Chapter Four: Running and Packing

Moving in?

            Jack took me to a hallway that I haven’t been in yet. He opened a door and started walking through it. I looked at where the door would be taking me thinking it was his room, and saw stairs...going down.... "Uh, Jack? Where does this go to? Your Room?" Jack looked back at me from the eighth step while I was frozen on the fifth. "No, my rooms upstairs, this leads to the basement." I grabbed Jacks hand and started to pull him back to the top of the stairs while also starting to hyperventilate.
"Jack, please don’t take me down there! Please!! Don’t!" Tears started to pour from my eyes and flowed down my cheeks like streams heading into a river.
“Why not?" I looked at him, pleading with my eyes.
"Just please Jack, don’t take me down there! I'm sorry! What ever I did I'm sorry I’ll never do it again, but please! Don't!"  Jack kneeled down in front of me on the steps.
"Caitlyn, what are you talking about?" I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face into his brown hair.
"Please Jack! Please don’t take me down there! Please!" Jack picked me up bridal style and carried me UP the stairs and I was able to calm down a bit.
 
            I was still crying when Jack opened another door and sat me on top of a made bed. He went over to his desk and grabbed some tissues for my issues and rolled his chair in front of his bed.
 "Here you go." I sniffled and let out a week "Thank you." Once I was calmed down I lowered my head. "I'm sorry about that. That was very childish of me. I'm sorry."
 "No. Its ok, but, do you mind telling me why you flipped out?" I tried to lift my head but it felt as if there was a weight that was too heavy for me to lift. As if there was a twenty pound brick in my head. I laid down and curled into a ball.
"I don’t like basements." Jack gave me a sympathetic look and scooted closer to the bed showing interest. So I decided to go into more detail.
"Every single time I'm in a basement, no matter what...my dad...he...he beats me...and I don’t like basements." Jack just thinking he had the answer decided to voice his opinion. "Then stay away from the basement at your house, if you stay away from it, you won’t get beaten." He sounded so sure of himself, as if he just solved the unsolvable. He was so proud of himself that he started to smile just a tad bit, but I HAD to burst his bubble, I couldn’t let him think it was that easy.
"No, Jack, my dad will beat me anywhere in the house. It’s just that if we have company, he beats me down there so nobody can hear my screams and the crashing. Or if I go in the basement looking for something he beats me...I don’t have good luck with basements that’s all." Any enthusiasm Jack had of solving my problem was gone. Vanished. His smile was no longer there and his pride was shot down. Jack got up from his chair and laid on the bed with me.
"I'm sorry Caitlyn." I shrugged my shoulders; there was really nothing I could say. I felt Jack move and pretty soon after that I felt his arms wrap around me giving me a hug. For the second time today, given the circumstances, I felt safe, and I wished that I could feel that safe forever.
 
 
            I fell asleep in Jacks arms pretty quick. That safe feeling never leaving my touch, except for when I woke up. When I woke up I looked around the room, I didn't even notice that we had gone up a second set of stairs and into Jacks room speaking of which Jack was nowhere in his room. I looked at his bedside table and the clock read ten in the morning. What?! I'm running late for school!? I ran down the stairs and started looking for where I put my clothes. I looked in the bathroom that I had changed in and they were no where to be seen. When I stepped into the hallway I smelt toast so I decided to investigate. When I walked into the kitchen I saw Jack and a woman about four inches shorter than he was with golden brown hair, which I suppose would make it blonde, with a colored blouse and a penciled skirt. The women turned around with a tub of butter in her hands walking to the fridge with a small smile on her face.
"Oh, well good morning!" I blinked a few times. Her voice was so soft and gentle, it amazed me. She had rosy red cheeks with slightly tanned skin and the thickest eye lashes I had ever seen.
 "Uh...good morning to you too." Jack turned around and started to walk in my general direction.
"Oh, mom, this is Caitlyn, the one who spent the night." Jacks mom walked over to me with her hand extended. I shook her hand and she said, "Caitlyn, Jack has told you so much about you. I'm Debbie." Debbie...what a pretty name...it matched her. I smiled and turned to Jack while claiming my hand again.
"Why didn’t you wake me? We're late for school!" Jack didn’t say anything; he just glanced at his mother and took a few steps away.
 "Well, uh...you see, for the rest of this week, we wont be going to school." I stared at him blankly.
"What do you mean we wont be going to school for the rest of this week? I have projects due!" Jack did an uncomfortable chuckle and took a few more steps back.
 "Uh mom, why don’t you tell her?" Debbie smiled and walked to the island in the kitchen.
"Well, I would feel much better about this if you stayed with us during the week; I will pick up you and Jacks work, while we figure out what to do about your father." My eyes went so wide I looked like a bug and I felt like I was about to scream. He told his mom about my dad beating me! How could he!? How could he betray me like this!? I knew I shouldn’t have trusted him with this! I knew it! "Now before you get all mad at Jack I want you to know that he did the right thing Caitlyn, and that you're going to be getting the help that you need." I was too pissed off to talk, my face went ten shades of red, my back tensed, I felt my butt pucker up, and I thought I was about to explode! I didn’t trust myself not to scream...or most importantly, the vocabulary that I was most likely to use in front of Jacks mother.
 
