Bound

Karen Meyer sat on her perch high in her favorite tree. Her long legs curled tight to her chest. Her jeans had two dark, wet spots from her tears, where her knees were. Her blond hair hiding her face. She had bruises up and down each side of her face. A scar on her jawline tracing from throat to ear was only visible when you really looked at her. Her nose a little crooked from being broken. Twice.



  Yes, in her 17 years, this woman child had been through much. She raised her head long enough to wipe the tears gently from the open cut on her lip. She wiped it on her purple sweatshirt.



"Im SICK of this!" She yelled to no one in particular, as no one was around to hear her.  "Why can't my father just leave me alone? Huh? Is it just to much to ask for me to just be me for 10 minutes?" She huffed loudly as she stood up. Brushing herself off then wiping her eyes she headed for home again. Prison cell more like it. She thought to herself.



About 30 minutes later she was on her porch looking and listening to where her father was. For just a moment she thought about what her mother would be doing. Her mother died shortly after she was born. She was taking Karen to her first doctors appointment when a semi-truck rolled by. A peice of gravel flew off one of the tires at lightening speed. The projectile went through the window she was sitting in front of and embedded itself in her scull.



Karen shook herself mentally. How would she know what her mother was like. She sighed bitterly, and went back to looking for her father. The T.V. was off, and the chair empty.

    "At the bar then." With a sigh of relief. She opened the door and went straight to her room. She ignored the mess in the living room. That was often a mess. But especially after her father got done with her.

  In her room she saw that her father had been in there. Probably searching for money. Karen worked on the weekends and weeknights at the pet shelter. Cleaning cages, and feeding the animals. It didnt pay that much, but she did save all of it. She wanted out of here. Her heart dropped when she saw everything ransacked.



  She went directly to the board under her mattress. She didnt have an actual bed. Her father thought she would hide things from him. She lifted it and felt around. Her heart was relieved to find the money roll still there. She had saved for 8 months. She had $1050.00 to help her get out of his house. Her father insisted on sharing a bank account with her. When she took money out she told the teller to mark it as a charge of their account. Then she would hide the money. She took the same amount every time so that her father wouldn't become suspicious. She got paid every week so that helped as well.



  She replaced the money, and the board. her money was safe, for now at least. But would it last? If she could get $950.00 she could at least buy a train ticket to get to Bristol Tennessee, and away from her father, and into her mother's family.