Chapter One.

I picked up Mara and ran for my room just as the beer bottle flew over my head.
She cried into my shirt as I slammed the door shut and locked it.
Andy - I refuse to call him Dad - banged on the door, screaming horrible names at us as I pushed my desk in front of the door.
I put Mara down and she crawled onto the bunk bed.
Letting Andy in means more beatings.
Not for me, but for the trembling 5 year old girl on my bed.

He blames her hor Mom's death.
Mother died in child birth, and poor Mara looks exactly like her.
Her waist length hair looks odd on a 5 year old, but there it is.
Perfectly highlighted, dark brown with just a bit of red.
Cream colored skin, dark brown eyes..
She is so beautiful.
Or, she would be, if it weren't for the long, cruel scar across her face.
He took a knife to her.
She was just three.
She didn't know any better.
But she was clever.
Mara knew it was the beer that made Andy so angery.
She wrestled the beer out of his drunken hands, but she paid the price.
I was tired that night.
Protecting Mara is a full time job.
I learned that the hard way.

Andy's pounding slowls until it finally stops and I climb onto the bed with Mara.
I was blessed.
No touch of my mother in my face.
I catch a glimpse of myself in the cracked mirror.
Long black hair, pale white skin, green eyes the color of a emerald.
My peers call me emo, sometimes they beat me saying how since I'm goth I'll like the pain.
But mostly they fight with words.
But I am not the priority at the moment.
Mara has stopped crying and now she sits with her chin resting on her knees, sniffling a tiny bit but otherwise silent.
"Can we go to the speacial place, Ivy?" she begs.
I nod and get out a sheet.
I tuck it under the buckbeads above matress so we have tent.
The I plug in some Christmas lights and string them inside the tent.
The effect is calming.
Mara loves this, I watch her grin at the dazzling lights.
Here, we pretend we are safe.

Mara puts her head in my lap and I read Peter Pan to her.
No princess trash for her, Mara will only hear the classics.
I read to her softly until I hear a soft snore.
I genlty push her off my lap and wrap her in the covers.
Mara's trustworthy, but I can't risk telling her.
I pull my laptop out from under the pillow and turn it on.
It took a full year of saving, odd jobs, and borrowing.
But it's mine. I mute it and log into aim. I smile when I see he's online.

UntilForever - Hello ;]
TimelessIvy - Haii der =]
UntilForever - How are you holding up?
TimelessIvy - He threw a beer bottle at us =.=
UntilFovever - That guy needs to rot in heII.
TimelessIvy - Idk how long I can protect Mara. I barely made it in time today.
UntilForever - What if we ran away together? You & me & Mara.

My fingers hover over the keyboard. I'm stunned.

Eric and I met in a chatroom about 3 months ago.
When we figured out we lived in the same timezone, we made plans to meet the the same time each day.
As we grew to trust each other more, and when I told him about Andy I was surprised to find out he had a abusive fatheer as well.
Somewhere along the line, we became more the friends.
We grew to love each other, though he never asked me for s--.
Heck, he never asked me for a picture.
But now he wants to run away with me and Mara..?

UntilForever - What do you think?
TimelessIvy - idk,, I've never even seen a picture of you o.e
UntilForever - If it makes you feel better we could get on cam..
TimelessIvy - idk Eric..
UntilForever - We deserve better then this Ivy! It's only getting worse
TimelessIvy - Don't you think I know that?
UntilForever - I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset.
TimelessIvy - It's fine and.. I think your right. Maybe we should run for it.

TimelessIvy - Where would we go?
UntilForever - Well the first thing to do would be to get as far away from our homes as possible
TimelessIvy - Eric..
UntilForever - *sigh*, i dunno. But anywhere is better then here!
TimelessIvy - I'm not going to have Mara live off the streets.
UntilForever - Listen, theres a abandoned house about 2 miles away from my cousins place, we could stay there awhile. Get some jobs, save up until we have enough for a apartment
TimelessIvy - I'll think about it, ok?
UntilForever - Thats all I'm asking.
TimelessIvy - In the mean time.. can I take you up on your offer to get on cam?

UntilForever has invited you to go on cam.

I hit the accept button.

I run my fingers through my hair as I wait for the camera to load.
All the butterflies fade away when I see him.
We’re quiet for a moment, taking each other in.
He looks my age, with the same traits as me - pale skin, emerald green eyes, straight black hair.
He was two lip piercing, but no others I can see.
The lightings pretty bad, but I can see he’s laying down on a couch.
“Hi,” I smile.
“Hey, Ivy.” He beams.
“You look…wow..”
“Wow good or wow bad?” He asks.
“Wow good, very good..” I blush.
He smiles, “Thank you, you’re very beautiful.”
“Thanks,” I get out, embarrassed.
He clicks something on the screen and then puts the mouse away.
“How’s Mara?” he asks.
“She’s asleep,” I tell him.

I tense at the sound of a key clicking in to place.
I slam the laptop close and get infront of Mara just as Andy pushes past the desk and rips the sheet of our tent off.
"Get out my way you little sIut!" he screams at me and knocks me off the bed.
Mara shrieks as his hands curl around her throat.
"You killed my wife," he spits at her.
My eyes drat around the room franticly before settling on the cracked mirror.
I grab it and smash it on Andys arms.
He lets got of Mara and she struggles to get her breath back.

Andy arms are bleeding heavily, but he doesn't stop.
He picks me up by my collar and knocks me against the wall.
But I see him wincing.
He needs to take care off his arms.
Be lets go and I fall to the floor where he kicks me three times in the stomach.
Then he simply leaves.
Drops everything and leaves.
It's always like this.
It comes out of nowhere, and then just dissapears.
Mara carefully steps around the broken glass of the mirror.
I force myself to get up, to make sure she never sees what pain I got hrought to keep her 'safe'.
"Pack your things, Mara," I say, "We're leaving."