Run Away Baby

“I like camping. So I’m going camping. That’s what they’ll think. I do that sometimes.”

“Okay. Fine. I’ll try to relax.”

While he loaded his truck, she stayed inside, hiding. When Charlie came back in she was in the same spot.

“Where’s Randall again? I forgot what you told me,” Charlie asked.

“He’s golfing with his friend. He’ll be distracted for a few hours. By early afternoon, he’ll be looking for me. It’s going to go from zero to a million, in a short amount of time.”

“So I guess you’re saying we should get rolling.”

“I guess so.”

“Alright then. Let’s do it,” he said.

“Okay.” Abby stood up.

“Wait,” said Charlie.

“What is it?”

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this.”

“It’s too late. It’s already started,” said Abby. “And I want to leave him. I can’t believe I’m actually doing it. But I’m glad.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t go to Grove. Maybe we should run away someplace else. Together.”

“Let’s talk about it more when we’re driving. Or when we get to Grove,” she said.

Charlie nodded. “Okay.”

“I’m going to use your bathroom. I’m guessing this place we’re going to has no bathroom.”

“You’d be right.”

“I was afraid of that.” She went into Charlie’s bathroom and locked the door. She stared at herself in the mirror. Over her t-shirt she was wearing one of his sweatshirts. She’d put it on while she was sitting on his bed. A hooded sweatshirt, the better to hide beneath. It was cooler today than normal. She had on no makeup. She felt properly ugly, properly disposable. A person about to disappear off the face of the earth.

She couldn’t stop thinking of her family.

I’m sorry. I’m so sorry this is my life, she wanted to tell them.

“You okay in there?”

“Yeah.”

“We should go.”

She came out of the bathroom just as he was tucking his phone into his jeans pocket.

“Were you texting someone?” she asked

“It’s nothing.”

“Who’s it from?”

“No one. Just one of those spam texts where someone wants to give me a free pizza.”

“Oh. Think they’ll deliver to where we’re going?”