Run Away

Sitting in bed, listening. Mom and dad scream at each other. Like they do every night when they think we kids are sleeping. Silently I slip out of bed. I rummage around for an old pair of pants and a sweater, settling on black skinny pants and an over-sized black sweater. Reaching under my bed I retrieve an old black rucksack kept under there for exactly this purpose. I check the contents and everything is as it should be; over $100 I'd both saved from my last summer job and stolen from mom and dad, spare clothes, a cheap toothbrush and toothpaste set I didn't buy, my comb and enough food to last me a week. I'd need to be careful doing this, police always send eleven year old run-aways such as myself straight back to where we came from. Even if that place is hell. I shoulder the rucksack and carry my boots, letting my hair sway loose. I stop to look in on Sophie, she's fast asleep with her hair falling over her face like a golden waterfall. I descend the stairs and slip out the back door, stopping only to pull on my boots. Silently I begin to creep through the darkness down the side alley next to our house. Whispers of footsteps sound from behind me and I whirl around to find Sophie standing barefoot behind me. Her golden hair now falls in a braid at her side, her white nightgown almost touching the dirt beneath her feet and she stares at me through piercing blue eyes.

"You're leaving." She says in her high, clear voice. No question asked, just a simple statement made.

"I can't stay here anymore." she blinks as she takes in my words, as if her six year old brain holds all the knowledge of the world.

"Will you come back?" She doesn't bother to ask why I'm leaving in the first place. We both know our parents hate me almost as much as they hate each other, or at least our father does. And though she shouldn't she knows what the old man does to mom and I at night while she's supposed to be asleep, no matter how much I try to hide the bruises. 
"I'll come back for you." I don't say the words but she knows that's a promise. And I never break a promise. I turn away before she can see the tears in my eyes and walk away faster and louder than I had before. When I reach the end of the alley-way I turn back to find she'd left just as quietly as she had come. "I love you Sophie, stay safe." I whisper, though this time I'm talking to air.