~*~*Sora Speaks*~*~

As Sora walked home, she thought about the lies that she had told Tai:

Lie: She bruised her nose when she walked into the wall.

Truth: Matt punched her last night.

Lie: She and Matt were just Dandy.

Truth: She was terrible. Matt abused her almost every night, and he barely ever said a kind word to her.

Lie: She and Matt were going to be engaged any day now.

Truth: There was NO chance they were going to be engaged. Matt had made that very clear the first time he hit her.

***Later***

She sat on her bed, and looked at her plan:

Operation:

"Escape from Matt's Wrath"

Step 1: Escape while Matt's at work

Take all of my stuff Leave a bogus note

Step 2: ESCAPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go somewhere he'll never find me.

She had another list compiled:

Places Matt Will Never Find Me:

Tai's House My Old House The Digital World America France Russia Britain Kenya Mexico

10. Egypt

Ok, she had a plan…But why didn't she carry it out? She had a plan, and several places she could go to…

She was scared.

That was it. She was too scared to leave. But she was also too scared to stay. Her life was a living nightmare.

Yet she still stayed with him, day after day.

She looked up at the clock in her room, and realized it was time for her to make dinner. She hid her list carefully in a secret compartment in her desk, and went off.

***Later***

There was a loud CRASH as Matt threw his plate against the wall, breaking it into pieces.

"CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING RIGHT, SORA?!" Matt spat.

Sora sniffled. "I don't know what went wrong…I didn't mean to burn it, I swear!"

He drew back and slugged her in the shoulder, causing her to fall back. "YOU MORON! YOU WASTED PERFECTLY GOOD FOOD!"

She whimpered. "I told you, it was an accident!"

"DIDN'T I TELL YOU THAT YOU HAVE TOO MANY ACCIDENTS?!" He hit her again.

Sora crumbled into a heap. "Please, Matt, stop hitting me!" She pleaded.

"Oh, why didn't you say so, Sora?" He mocked. "I'll stop hitting you…"

"Really?" She looked up, hardly daring to believe it.

"Sure. I'll stop hitting you." Then, without another word, he picked up a large skillet, and walked into her room.

"Matt…What are you doing…?!" She shrieked, suddenly alarmed.

Matt answered her with the CRASH of breaking ceramic, as if he was…breaking…her…lamp…

"NO!" She screamed. "MATT, LEAVE MY STUFF ALONE!" She ran into her room, only to find that Matt had indeed destroyed the lamp. He was working on the desk now, banging the skillet against its wood, causing it to crack as it chipped.

"MATT, PLEASE!" She begged.

He ignored her. He started hitting the desk as hard as he could, breaking off huge chunks.

"You…need…to…be…taught…a…lesson." He said coldly, speaking between the cracking of the desk. "Now…I…don't…know…where…you…got…the…idea…that-"

*WHUMP!*

He stopped, and looked confused. He hit the same spot again.

*WHUMP!*

That was weird…It sounded as if he was hitting somewhere hollow…

Sora bit back a scream of horror. THE SECRET COMPARTMENT!

Matt shot her a dirty look, and hit the spot again. This time, a chunk of it popped out, revealing two pieces of paper that had been carefully hidden.

Oh, God, PLEASE! Sora begged. Don't let him read it!

Matt looked over the papers, and read the tittles out loud: "Operation: 'Escape from Matt's Wrath' and, 'Places Matt Will Never Find Me'."

She sighed.

"So…" He said slowly, his eyes narrowing in to slits of hatred. "This is what you've been planning. While I work my ass of almost everyday, you sit here and…plot against me…"

She took a step backwards. "It's…not what you think…"

He laughed coldly. "Not what I think? I know I'm right about this Sora, and I'm right about this, too: you need to be taught a lesson…" His eyes lingered on her for a moment, and then, he seized the skillet and walked toward her.

Oh God…Let it be quick…

***Later***

Gently, she dabbed the cut on her cheek with some peroxide. It stung bitterly, but she was in too much pain already. Every inch of her body hurt.

She couldn't remember the details, but she knew that most of the time he spent beating her up was him hitting her with the skillet and him swearing at her.

She studied herself in the mirror. She didn't look as bed as she thought she had…once she cleaned off all of the blood, she realized all she had were a lot of bruises and a couple cuts. Nothing seemed broken…

I have to get out of here.

This thought popped into her head suddenly, and it caught her off guard. But it was true: She had to get out of there.

"Why should I put up with Matt?!" She demanded of her reflection. "I don't have to take his crap!"

She stepped out of the bathroom, and looked at the clock. It was 10:30.

Midnight…I'll leave at midnight…

***Later***

At exactly 12:00 AM, she left that house taking with her a pillow, a blanket, her Digivice, some money, and various other things that belonged to her.

She left behind everything that Matt had ever given her and the following note:

Matt,

I've left you. Don't bother trying to pretend you don't know why.

Sora

But as she stepped out into the night, she realized she had no idea where she was going to go. She thought about her list, and she realized she didn't have enough money to get to America, Kenya, Egypt, or almost any other place.

Suddenly, she had an idea. She stepped inside a payphone, and dialed a familiar number.

It rang a few times. Please pick up! She begged.

Finally, someone picked up. "Hmm? Kamiya and Izumi duplex…" Tai said sleepily on the other end.

"Tai!" Sora cried. She had never been so happy to hear his voice.

"Sora?" Asked Tai in surprise. She could almost see him blinking. "Do you have any idea what time-?!"

She cut him off. "Tai, please! I need help! Can I stay at your place for the night?"

There was a pause. Then, "Sure, Sora. I'll wait for you."