The Text

Chapter 43

"They..They what?!? What the he** is going on, Hayden?!?" I shouted, turning towards him.

"Please, don't take this the wrong way, but I've...I've been taking pictures of your bruises and cuts, and occasionally some of your house. I've even taken a picture of your parents, I was able to at graduation. I was documenting the abuse so my Aunt and Uncle would have enough evidence to put them behind bars."

"What the he** Hayden?!? That is an invasion of my privacy!! You could have at least told me about it!!!" I exclaimed, standing up and storming away, pissed off with him.

"I'm sorry!! I thought you would just push me away and tell me to leave!! I wanted to help you, Chloe!! I couldn't stand seeing you so hurt! It broke my heart and I had to do something about it. So when Jennifer mentioned me documenting the abuse, I knew that would be your way out. I was only thinking of you!!" He argued, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I shoved it off and took a seat on the bed, trying to hold back my anger before I said something I would regret.

"You shouldn't have done that. You could have gotten yourself killed! We would have been better off just risking them coming for me. Now, they're going to know I ran away!!"

I let out a long, deep breath. I knew my happiness wouldn't last long. Why did he have to mess all of this up?

"No, Chloe. I don't think you understand. Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Kevin are going to arrest your parents. They have all of the information they need to charge them for child abuse and neglect. They're gonna be behind bars for a long, long time. You don't have to worry about them anymore."

This feels incredibly surreal. How everything is just falling in to place...It's scary and dream-like. This shouldn't be happening to me. I'm just an abused teenage girl, trying to find her way in this wicked world.

"But what if they don't get arrested? What if your Aunt is wrong and they don't have enough evidence to charge them? My parents will be beyond pissed and come after me, and you. Hayden, I know you were just trying to help but that was a stupid idea." I sighed, walking back to the couch.

"We have more than enough evidence to put them in prison for the rest of their miserable lives. Trust me on this. They're never going to lay another finger on you."

"I want to trust you more than anything, but I can't. It's not that I don't necessarily trust you, I just don't trust my parents. Therefore, I can't believe what you're saying. Even if they do go to prison, they can easily hire someone to come and kill us. We have no way to fully escape them, Hayden."

"Don't worry about that. Let Jennifer and Kevin figure all of that out. You're completely, 100 percent free. You don't need to be afraid anymore."

My body relaxed at his comforting words. His strong arms wrapped around me, bringing me onto his lap. I leaned into his chest, listening to his beautiful heart beat. The steadiness of it helped me gain control over the matter, no longer feeling the need to runaway from life. My parents are going to prison, finally getting what they've always deserved. It may make me sound cruel and demonic, but I hope they get beaten every day by fellow cellmates. I want them to feel every punch, slap, and kick that they've thrown at me. I know I've said I wished abuse on no one, but I hope they deal with what I went through every single day of my life. They deserve that, and every other abuser out there deserves to be put behind bars right along with them.

"She's going to call whenever they've made the arrest. It may take a few days, since they're in Florida."

"Just tell them to look in all of the bars. That's where they usually stay, getting drunk off their a**es."