Thunder boomed in the background as it was another northwest storm. The rain could be heard pelting the roof as thunder rumbled the night sky. If it got close enough or loud enough it almost seemed to shake the entire house. On nights like these the teenage girl couldn't sleep very well. She sat at her desk studying for the next day's exams so that she could pass without giving her father any ammunition against her. He had a bad temper that came out especially strong when he was drunk. Been that way since Alice was just a little girl. It was hard though to get a police officer arrested for beating his wife and daughter. Especially when he didn't leave noticeable bruises on them and was buddies with everyone at the only station in their small town. Sometimes she would have fantasies about hurting him like he hurt her but knew that that would be a suicide mission if she tried.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her mother scuttling around the top floor. It had been several hours since her father had returned home from the bar. There had been some yelling like always and then nothing. Alice assumed her father had passed out so it had to be her mother moving around. But what was she doing? Alice thought about getting up to see what was going on, but she was a little afraid of her mother getting her in trouble. It was a school night, so it wasn't a sweep under the rug type deal for her insomnia to be keeping her up. Her mother would never tell on her, but it was hard to hide that her desk light was on at four in the morning.
There was a knock on her door which made the teen jump. "Birdy? Let me in please." Her mother's soothing voice drifted through the door.
There was something off about the tone in her mother's voice. Something urgent. It made Alice feel like she needed to go over to the door as soon as she could and see what her mother needed. The woman on the other side of the door was only in her mid-thirties but looked so much older with her graying hair and worry lines. She was always beautiful to Alice though. In her hands were suitcases and on her back was one of her old backpacks. One of the suitcases was thrusted into her arms.
"Hurry. Pack what you can and grab your bag. We are leaving as soon as you are ready." Her voice sounded slightly panicked as they both knew that her father could wake up at any moment and catch them trying to leave.
Alice did what she was told as her mother left her room. She began packing what pairs of clothes she could and even layered on a few clothes as well. Throwing her things inside of her backpack she zipped it up ready to leave home for good. She hoped that they were going to be able to stay away from her father longer this time as each time they tried to run away, it got worse and worse than the time before. The last time they had tried to escape, her father made her stay home from school for a week until she was able to cover the bruises on her face with concealer.
Her bag was packed and she was ready to go. The two females snuck down the stairs trying to avoid the louder steps and trying to keep the baby boy quiet to avoid alerting her father that they were moving about the house. Sometimes when he passed out from the alcohol you could drop every pan in the kitchen and he wouldn't wake up but other times he would wake up at the sound of her sneezing just a little too loud. It was a toss up as to how drunk he was. Luckily enough it seemed like that night he was too drunk to hear or feel them taking the keys off his belt. Now they just had to get to the car and they would be able to leave. Hopefully for good.
The garage door proved to be a big problem. Her father had yet to pay to get the automatic opener fixed so they had to carefully open it to get to the car. Alice went to one side to get the locks undone along with her mother. The two women began to push the door up as quietly as they could considering the door hadn't been oiled in some time and used the thunder to their advantage. They were making great progress but when they almost had it high enough to slip under the door jammed.
Internally, Alice was panicking. They needed to get out of the garage in order to get to the car. The front door had an alarm on it that her father never told them the password to and they would get caught before they even got everything to the car. She pushed a little harder despite her mother making a gesture for her to stop. She wanted to leave. She wanted to be free from her father once and for all and she couldn't do that if she was stuck in that house. The track gave way and allowed the wheels to turn but the door opened too fast. A loud clang sounded as the door hit the end of the track and this time there was no thunder to hide it.
Both women looked at each other with the same thought on their mind. Did that wake him up? Has he figured out what they are doing? It was time to hurry up and get everything in the car. Alice hurried and grabbed her brother from her mom and strapped him into the carseat. He was tired so luckily enough he didn't put up too much of a fuss and went right back to sleep. That was good. After the commotion they had just caused, they didn't need him crying to alert their father even more as to what they were doing.
Her mother was putting a few bags into the vehicle when the door to the house opened. Both women froze when they heard it slam against the garage wall before running to get into the car before he came out. His six foot frame appeared in the garage doors opening and he didn't look happy at all to see them in the car. Her mother was frantically trying to get the key into the ignition but the rain had made her fingers wet and cold.
"Mom hurry up, he's coming over." Alice hissed out staring out the window as her father made his way over lightning arcing across the sky and lighting up the rage in his eyes. "Mom hurry!"
Her mother finally got the key into the ignition just as the driver's door was pulled open; rain further soaking into the car's interior. Her father grabbed onto her mother and pulled her out of the car. Alice screamed as she saw her father throw his wife to the ground and began to kick at her.
"You think you can just leave me like that, bitch?" His voice boomed in the night air and even echoed back at him. "You remember what I told you last time you tried to run away right? Right?!"
"Dad, stop!" Alice screamed as she got out of the car and ran over. Almost slipping on the wet pavement, she grabbed at his arms to get him to turn away from her mother.
He did as she had wished but it wasn't in her best benefit. He pushed her back away from him and she lost her footing and fell to the ground. Scrambling towards the garage door, Alice desperately wished someone would hear the commotion over the wind and come out to help her and her family. But sadly no one came as her father grabbed her ankle and pulled her back just to grab her hair, almost ripping it at the roots and smacking her head into the concrete of the driveway. He then began to smack her with a crazed look in his eyes that she only ever saw when he was pissed that his family was trying to leave him. He smacked her hard enough with his ring hand to give her a cut on her cheek. Blood mixed with the rain drops and tears on her face, causing a small pink stream to flow down and off her jaw.
"Do you think I want to punish you?!" He screamed at her as his hands found their way around her throat cutting off her air supply. "If you would just behave I wouldn't have to punish you!"
"Dad…" Her voice cracked as she clawed at his hands. She was frantically reaching out farther as all she could think about was getting him to release the strong hold he had on her throat. Gasps turned into wheezing as his fingers closed tighter around her throat. "...Stop."
Twack!
Alice felt her father's hands loosen around her throat as her eyes focused on the figure of her mother behind him. She was holding the handle of the car jack in her hands. Her father was bleeding from somewhere in his hairline as it flowed down his chin and stained at least the top shirt Alice was wearing.
"Alice run!" Her mother screamed out as she drew the berserking male into their home.
Despite her mom's efforts, Alice was in no shape to run away. It was painful to even draw a single breath and her body wouldn't listen to her commands to get them to move. Soaked through and cold, she laid there hearing her brother screaming from inside the car. This was where they were going to die. Would her father be held accountable for his actions finally?
Her mother's screaming could no longer be heard over the wind and rain. A cold shiver racked her body as she noticed a pair of feet appear in front of the car door beside her. A male voice hummed softly as the sound of metal tapping glass rang in her ears. She wasn't sure who he was but she needed someone, anyone, to help her. To save her or at the very least put her out of her misery faster.
"Help…." Croaking, she reached out for the man. "Please…"
A soft chuckle came from above her head as they walked a calm pace into the home. She didn't understand how he could be so calm about diffusing an active situation with a man clearly off his rocker. She heard her father screaming at the mysterious man. The sound of crashing came from the home and suddenly the screaming of the older male stopped mid scream.
The young man from before slowly exited the home whistling as if nothing had happened between him and her father. His gray hoodie was covered in red stains that seemed to soak far into the fabric and grew larger as the weather attempted to cleanse the sin from him. His footsteps stopped next to her as he studied the sorry state she was in. His hands made their way around her shoulders and underneath her knees as he hefted her up into his arms.
"I guess I should help you a little bit more." A soft sigh stirred her hair as her eyesight faded to black. The adrenaline leaving her system.
