Broken

Chapter 1

The morning of my escape I pretended like everything was normal. I packed my backpack with as much as I could without making it noticeable I wasn't planning on returning.
I had been planning this for several months. I had been slowly stealing money from Mitch, nothing that he would notice. I had close to $300 saved up. That morning I snuck into his room, while he was in the shower, and quietly stole all the money out of his wallet, and my mothers jewelry. That put me up closer to $500. Enough to get a bus ticket south. I didn't care where I ended up just so long as I was far away from him.
He didn't believe I would steal from him so he never even checked his wallet before placing it in his back pocket.
After I had my bag packed, I went into the kitchen to make his breakfast.
"You be home right after school," he told me, like he told me every morning as I served him his bacon and eggs.
"Yes sir," I said, nodding.
"Good," he said, and started eating. "These eggs are a little runny, do them over."
"But I'll be late for school," I said, softly. "That'll be the third time this week. They may start to get suspicious."
"Hmm right," he said, looking at the clock. "Dinner better be perfect then. You mess up another meal and there will be hell to pay."
"I'm sorry sir," I said, looking down.
"Now give me a kiss before you leave," he said.
I grimaced and leaned down to give him a quick peck, but he grabbed me and forced his tongue in my mouth. I knew better than to try and fight it at this point. I just waited until he released me. Finally he did and smacked me on the ass, hard.
"Expect more of that later," he smirked. "Bad girls don't get away without spankings."
I nodded, "Yes sir."
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too," I choked out the lie before grabbing my bag and heading out the door.
I felt nauseous the entire way to the bus station. I kept checking to see if he was following me. But he wasn't. I boarded my bus heading south for Texas with no problems. And when it crossed the Kansas state line into Oklahoma I could finally breathe.
I was so excited to finally be free. I stared out the window in awe of everything.
Our first stop was just outside of Tulsa at a truck stop. I took too long picking out food and using the rest room that by the time I went back to my bus it was gone.
"No!" I cried, looking for it. I wasn't far enough away yet. I didn't have enough money to waste on another bus fare. I didn't know what I was going to do.
"You need a lift somewhere?" A male voice asked, coming up behind me. I turned to face the smooth voice I heard. He was about my age and had long blond hair, which was pulled back into a loose pony tail, with a long braided rattail hanging over his shoulder. He was really cute and had a warm smile, but still I didn't know him and I wasn't taking any chances.
"No, thank you," I said, cooly. "I'm fine. I'll figure something out."
"Are you sure?" he asked. "You got off that bus, but now it's gone and you're still here."
"Are you stalking me or something?" I hissed.
He laughed, "No, we just got here the same time as your bus. I noticed you cuz you're cute."
He blushed and glanced down at his feet as he said that, causing me to soften slightly.
"We?" I asked, curiously.
"My brothers and I," he said, pointing to a truck with two other long blond haired boys. "We went up to the sand dunes, we're heading home and my little brother had to pee and couldn't wait 15 more minutes til we got home because he has the bladder and attention span of a three year old."
"Oh," I said. "Well thanks for the offer but I don't know you guys."
"You don't?" he asked. This time it was him who was curious.
"Are you being funny?" I asked. "I'm not from around here, how would I know you?"
"No reason," he said, shaking his head. "I just figured - never mind. It's not important. Let us give you a ride, at least to the bus station so you can catch another bus."
"I can't get another bus ticket," I sighed more to myself.
"Well, let us take you to a motel then you can call your family and have someone come get you maybe?" he said.
"No, really thank you I'll get there on my own," I said. Then looked down the road. "How far is it to this motel?"
"In town, about 20 miles," he said. "It's almost dark out, you'll never make it before nightfall."
I looked back down the road then back to him.
"I don't have anything to offer you guys," I said.
"I don't expect anything," he said. "We're heading that way any way. Hasn't anyone ever been nice to you before?"
I scoffed, "Yeah right. People don't just do nice things for free."
"Some do," he said, smiling. "Just come on."
"I have mace," I lied. "Just so you know."
He laughed, "Okay, I'll keep that in mind. My name is Taylor."
"Amelia," I said, cautiously.
"Nice to meet you, Amelia," he said, extending his hand.
I hesitated before shaking it quickly. His hands were soft and warm.
We went over to the truck where he introduced me to his brothers Isaac and Zac.
"She needs a ride to the motel so she can wait for her family to pick her up," Taylor explained. I didn't correct him. I didn't want to reveal anything about myself.
I scrunched myself as close to the window of the back seat as I could. Taylor sat in the back with me.
"So where are you from?" he asked after a minute. He was staring at me curiously.
"Nowhere," I said quickly.
"Oh," he said. "And where you headed?"
"I was going to Texas," I said.
"To see family?" he asked.
"You sure ask a lot of questions," I said.
"Just trying to make conversation," he shrugged. "Are you in trouble or something?"
"No," I snapped. "Are you?"
"No, but I'm not the one scrunched up back here acting like you're gonna pounce on me any second," he said.
"Look, I appreciate the ride," I said. "But I don't wanna talk about me."
"Fair enough," he said and stared out the window.
We rode the rest of the way in silence. When we got to the motel he climbed out and helped me out.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked softly.
I nodded, "I'm fine. Better than fine now. Thank you again for the ride. I'll pay you back, someday."
"Well, then you'll need this," he smiled and slipped me a piece of paper. It had his phone number written on it. "If you need anything call me."
"Thank you," I said, trying to hand it back to him. "But i really won't be needing this."
He shrugged, "Then don't call. It's fine but take it just in case."
"Okay," I said. "Thank you again."
I turned and walked toward the office. I glanced back and saw the truck was waiting for me to go inside before it drove off. I looked down at his number again and shoved it in the side pocket of my backpack. I couldn't bring myself to throw it away.
Surprisingly I was able to get a room without any hassle. I had just enough money for two nights while still being able to get food. I didn't know what I was going to do after that.
It was weird to sleep in a bed without someone crawling into it in the middle of the night. I couldn't sleep, I kept thinking he was going to find me at any minute and drag me home and punish me.
I pulled out Taylor's number and stared at it. I learned from the phone book it was a local number. I smiled thinking of his smile. I know I didn't know him but something about him seemed sincere. I finally fell asleep still clutching his number in my hand.