 
            I was so mad and couldn’t trust myself enough to say anything. I turned around marching my way out of the kitchen, and out of the house. The bright side to the clothes that I had slept in last night was that they could easily be mistaken for a gym outfit. I started to run my heart out, almost literally. This was the most exercise I had gotten since I broke my arm to even further extent in gym class, which was yesterday, and before then I didn’t even really work out that much anyway. I could feel my heart pumping the blood through my body and my lungs burning, trying to get the oxygen through to my blood. I felt the perspiration starting to release from my pores on my skin, and I realized that I could care less. I'd been running for fifteen minutes when Jack drove up beside me in his car. I couldn’t help but call him lazy in my mind. It's just too easy to go after a person in a car, if you want a challenge, you go on foot...but I don’t think Jack was looking for a physical challenge. Jack rolled down his window and stuck his head out of it.
"Caitlyn can we talk?" I looked at him the looked straight ahead of me again.
"No! We can’t talk!" My words came out in great big huffs, and short breathes, making it obvious that I was working hard and getting tired.
 "Why not?" I didn’t retaliate, and I didn’t hold back, I started to sprint with all my might, looking for an ally for me to run through that the car couldn’t. I finally spotted one and looked at Jack, giving him a smirk, in my eyes I glimmered, hoping Jack would see I had something up my sleeve.
"Because you’re a jack a*s! And if you say you had every right to do what you did, then I have every right to do this!" And I took a sharp left hand turn. I heard Jacks tires skid to a dead stop, and slide. Part of me wondered if I had caused an accident, but then I heard Jack running a good twenty yards behind me, screaming my name. That just gave me more motivation to keep on going, and I ran. I ran as fast as I could. Pretty soon, I didn’t feel tired, I didn’t feel the acid in my chest and I saw everything that would happen with my father and I in my mind....
 
 
            In my mind, I could see all of my future beatings, but the one that stuck out to me the most, would be the one he gave me because I didn’t come home, and that’s when I realized...I could never go home. If I went home now, it would be like committing suicide. I came to the end of the ally way and it was pouring rain. I stopped dead in my tracks; I had no idea what I was going to do now. I crossed the street and started to walk to my house to get my things. Most importantly my car, I'm sure I could live out of that for a while. I was at my door step sure that my dad was at work, but instead, he opened the door before I could even get the spare key out of its hiding place.
"Where have you been Caitlyn?" I took a quick look at him, then my broken wrist, and my surroundings. "I've been in the hospital daddy. On my way home I fell trying to get out of the storm and hit my head and broke my wrist. I didn’t have your number on me or anything, so they couldn’t call you." The look in his eyes softened and I knew that I was safe for now. This lying thing was getting easier, and easier.
"Well I'm glad to see that you’re ok. I'm going to work." I smiled and gave him a pat on the back and headed into the house.
"Glad to see I'm okay my butt!" I grabbed my duffle bag from under my bed and started packing everything that I wanted to take with me...and that could fit in the bag. I packed my clothes the picture of my mother, my make up, shoes, and my laptop. Not to mention my iPod and I-home. There is no way I could live without my music.
 
            I finally had everything I wanted together in my one little duffle bag along with a suit case. There was no way in hell I was going to leave behind anything that Grandma Lane had bought me. I took a good look around my house and considered even saying good bye to the basement… but considering my luck that was out of the question. I couldn’t stay in this house, and I needed to finish high school, and even though I am upset with Jack I need somewhere to stay until I can figure everything out thoroughly. I took one last look at my home before locking and shutting the door to walk towards Jacks.  The walk didn’t take that long and when I turned onto the street I realized that I had left my car here. I went over to my car and got inside and decided to drive the rest of the way to Jacks. No matter how short the distance was. I parked right beside their mail box then went up to Jacks door step and rung the door bell. I heard Jack yell “I’ll get it!” From inside the house so I pretty much figured Debbie knew me better than Jack did and I’ve known him longer. Smart women she is. Jack opened the door and not to my surprise he was surprised.
“Caitlyn?”
“Yeah… that’s my name.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Well I’m pretty sure your mom wanted me to stay here for the week until we figured things out. Unless I was imagining that.”
“No you weren’t imagining it. I’m just a little… surprised.”
“Well I guess that would explain your facial expression. Why are you surprised?” Oh how I enjoyed playing this role that I was beginning to take on. Playing with his head is going to be fun this week.
“I’m surprised because you were so pissed off at me this morning you ran away and I had to come after you.”
“Don’t thank me. I figured you could use the exercise, but using your car was cheating just so you know.”
Jack just stood their trying to figure me out. I was an open book, but the plot changed, and I liked it. I didn’t want him thinking that he had me figured out after only one day. Sure we’ve been friends for years but I’ve never really had to get this close to him like I do now. I wanted to challenge him, and so far its been fun and easy.
“So are you going to let me in or not?”
“Oh. Yeah.” Jack let me in and that’s when I went blank and stopped in my tracks.
“Is something wrong?” Jack asked behind me. I could only imagine the expression on his face.
“Yeah… uh… where do I put my stuff, because I’m pretty sure your mom won’t want us bunking.”
“Oh. Yeah.” I could hear Jack hold back a laugh and I was about to comment on that but he grabbed my bag and showed me the way to the room I would be staying in for the rest of the week, which was right across the hall from his room.

Author's Note

Okay I REALLY Need ideas for what to happen after this. Suggestions are nice!!!