The key slid smoothly through the hole. I balanced a small box in my left arm as I used my right hand to wiggle the door open. Lisa and I set down our first stack of boxes on the freshly polished floor. We finally had a chance to breathe freely.

I sat on the bottom step of the carpeted, spiral staircase, thinking back to just two days ago. I sat Lisa down in my bedroom while Matt was away on business. While she sat on my bed, I paced back and forth, imagining all the possible ways this scenario could play out.

I reached over and handed my mom a stack of papers. "What is this?" She asked, flipping through the first few pages. Her eyes grew and shrunk as she realized what the images and words scrolled across the page meant.

"The apartment I sort of bought in your name." I avoided eye contact. It was a risky situation to be putting us in but it needed to be done. This was not my first crime so I wasn't too nervous.

"Callie, you can't leave us." She looked down at the papers. "Even if Matt and I agreed to let you get your own apartment, it would not be on the other side of the country." Lisa shook her head and handed the papers back to me.

"I'm not going alone Lisa, you're coming with me. We're leaving tonight before Matt comes home."

"I...I don't understand."

I handed Lisa back the papers and sat down beside her. "This apartment is five streets away from the Foster's. They told me that it was renting so I did some research. It's only a one bedroom but it fell into the price budget I had. Brandon and I worked some stuff out and Lena and Stef sent me money for the first and last month rent. We can make a one bedroom work, Lisa."
The more I talked about the adventure we were headed for, the more excited and nervous I became. It was as if a new Callie had somehow grown throughout this experience. It seemed like I was growing up. Finally.

"What about Matt?" Tears were brimming her eyes.

"We can do this without him, mom."

It was as if 'mom' was all she really needed to hear before convincing herself that this was the right thing to do for not only herself but for her new daughter. Right there, Lisa rolled up her sleeves. Bruises covered her arms and you could see where the syringes were poked into her pale, delicate skin.

"He did this." She muttered before rolling down her sleeves once more. Instead of answering, I handed her a box from under my bed and walked out of the room, finally allowing the tears to fall.

Now, here we were, in our new home. Mother and Daughter. Just the two of us. It was small and not the best looking apartment in the area, but it was enough. My plan had pulled through and I was more than ready to carry on with my life. Everything seemed to be falling into place.

Luckily, it was only Friday afternoon. Come tomorrow morning, I would be ready to return back to my old life. We were going to attend Lena and Stef's wedding. I was finally going to see Brandon after months of being apart. Finally, I was having things my way.