Hey new readers, old readers, warm readers, cold readers,

Chapter three is finally here, it's kind of short, but a very crucial part of the story so I hope you like it.

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Chapter 3: Escape

I didn't think death would be this painful. I thought it would be like falling asleep. Slowly drifting into a state of unconsciousness where there is no pain or suffering. Judging by the soreness in my throat and the pain in my back, head, and stomach, I'm not dead. I struggle to open my eyes and blink my vision into focus.

The shadows on the ceiling above me tell me that it's transitioning from late evening to early night. I try to move my body and there's a shooting pain that catches me off guard. After several ragged, deep breaths, I push myself into a sitting position. The pieces of the broken coffee table shifts under my weight and my head is throbbing.

I'm definitely not dead if my body has anything to say about it. I remove myself from the debris of the wooden coffee table and crawl across the living floor to Youichi's unmoving body. Glass shards pressed into my palms, but I could only focus on Youichi and if his chest was moving with life. I finally get close enough to reach him and shake his shoulder.

I try to call out to him, but my throat is dry and feels like Persona has squeezed it shut. I swallowed and coughed a bit and shook him again.

"Youichi." I rasp.

He twitched under my touch and moved slightly. He moaned a bit and I tried to roll him onto his back so I can see his face. He rolled easily and blinked his turquoise eyes at me.

"Thank goodness." I said smiling.

He didn't say anything, but forced himself to sit up. The impact with the wall knocked him out, but he is still intact. I check his head and face. He hits my hand away and stands up weakly.

I can tell by his eyes, he thinks I'm being stupid. Checking him, when I'm the one who probably looks like a train wreck. He stood close by me as I use the wall to get to my feet. My back is stiff and my abdomen feels concave. Youichi stays close to me as we go slowly up the stairs. I head straight for the bathroom. I bypass the light switch and head for the sink. I don't even wait for the water to get cold before I put my mouth next to the stream and drink like my life depended on it. The water is a little warm and has that tap water taste, but I don't care it's like a liquid massage for my throat and it's getting better as the water is getting cooler. I don't know how long I drank, but when I pull my head up from the faucet and take deep breaths I feel slightly more alive. It hurts to breathe, but at least I'm breathing.

I can feel Youichi standing in the doorway. Tense and afraid, but he doesn't let the latter show. I reach over and flick on the light switch which makes Youichi and I squint for a moment. The skin on my neck is reddish in tint and will probably form Persona's bony fingers in a lovely purple bruise in a few hours. I don't bother examining the rest of my body and rest my hands on the edge of the sink.

My mind is racing. We can't stay here. I'm lucky enough to be eighteen and alive, Youichi might not be that lucky. I can't leave him here, but we can't stay. He's going to kill us. Intentional or not, Persona will kill us.

"Youichi," I say after a moment of silence.

He doesn't respond, but I can feel his eyes on me.

"Let's escape."

Who am I to decide that I can run away with a five year old little boy? I don't even know if I can support myself let alone him. At this point anything is better than where we are. As I lay in bed next to Youichi that night, all I can think about is where we can go, how we can get there, should we even be doing this. But when I saw that small glint of hope in Youichi's eyes before I could stop those careless words from falling from my lips, I knew there was no turning back. I can't break a promise to him. Whatever little trust he had in me is directly tied to any silent promises between us. By saying "Let's escape", I have taken it upon myself to be his protector, his guardian, his lifeline, and his last shred of hope in humanity.

I roll onto my side and catch the little wisps of sunlight starting to creep in. I'm going to look exactly as I feel: tired and broken. My skin is tender and will be littered with bruises no doubt. I lie in bed awake just watching the sunlight creep across the floor and up the wall when I hear my door knob turn.

My whole body tenses over and I watch the door crept open. Those ominous pale fingers slide through the small crack and open the door. He dressed in all black with his customary silver rings decorating his fingers and sunglasses over his eyes. He can't see my eyes under my frizzy mane of hair, but I can see him. Like a lion hiding behind high grass, waiting, watching, and ready to strike.

He walks over to the window and stares at something for a minute. I'm debating whether or not to let him know that I'm awake. My body can't take another thrashing. Even so he just stands there staring. Part of me is curious as to what he's looking at, a bigger part of me just wants him to leave preferably through the window in a tragic and fatal fall.

