Going Nowhere At Full Speed

Chloe Seabrook sat on the park bench trying to catch her breath after running as fast as she could for two miles. She had to get away from her abusive father, Dirk. She had tried to take everything, knowing she only had another two months until she turned eighteen, and she was officially able to leave, but she couldn’t handle it anymore.

Tonight had been the last straw. Her father usually had just verbally abused her, telling her she was useless and that he wished she had never been born. But, tonight, he had gone too far when he had hit her.

He had come home, alcohol emanating from his breath, and Chloe tried to stay out of his way. But, she had been thirsty, and she thought she could make it to the kitchen and get a bottle of water without him noticing. She was completely wrong, though.

Dirk had seen her leave her room and walk towards the kitchen, and he had followed her. Chloe tried to get out of the kitchen when she saw that he was in there with her, yelling about what a complete waste of space she was. She had gotten two steps out of the kitchen when he grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her towards him.

He threw her to the ground, her head hitting the hard floor, and then he proceeded to kick and punch her until she was crying for him to stop. He gave her one last kick in the stomach, and he finally left her to lie.

Chloe had no idea where this had come from. Sure, her father had always been verbally abusive, but he had never laid a finger on her before. Not knowing what else to do, she ran to her room, grabbed her jacket and her purse, and ran out of the house.

Dirk had seen her trying to leave, and he ran after her. But, Chloe was too fast, and after running for a block, Dirk gave up and walked back to the house.

So, now Chloe sat on a park bench, trying to figure out what to do with the twenty dollars that was in her wallet. She grabbed her phone out of her purse and quickly scrolled down to the number she was looking for.

“Hello?” Chloe heard her brother, Brent, ask from the other side. Brent and Chloe had always been extremely close, and they continued to be so even when he moved to Chicago after being drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks. “Chloe?” he called when Chloe hadn’t spoken up.

“I’m here,” Chloe said quietly, tears straining her voice.

“Chloe, what’s wrong?” Brent asked, knowing that she was crying.

“Dirk,” she said simply. She had always refused to call him ‘dad,’ as both she and Brent agreed he was no longer the same father they had known after their mother had died in a car accident four years ago. After the accident, Dirk had turned into the abusive man they knew today.

“What’d he say this time?” Brent asked, knowing how hurtful his words were towards Chloe.

“The same things he always does,” Chloe told him. “But…”

“But what?” Brent asked when Chloe stopped.

“He hit me,” she said just above a whisper.

“He hit you?” Brent asked in outrage.

“Yeah,” Chloe choked out as more tears streamed down her face.

“What happened? Tell me everything,” Brent ordered, and Chloe recounted the entire night’s events. “Chloe, you’re not going back to that house,” Brent told her when she had finished.

“Where else am I going to go?” Chloe asked. “I have twenty dollars on me. That’s it.”

“Do you have your passport?” Brent questioned.

Chloe looked in her purse and saw that it was in there, even though she didn’t remember ever putting it in there. “Yeah, why?”

“You’re coming to Chicago with me,” Brent told her.

“Brent, did you not hear me? I have twenty dollars on me. That’s not going to buy me a plane ticket.”

“Let me take care of that. Just get a cab to take you to the airport. I’ll make sure there’s a ticket there for you to get to Chicago.”

“Brent, I can’t just up and leave,” Chloe told him. “I don’t have anything with me. I don’t have clothes or anything…”

“I can buy you clothes,” Brent cut her off.

“Brent, I don’t want to intrude in your life,” Chloe told him.

“You’re not going to intrude,” Brent told her. “You’re my little sister, and you’re in trouble. I’m not going to let you stay there with Dirk. You’re coming here to stay with me, and that’s final.”

“And what happens when Dirk finds out that I’m there? He’s not going to let me stay,” Chloe pointed out.

“We’ll figure that out when the time comes,” Brent replied. “In the meantime, get to the airport. I’ll pick you up in Chicago in a few hours.”

“Thank you, Brent,” Chloe said.

“No problem. I love you.”

“Love you, too,” Chloe said before hanging up the phone.

She stood up and took a look at the hometown where she had grown up. The hometown that held so many bad memories. The hometown that she wasn't going to miss at all.