Run Away With Me

I wiped a falling tear as I dialed his number. He knew I had problems with my parents, he'd understand. I nearly dropped my phone in my shaky hands while I waited for him to pick up. I paced in my room listening to the ringing.

"Jen? It's almost three in the morning. Are you okay?" He spoke groggily. I sighed in relief at the sound of his voice. I ran to my closet and dragged out the suitcase that I had packed a few weeks before. Inside were toiletries, cash I'd saved up, and few old photographs. I grabbed handfuls of clothes and stuffed them inside.

"I c - can't stay here anymore." I heard him shuffle around.

"Do you want to spend the night here?" He offered.

"Not just the night. I need to leave. I can't do this anymore Frank," I sobbed into the phone.
He sighed. "I'm on my way. You can stay here and decide what you want to do later."

"Thanks Frank." We had been best friends for a while. He recently moved, so I didn't see him as much as I wanted to. He was only a year older than me, so he was twenty. He always took care of me when I needed him to, and never asked for anything in return.

I paced my room for anything else I might need. I walked around picking up little odds and ends and tossed them in the bag. I heard Frank's truck pull up. I quickly scrawled down a note and left it on my pillow. I slid my window open and peered out, seeing Frank waiting on the ground with his hands shoved in his pockets. I dropped my bag down to him and then lowered myself down. He caught me by my waist and set me down. He didn't ask questions as to why I wanted to leave, he just picked up my bag and put it in the back of the truck and helped me into the cab. I leaned on his shoulder and continued to cry as he wrapped an arm around me comfortingly. I didn't pay attention to anything else but the small orange needle on the speedometer. I knew where we were going, but it didn't matter to me as long as I wasn't home. From what I could tell, Frank ran through every red light there was, because the truck didn't stop until he pulled up in front of his house.

He carried my bag for me and led me into the house. I stepped in first and he kicked the door shut behind him. I followed him to his room on the second floor and sat down on the edge of the bed. I shut my phone off and stuffed it inside my bag that was on the floor beside me. Frank had gone to the bathroom, giving me a chance to change. I picked up a shirt that was hanging on the edge of the bed and pulled it over my head. I could have worn one of my own, but the aroma of Frank’s cologne coming from the soft fabric was comforting. I was pretty small, so the shirt covered my bum. Frank smirked at this as he reentered the room. He pulled off his own shirt and jeans and sat down next to me. I slid beneath the sheets with a yawn.

"Thanks Frank."

He lied down next to me and wrapped his arms around me, kissing my forehead. "Anything for you Genevieve." I curled up against him and stared out the window across the room, remembering the last words my parents will ever hear from me.

'Thanks for nothing.'

Notes