. Joey's anger started to build up. "That stupid boy had his way with her and then he just killed her! He killed her and her little baby! She wouldn't give it up and he got so angry that he murdered them both. He just…killed them." He paused to shed more tears. "My little girl was going to become the best nurse ever. She was going to go to school and everything…and that little prick had to ruin it all!" Lt. Slater kept crying. The camera cut away back to the woman's face.
"If you have any information about the whereabouts of Joey Spencer, please alert the authorities immediately." Joey got upset. He quickly changed the channel on the remote, turning it to some happy looking kids cartoon. He set there staring at it.
"I should turn myself in." Joey said to himself as he watched it. "If Beth gets caught harboring me, she'll go to jail too. She'll get in trouble just by association." He said. He had so many emotions pulsing through him at once that he wasn't even sure where they were all coming from. Julie had always hounded him about letting more of his feelings out, and he did sometimes, only when they were by themselves. After all that time, it took this for her to finally get what she wanted out of him.
He grabbed the bag that was sitting by him and opened it up. Inside was a sandwich, some hash browns, and a bottle of flavored water. He didn't really feel like eating right now, but he knew that if he didn't, he would get too weak to even get out of bed by himself. He set back against the headboard and nibbled on his food and watched the cartoon on the TV. He finished all his food and stayed there, watching the marathon for about five hours. That's when Beth knocked on the door.
"You're really into that show." Beth said as she walked in and set down on bed. She looked at the TV then looked at him. He sighed.
"This is the only thing worth watching." He said. "Because the news is depressing. According to them, I'm a wanted murderer. Lt. Slater told them I killed Julie and her baby. Now they won't stop until I'm dead. Oh the fun that would be." He said. Beth sighed and looked at him.
"Why don't you just tell them that you didn't do it." She said. He gave off a sarcastic laugh. She looked at him, looking offended. "What was that for?" She asked.
"Well, let's see here." He said. "You have Lt. Desmond Slater. Outstanding cop for as long as he's been on the force. There's not a smudge on the shiny badge of his." He paused for affect. "Then you've got Mr. Joey Spencer. High school dropout with no future other than a GED and a receding hairline. Born and raised from a broken home and already has a couple crimes under his belt." He paused again and looked at Beth. "Now you tell me, if you were the law, who would you believe?" Beth stood up again.
"Julie wouldn't want to see you take the fall for her dad." Beth said. With that, she left, leaving Joey to think.
Part 6
A month went by and Joey Spencer still remained a wanted man. Beth was great at covering for him. She was always ready to help him with whatever he needed she was willing to get for him. After almost thirty-one days of putting up with hiding a fugitive, Beth was watching the TV when she heard the good news. Lt. Slater had been arrested for the murder of his daughter Julie and her unborn child. She didn't hear why he admitted to the murder, she was too excited to stick around.
"Joey!" She yelled as she ran from the office to his room. "Joey! Joey!" She yelled as she hit the door. There was no answer. She used her master key to unlock the door and ran inside. Joey was on his bed. She ran in and shook him.
His head rolled to the side but his eyes never opened. Beth's heart started to pound as she hoped he would wake up. As she struggled to, she saw the bottle of pills sitting on the nightstand and the tiny bottles of whiskey from the mini fridge sitting around it. Beth covered her mouth to hide the cry.
"Joey!" She yelled. "No Joey no!" She hugged him close to herself. Her baby cousin had just died. "It wasn't his fault! It wasn't his fault!" As she hugged him, she felt a piece of paper brush her hand. She grabbed it and saw that her name as on the outside of it. She opened it with her shaky hands to see what he had to say.
Beth,
I appreciate everything you've done for me over the past month, but I really am partly responsible for Julie and her baby's death. I should have taken that bullet, not her. It was meant for me and me alone. Even though Lt. Slater fired the gun, she jumped in front to save me. So in a way, he was right. Julie used to tell me to keep on running, to chase what I wanted. The night she died, she told me to keep running. 'Run Joey, run' is what she said. I couldn't close my eyes without seeing her dying over and over again. Well, I ran as far as I could, and I just couldn't run anymore. I ran from my old life, I ran from Julie's dad, I ran from the law. But now, I've run as far as I could so I made my last bold movement. Thank you again Beth. My life was made better because of you. I hope someday the people who once hunted me down will see the error of their ways and arrest the man responsible for the death.
~Joey
And so Beth took after Joey. She started to run, and soon, she became the Assistant District Attorney of Shane County. Lt. Slater remained in prison for the rest of his life until he died of lung cancer at the age of sixty-eight. And as for Joey Spencer and Julie Slater, they were reunited in the after life, where they were finally at peace, along with their little daughter, who found new life after death.
The End
Run Joey, Run