That's The Way Of It

1: That's The Way Of It

Notes:
*Trigger Warnings: At different points throughout this story there will be mentions and/or scenes/depictions of abuse and/or violence. I will try to remember to put TWs at the top of the chapters that have those moments.*

*This is the second work I have written to be viewed by people other than myself. I'm still completely new to writing fanfiction, so I hope this doesn't completely suck haha. I hope you like it. This will be one wild ride full of pain, strength, love, friendship, twists, fear, heartache and more.

TW:：This chapter mentions physical abuse and injuries.

~*~

'Cold.'

That was the the very last thing that Brenna remembered thinking before her eyes closed and she sunk into the awaiting oblivion.

Brenna was so cold that her entire body was shivering so hard that it was a struggle for her to even think. Her teeth were chattering non-stop and so hard that it was making her bruised and swollen jaw ache from having to clench them together so tightly.
The snow fell heavily and quickly from the solidly dark night sky and settled on her head and shoulders like a thick and frozen weighted blanket as she limped her way through the unknown back alleys of a town that she didn't know, her progress hampered by the injuries or "punishments" that she had recieved in the past few days

The men's boots that she had stolen from the outside of the side door to the occupied warehouse were way too big on her feet and kept trying to fall off of her feet everytime she went to lift them to take a step. This caused her to legs to slosh through the muddy snow on the ground, the cold unfrozen water to seep into her pants legs, instead of being able to wade through the snow properly.

Brenna tried to make her way around the trash and debris that was littering the sidewalk as quickly and as quietly as she was possibly able, however, the going was excrutiatingly slow and extremely painful to do, but she refused to let herself stop, the fear licking her heels kept her moving when she felt that could not take another step.
Brenna's left arm was wrapped tightly around her bruised and aching side and each step she took was painfully jarring the ribs that she now knew for sure were at least cracked.
Brenna's ears suddenly picked up the sound in the hushed quieet of the night. It was the sound of something starting to scrape or drag against the concrete behind her. Her mind put together the image of HIM coming after her, dragging his metal baseball bat against the ground. She paled, her heart palpitating with her fear and a whimper escaped her bloody lips. With every ounce that was left of her remaining strength, she launched herself into as much of a run as she could manage, fearing that her body would soon give out as she could feel the dizzines settling in.
Her weary and frozen limbs were screaming in protest for her to stop while an his angry voice in her head was telling her over and over again that she would never be able to escape him.

Brenna's breath came in ragged gasps from the pain and exertion that she was under, the hot air from her mouth turning into white puffs of fog that floated in the night air before her face, slightly obscuring her vision. She felt the overwhelming sense of dizziness rush around her again and it began to attack her dulling senses and the corners of her vision started to fade to black.
She came to a stop in front of a random restaurant building whose sign in the side window read, 'All you can eat', and leaned back against it's brick wall, chest heaving from exertion.
Looking around her location carefully, her green and bloodhsot eyes widened when she realized, with some shock, that she had done it!<
She had escaped her personal hell without him knowing and without anyone discovering her! She had miraculously made it out of that horrid building and through those dark and scary alleyways on her own with him being none the wiser.

Leaning her throbbing head back against the wall, she closed her heavy eyes, as emotions welled up inside of her. Relief, fear, pride, hopefulness.. they all seemed to hit her already overwhelmed senses all at once. Tears begin to spill out of the corners of her eyes, but the cold began freezing them immediately to her lashes.
Her chest ached and a pitiful sob broke from her chapped and busted lips, the trail of blood long since dried and frozen against her cold skin.
Brenna felt her knees start to wobble a few seconds before they both decided to give out on her completely. With a strangled whimper escaping her parched throat, she felt herself collapse roughly onto the frozen, snow covered sidewalk. Her body, bruised and broken, started shivering even harder against her will, the cold seeping in even quicker now that she was laying amongst it.
As Brenna lay there, surrounded by the suffocating silence of the winter storm, she stared up at the sky for the first time in well...she couldn't remember how long it had been since she was last allowed to see the sky. The moon came out from behind it's blanket of clouds, she saw that it was bright and full, shining down on her quaking form as the snow flakes spun and danced through the air to land on her cheeks
'The moon is...so...beautiful....' she thought as her eyes finally closed and she sank into the blissful awaiting oblivion.