It has been a good few years since I took the time to write. Hopefully lockdown is something that will ignite my love for it again.
I have found a list of one word prompts I'll be using just to spark some inspiration and hopefully see if I can still come up with something worth even one person reading!
20. Run
It was nothing new.
The way she flinched when his hand moved, how her heart thudded against her chest when he glanced her way or the way her eyes would glance over to the nearest door just in case she needed to run.
It was nothing new but that wasn't enough to stop it hurting each time.
Maddie let out a broken sob as she picked up a piece of shattered glass from the floor, taking a moment to look at her own reflection. She could barely remember the moment she stopped recognising the person staring back at her. She had been happy, once, strong-willed and opinionated, she had a voice and she knew how to use it. Once. She couldn't pin-point the exact moment she had gone from that to the person she was staring at right then.
Her breath trembled as she tried to stop the sob that wanted to escape, her fingers shook as she slowly grazed the new bruise that had started to form over the already existing ones that littered her face. She hadn't been to work in over three weeks, the thought of her colleagues and friends seemed too daunting. Both she and Doug had been good at hiding the truth of their marriage, but over the previous year everything had escalated. What had been a snide remark accompanied by a tight grip had become a knowing smirk, quickly followed by a raised fist with barely any warning. What was once a carefully placed kick to the ribs or a quick slam against a cupboard door that could easily be disguised as an accident, was instead a frenzied attack that she couldn't cover up with makeup or a story about how clumsy she was.
Just as she couldn't remember the person she used to be, she also couldn't remember when Doug had stopped caring if people knew. Suddenly, their relationship was untouchable, he had worn her down enough that she couldn't imagine a life without him and he had made her the promise that if she left, he'd find her. After all, as he liked to remind her that there was only one way their story ended – with both of them dead.
It was time. A sudden wave of determination washed over her, one she hadn't felt since Christmas Day as she held the Christmas card from her little brother to her chest. He was going to kill her if she ran, but as she shakily stood up and looked around her – the blood stained carpet, the smashed mirror, the dent in the wall from when he had slammed her head against it – he was going to kill her if she stayed. And Maddie wasn't sure if she was ready to die, at least not without seeing her baby brother.
She moved quickly, a desperate need to get out of the house before she changed her mind as she had done so many time's before. Doug was about three hours into a twelve hour shift at the hospital, which meant she had about one hour before he called to check on her, make sure she had cleaned the mess "she" had made. Her hands shook as she grabbed a minimal amount of clothes and threw them into a small suitcase before she opened up the drawer on her side of the bed and pulled out the crumpled up Christmas card she had hidden as far back as she could. Her fingers moved over Evan's grinning face, and she felt a tug of jealousy at the sparkle in his eyes. He was happy, she could only hope her appearance wouldn't ruin that. Maddie gulped and shook her head as she slid the card into her pocket, needing to keep it close so she couldn't change her mind.
It took another five minutes before she grabbed the suitcase and looked around the room just one more time before she took her discarded phone from the floor. Another deep breath, a quick wipe of the tears that had made their way down her cheeks, she was ready. As she made her way down the stairs of the beautiful home she has once loved, her eyes fixated on the front door, terrified that if she looked away, something would change her mind. As her hand moved to open the door, she wondered if she should phone her brother first to at least warn him she was coming but she had an address and she wasn't sure if she was mentally or emotionally capable of answering the many questions he would have for her before she randomly turned up in Los Angeles.
A silent nod to herself, her mind was made up, the front door was open and she stepped outside. The cold air hit her face and a small smile made its way to her lips, this was the furthest she had made it. Just a few more steps, she told herself as she made her way to her car, trying to ignore the way her entire body shook as she fumbled for her keys.
Once she was sat in the car, her hand moved to her pocket to pull out the tear-stained card, before she popped it onto the passenger seat, ready for her to grab if her resolve were to waiver at any point in the long drive. This was it, she was running for her life, straight into the arms of the only person who ever made her feel safe.