He turns from the window abruptly and heads for the door. Over his shoulder he says, "Get your lazy ass up. I can hear you breathing. Clean up that mess downstairs and get the runt to help you."

His voice is hollow and lifeless with just a hint of malice that says 'do it now or else'. I hate him, but I sit up in bed and I instantly feel like the Tin Man in need of an oil can. I stretch as far as my body would let me without making my toes curling in pain. I see Youichi's somewhat relaxed sleeping face and can't bring myself to wake him.

I listen carefully for Persona's movements as I tip toe down the hall. As I descend the stairs, I yank my hair into a makeshift ponytail. I hear movement in the kitchen and make my way into the living room where the proof of what I believed to be a hellish nightmare remained.

I pick up the big pieces of broken wood and glass and stack them in a corner of the living room. I'd have to put them out front on garbage day so the neighbors wouldn't see the suspicious amount of debris leaving the house. Not like they would call the police or anything. Most if not all of our neighbors know Persona is not a man to be reckoned with.

After ten minutes or so I can hear Persona on the phone speaking in his drug dealing code. Negotiating a deal for Blow which I learned in school is a name for Cocaine. The agitation in his voice makes me think that this might be a big deal like multimillion dollar deal. Persona is scribbling something on a piece of paper loud enough for me to hear. He's excited; it has to be a deal he's been waiting for. A deal that says you're in deep enough for the big guns and the big payday.

I sneak a peek at him as he snaps his phone shut. He tears the paper from the pad and shoves into his coat pocket. I duck back into the living room and make myself look busy as he heads to the bedroom. Mumbled words to my mother and a jiggle of keys later and he's gone.

I finish stacking the mess because in my mind I know I'm not going to be here much longer. Persona won't be home till late and I have to use my time wisely before then. I go upstairs and find my bed empty; Youichi must be in his room. I grab my duffel bag out of my closet and toss it on my bed.

My gaze drifts over my room as I mentally take in my prison cell. I've fantasized about running away so what to pack comes naturally to me. Sensible, clean underwear and bras, three t-shirts, two pleated skirts, one white button down shirt, my black audition heels for job interviews, three pairs of jeans, my favorite sweat pants and shirts, a blanket, my book of poems and inspirational phrases, mini flashlight, lock pick, Swiss army knife, socks, and of course my photograph.

Not much, but my duffel looked over stuffed. I hide it in the back of my closet in case Persona comes home early. Right behind me Youichi puts his backpack and duffel bag on the floor. He was so quiet coming in his presence startled me a bit. His bags caused a lump in my throat. He is holding me to my words that much I'm sure of.

I decided a shower would be in my best interest since I have no idea where I'm going and when the next shower would be. The hot water feels good against my tense and sore body. I wash my hair thoroughly and condition it. Such luxuries will be scarce to us if I don't come up with a plan. After another half hour of indulgence, I exit my shower, blow dry my hair and get dressed in jeans, sweat pants, bra, t-shirt, sweat shirt and my coat. Before I finish my body suit for the cold outside, I need to do something I promised myself I would never do.

Wordlessly Youichi is following my every move; packing, dressing, and meets me at the bottom of the stairs with his bags and a knowing look in his eyes. I stand on the stairs looking in the direction of my mother's bedroom. Persona doesn't keep drugs in the house for fear of my mother finding it and overdosing, but he did keep something we would need: money.

More specifically cash. I'm not sure how much, but little is better than none. I put my duffel bag at the foot of the stairs and head for the slightly ajar bedroom door. My mother typically slept the day away or stared off into space. When I enter the bedroom I say a silent prayer that she is sleeping.

She isn't.

Her brown eyes are glazed over and focused on the ceiling as if expecting it to open up and take her away. I tiptoe around to Persona's side of the bed and look down at the bedside table. A million booby traps from my obsession with action movies raced through my head: pressure plates, trip wires, infrared lasers, you name it.

The tips of my fingers felt hot as I slowly reached for the small round handle.

"Mikan,"

I nearly jump out of my skin as my mother weakly called my name.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

Her voice crawled down my spine and made me want to turn and run, forgetting the ridiculous notion of stealing from Persona ever crossed my mind. I swallow my moment of cowardice and pull the drawer open.

