The Runaways

Ava ran to her bedroom making tears race down her face even quicker. It had happened again. They brought up the touchy subject. They all knew how much it affected her, but they didn’t care. What type of friends were they? They helped her with nothing. What did she do for them? Everything. She wiped her face and closed her door. She didn’t need them, but where would she be without them? Probably somewhere better, but she would be lonely and vulnerable. I am alone either way. I’m just a shadow to them. Her friend group wasn’t popular, but it was a large group. It was known that you shouldn’t mess with them and that was enough to keep the bullies away.
Ava’s brother lightly knocked on her door. He knew about her friends and how she felt about them. He acted like not only a brother, but like a friend too.
“Ava? Can I come in?” He softly asked.
“It’s the same thing as usual, James. Don’t waste your time,” She replied with a sigh.
James slowly opened the door and sat on his sister’s bed.
“I still want to talk about it. This is ridiculous. Your friends shouldn’t do this to you, Ava,” He replied.
“Maybe later. I don’t want to discuss it right now,” Ava said.
“Well then I’ll tell you the other bad thing. Mom is drunk again. George brought her here again,” James said. The disgust spat out along with the name was evident. Neither one of them liked this man. He used their drunk mother against them, but also to satisfy himself.
“Kids! Get down here now!” Their mother screamed.
James sighed and the children made their way downstairs. George probably wanted something from them again.
“You two kids are… you are-” She slurred before George cut in.
“You are in a lot of trouble,” He said with a smirk.
Ava and James exchanged looks before Ava stepped forward to challenge this disgusting man.
“And why is that, George?” Anger laced her voice. She stomped up to him and angrily stabbed at his chest with her index finger. Her voice got low as she continued to speak. “Did we not buy enough drinks so you can get her drunk enough to pass out? Is that it, George?” She spat out the name in disgust. George looked over at their drunken mother who had been watching the interaction.
“You leave George alone, brat!” She yelled. “Do what you want with her, George. She is never punished enough! James, get upstairs now,” She said while dragging her son up the stairs.
He gave his sister a look of guilt and pity as he was brought back to his room. George smiled at him, but James didn’t fall for it. When him and Ava were alone, he circled her like a shark.
“So, Ava. You have been lucky and haven’t had to deal with my punishments yet.. Let me tell you, it is worse than your mother’s,” He said with a dark tone, still circling her as if he was a shark and she was his prey.
“Try me, you disgusting cow,” Ava challenged. The man’s eyes narrowed and he grabbed a handful of her long red hair.
“What did you say, you little brat?” He growled.
She swallowed her fear and looked him in the eyes.
“You heard me. You’re the scum of the earth,” She responded with in a similar manner.
The older man threw her to the ground and stomped over to where she was fell.
“You do not speak to me that way!” He shouted.
As soon as she got to her knees, she was met with his steel toed boot. The sudden blow knocked her back and made her lose her breath. He then pulled her up by her hair once again, just to slap her hard enough for her head to jerk to the side. The burn showed her that it probably was already bright red. When she was standing, she tried to look him in the eyed again.
“Leave my house, old man,” She hissed. Sadly, this earned her a punch in the mouth. The carpet burned her elbows as she slid across it. She leaned over to spit out blood.
“I’ll let your mother finish this,” He decided out loud. Her mother was already stumbling down the stairs and he asked her to take care of her daughter. Before going upstairs, George harshly whispered,
“Cover this up tomorrow,”
Her mother stumbled towards her, as if her drunkenness shoved her forward. She leaned on the couch, hoping to regain some balance before yelling at Ava.
“You’ve been causing too much trouble, g-girl,” She slurred. “I should just let George deal with you until you learn to be grateful for what you’re given,” and with that, she spat at Ava’s feet.
She wasn’t always this way. She use to be a caring mother who accepted everyone who showed kindness, and accepted those who had messed up and had not shown the same kindness. She was the mother of the neighborhood. Friendly, not too protective, and willing to help any of her neighbors out.
“You can’t do that,” Ava cried. Confusion and fear laced her voice. This was not the lady she grew up with.
“Get your things together tonight. You’re leaving tomorrow,” She stated. She then nodded her head, approving her own decision.
“But… but George doesn't even know this,” Ava sputtered.
“George~!” Her mother shouted. He came running to her call. Even if he used her in his twisted ways, he obviously actually felt something towards her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t run to her.
