Refined

Chapter 1: Home Is Where Hell Is

The clock read 3:00 a.m.
Miller sat up in his bed, trembling and exhausted from not sleeping well. It was finally time. He silently crept out of bed and tiptoed to his wardrobe. Covered by all of his clothes and hidden from view lay a rucksack which contained all of Miller's savings, clothes, water, snacks, and a blanket.
After grabbing the rucksack, Miller cracked open his door, and, after making sure no one was walking about, he slipped out of his room and closed his door silently.
"I'm really going to do this," Miller thought. "I'm really going to run away." He crept towards the flight of stairs that led to the front door. He stopped abruptly at the sound of his mother's voice.
"Flee? To where? It's not like there's anywhere we can go."
"Yeah, well, unless you want to die there's nothing you can do." This was the voice of a man who Miller didn't recognize.
"You can't just come storm into my home and kick me and my family out of my house." His mother's voice again. "Now, as a higher ranked citizen, I order you to leave."
"Ma'am, it's for your own goo--"
The sound of Miller's mother slapping the man's face made Miller flinch. It felt more painful than anybody else's. He would know, he'd had to experience it almost every day.
"Don't ever come back!" The woman violently pushed the man out the door. "Damn bastard."
As he heard his mother's footsteps approaching the stairs, Miller looked around anxiously, trying to find a place to hide, but he quickly gave up and ran into the hallway where he hid under a table that was the farthest from the stairs. He prayed that his mother wouldn't see him the darkness.
When Miller heard the door to his parents' room slam shut, he sighed in relief. He waited a few long seconds before crawling out from under the table and tiptoed down the stairs. He approached the door and grasped it's golden knob.
Miller stared at his trembling hands, rethinking his decision. "What am I thinking? Running away? My life is perfect, I'm rich, I have a powerful family, everything is great..."
Miller's thoughts were cut off by flashbacks of his parents beating him and his siblings bullying him. Were they really worth staying with?
Miller's hands stopped trembling and determination filled his body. He turned the knob and stepped outside, closing the door behind him softly.
As Miller stared into the dark field ahead of him, he smiled and held his chin high, thinking, "This is the beginning of my new life."