"Nothing," I reply.

There's a small red box on top of a stack of papers next to a gun holster. I ignore the gun and lift the little latch on the box. Persona is notorious so he would never think that anyone would steal from him, so why lock anything? I open the box and there's a wad of cash and a little baggie with white powder in it. I swallow a lump in my throat and shove the money into my pocket. My hands feel dirty knowing that its Persona's drug money I'm stealing, but I can't think about that now.

"Mikan no don't take that." Yuka said.

I wasn't even aware that Yuka had sat up in the bed and is now watching me with wide, doe eyes.

"I need it." I say curtly, placing the box back neatly.

"For what?" she asked.

"Do you even care Yuka? It's not for drugs so don't get your hopes up." I slide the drawer closed carefully not to slam it because I am still paranoid that there is some kind of booby trap.

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere." I react instinctively.

"You're lying." She said.

"Welcome to the real world." I turn to the door, but something catches my eye; a necklace. A diamond necklace that Persona got my mother when they had started dating, it wasn't very big, but it would probably fetch a pretty penny. Cash is one thing, but to steal jewelry?

"Mikan put it back. He'll know and he'll kill you."

I take a step to the vanity where the necklace lies on the surface.

"I've been dead a long time Yuka." I say as I slide the necklace into my pocket in my most discreet fashion.

"Mikan please, let's not fight anymore, okay?" she tried to force a smile, but even that seems to require effort she just doesn't have anymore.

"I don't intend to fight. I'm leaving." I turn to look at her sullen and somewhat surprised face.

"You're-"

"Leaving," I cut her off, "and I'm not coming back. Ever."

If it's possible, her expression seemed graver, "No-"

"I don't have time for this Yuka. So why don't you go into that drawer and do a couple of lines and forget we had this little chat. Persona didn't hide all of it today."

She looked hurt that I said it so bluntly, but couldn't resist the slightest peek at the bedside table. My eyes are starting to sting. She's actually weighing her options.

"Well? Go ahead. In fact, I'll give you a choice. If you give up the drugs, I'll stay. I'll help you get clean and I won't fight with you. I might even start calling you mom again. Or you can reach into that drawer and forget you even had a daughter."

Tears started to flood her eyes and run down her face. It wasn't even a question, her choice was obvious. My cheeks are damp.

"It's that simple." I head to the door with new resolve.

"Mikan please no! I need it! Don't make me choose! Please!" she screamed at my back.

I stop in the doorway and meet Youichi's eyes. The tears are streaming down slowly. I turn just enough to catch her horrified gaze.

"It shouldn't be a choice." I say slowly trying not to let my voice shake.

A tragic photograph snapped in my head as I turn my gaze away from her. A mother who made a wrong choice and a daughter with no more options. I yank my hat over my ears and wrap my scarf around my neck. I can hear my mother's mournful cries as I put my duffel bag on my shoulder. Youichi stares up at me as if saying it's okay to stay. I rub the tears off my face and put on my gloves. I redo his scarf with a small smile on my face and take his little hand in mine. We leave through the front door almost afraid to see Persona walking up the front walk.

I shut the door firmly and tug Youichi in a direction of pure gut instinct. I have no idea where I'm supposed to go or where I can turn. My mind drifts to my Jii-chan, but my mother hasn't been in contact with him in a long time. He lives in a small town that was a while away from where we live now, but it was worth a shot.

"First things first You-chan, we need a map." I say.

He looks up at me through his grey bangs with his typical blank face.

"There's not much plan in this escape is there?" he says to me.

I always forget how articulate Youichi is for a five year old considering he never really speaks.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a first step." I tell him.

"Well we've taken about thirty steps and you have no idea where we're going." He replies.

"Where's your sense of adventure?" I ask him.

"We're going to catch pneumonia and die." He sighs.

I can't help but smile. I'd rather die a popsicle than at the hands of Persona and by the tight hold Youichi has on my hand, I can tell he agrees.

Relatively short, but this is really the kick off chapter to the actual runaway part of the story.

A lot more hardships and crazy stuff that I will make up as I go along.

Lots of Love

chi-chan