it's you... || Karl Jacobs ✔️

| it's you... || escape |

tw// abuse (verbal and physical)
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seven
"Runaway"

She sighed as she knew today would be a long day.

She scrolled through twitter to pass time until Eli had to be woken up for school. That turned out unsuccessful as her step mother had other plans.

Her plans for today were originally to bribe her step mother and step sister with starbucks to take Eli on a small trip to the beach for the weekend, Maggie was okay to tag along as well, and she needed their help to convince her father. She would drive the two kids to the beach for the weekend and come back after their classes on Monday.

Karl was still asleep on the phone when it all went down. The yelling. The fighting. He woke up in the middle of it and watched everything spiral with no context of what happened or what even was happening. He was worried to say the least.

It started when her step mother walked into her room out of the blue.

"Why did you get us starbucks?" The woman asked, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. Her brown wavy hair flowed down her chest and her back beautifully, as if it were a river flowing down rocks in a creek. Her black shirt and navy blue sweatpants made the girl look rather large despite her skinny figure.

If Katelyn were being honest the woman was very beautiful, gorgeous even, but the way she acted canceled that out and made the woman appear less beautiful or gorgeous in her eyes.

Maggie looked a lot like her despite her dark skin. Her biological father was a black man and Maggie saw him often. He was a nice guy with two twin boys who often come over and play with Eli when Theresa and Steven, Katelyn's father, weren't home. Maggie's hair was a lot curlier than her mothers but it suited her well. Maggie is a lot nicer than her mother when it comes to Eli and Katelyn. While the teenager is still a bitch sometimes, she isn't a snitch and can become very helpful towards the pair.

"Just a kind gesture." The younger smiled, looking away from Karl's sleeping face in the corner of her screen. His mouth was slightly agape and he was cuddled into his blanket. Now he was pretty, compared to any of the men she'd come in contact with before.

"Something's up. You never do this." The woman said, face going red with anger. Why she was angry? Katelyn never found out. From there it was a screaming match that spiraled rapidly.

"I was just being nice, did i get Maggie's order right?" She asked, cocking her head slightly.

"Yeah you snake ass bitch. What the fuck are you doing?!" The woman yelled, startling Eli awake.

"Hey, E, why don't you go find Mags and sit in her room or go to the basement and draw me a picture, yeah?" Katelyn asked, knowing how this conversation would end eventually. The boy nodded and hugged her before running off downstairs.

"I was genuinely being nice, but i also wanted to ask you if i could take Maggie and Eli to the beach this weekend? Nothing special just to hang out and-"

"No. Absolutely not." The woman said, cutting Katelyn off harshly.

"What? Why not?"

"Because i don't trust you with my children."

"Well first off Eli is not your child. Secondly, i don't even have to take Maggie if you don't want me to, it was to be nice and so she could get a break."

"Well you're not going if Maggie isn't going."

"So im not trusted with your daughter, but i'm not able to to without her? How does that even remotely make sense?"

"Precisely, but if you don't want to follow rules in my house, get out." She said, anger seeping into her somewhat calm tone.

"Last i checked my father paid for the bills, but alright." Katelyn argued, leaning on her headboard.

"Get out."

"What?"

"Get the hell out of my house, now." The woman talked through a clenched jaw, anger spewing from her like an overflowing water fountain. "Leave and never come back."

Katelyn scoffed and rolled her eyes. She didn't move, not until she was forced to anyway.

Theresa stomped over to the girl and slapped her across the face, hard enough to leave a stinging and burning sensation as well as a red welt in the form of a handprint. Theresa yanked the young girl off of the bed and pushed her into a wall, her back hitting the corner of the wall with a harsh thud.

"Leave." The woman spat. Katelyn nodded and walked out of the room wordlessly. She needed to find Eli.

She found the boy and told him to memorize her number and that she'd be gone for a little while. He memorized the number before asking about the welt on her cheek, caressing it softly with his small fingers.

"If you need anything call. Sleep in my room, okay? I love you so much. I'll be back, i promise." She said, a few tears slipping past the barrier she put up. Katelyn did not want to leave her brother in this hell hole alone.

Katelyn walked upstairs to her room to pack a small bag. She did so successfully and went to leave the house, giving a small goodbye to Maggie and a hug to Eli.

"Don't come back." Her step mother said.

"I will." She replied.

The woman pushed her to the ground once more in a fit of sudden rage. The girl hit her eye off of the corner of a coffee table. It started to bleed and bruise almost immediately. She looked at Eli's horrified face as well as Maggie's just as horrified expression. She wasted no time to leave and go to her car.

This was by far one of the hardest things she'd do in her entire life. She broke down in sobs in her car, Karl immediately unmuting to try and provide comfort. She screamed within the car and Karl wanted to cry with her as he held her close and played with her hair, listening to the ranting she'd go on about.

Karl stayed on the phone for hours during her journey. She had no destination, she just drove until she couldn't anymore.

She'd never felt more broken and clueless on what to do.