“Let’s go upstairs for tonight. Ava will have to learn a thing or two about respect from you, because I can’t even look at her,” She informed him with a sigh. The pair went to Ava’s mother’s room. Ava sighed, too shocked to react any other way, and she went upstairs to pack up her things. Her brother soon ran into her room, making more noise than he should have.
“Shut up, James! You’re going to get us both in trouble,” Ava harshly whispered. He hugged her tightly, but let her go as soon as she let out a cry of pain.
“Ava, you need to let me see,” her brother half begged. He didn’t need to ask again. She lifted her shirt up so the wound was showing. Something about the look of it was strange. It was bloody and very bruised of course, but something was leaving a bump in the middle. James gasped and Ava was feeling dizzy.
“Is that your bone?” James asked no one specific as he stared in shock.
Ava looked down, just as shocked as her brother was. Then she looked back up to him. Fear took over, and that was when she fell to the floor.
Now you would think that fractured ribs would have made her pass out sooner, but Ava had been through abuse more than just this one time. She had scars everywhere. Across her arms, legs, stomach, and even her back. The doctors were told that they were old and self inflicted, but James had to say that her back and the ribs were done by abusers she ran into while walking alone outside. James couldn’t let them separate him and his sister in orphanages. His mother would have won then. Instead, he took his little sister to his friend’s house for a few days. He asked no questions. He knew James wouldn’t answer.
“Welcome back, James,” The male figure said to the boy while giving him a hug. The boys had always been close. Closer than normal friends. James looked towards his car and said,
“I’m going to have to crash here with my sister, Cody,” The male who went by the name Cody nodded.
“Jasper has to also. Have your sister bunk with him, and you and I can share a room,” He said. After James approved, Cody went to go tell their good friend Jasper.
A few hours later, Ava woke up from her nightmare. She was in an unfamiliar room, and panicked once she realized that this may be George’s home. She tried to sit up, but let out a cry of pain and fell back. A strange silhouette was in front of her, but the figure was too small to be George’s.
“Don’t worry, Ava,” They whispered. They walked closer, but Ava couldn’t do anything.
“Where is my brother? His name is James,” She asked them. Fear and confusion laced her voice.
“We’re going to go see him now, buddy,” They said as if she was still a little girl.
“Don’t patronize me, pal,” She hissed. The person just chuckled and went to pick her up. It was a boy who looked to be around her brother’s age. He had black hair and bright blue eyes that reflected the moon’s light in a mysterious, yet beautiful way.
“My name is Jasper,” He informed her. “You can call me whatever, though. I’m a friend of your brother’s,” He glanced down at her as he spoke, and she allowed him to pick her up. She didn’t want to be treated like a little kid, but she could barely move with the injuries she had.
The two of them arrived in the living room and Jasper laid her across the couch. Without saying a word, he walked back down the hallway they had come from.
Who is he? Is this his house? James has never mentioned a Jasper before, Ava thought. She looked around for a bit until she heard loud footsteps approaching. She made herself appear calm even though she was panicking inside. Suddenly, the lights turned on and her brother ran into the living room with Jasper. A confused and tired looking boy followed behind him and Jasper, almost bumping into the wall multiple times.
“Ava! I thought you would sleep more,” He exclaimed. “We’re at my friend Cody’s house,” He gestured towards the tired boy. Ava raised an eyebrow, waiting for the long explanation that she knew was coming.
“You fractured your ribs and I wasn’t going to take you back to George. He wouldn’t have done much to help,” James explained. His explanation was not detailed, but Ava was okay with it since two others were here.
“Alright. Can I go back to sleep now?” Was all the boys got in return. James was surprised she gave that reaction, but she probably was still in shock from the blows to her ribs. He nodded towards Jasper, and him and Cody went back to bed. Jasper picked up the smaller girl and brought her back to their shared room.
“Do you need anything?” He asked her before going to his own bed. She shook her head, and they laid down.
Jasper could not fall asleep. He had wanted to ask so many questions, but was told not to by Cody. When the girl’s breath evened out an hour later, he still couldn’t sleep. He tried to imagine what could have caused such an injury.
Who is George and why doesn’t he care? Why are they here and not home? How long has James had a younger sister? Jasper asked himself. Soon enough, sleep took over and he was out too.
The house was silent, but even while asleep, Jasper’s mind refused to stop thinking and producing so many questions. These thoughts bled into his dreams, and he was only able to dream about this poor girl who had seemed to hide in plain sight.