Her Escape

There she laid, wide awake on her stomach, pillow over her ears, trying to drown out the sound of the wild party her parents were throwing.  She peaked her head out from behind her pillow to check the time.  The clock on her bedside table read one-twenty three.

“For Christ sake, it's a school night!” Sophie mumbled under her breath, before flipping her pillow over and burrowing her face in it, groaning. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

I got to get out of here! Sophie thought to herself, as she sat up, tossing the pillow aside.  She opened her closet and grabbed a dark purple hoodie.  She threw the hoodie on over her long platinum blond hair.  She then opened the top drawer on her dresser and pulled out some cash that was hidden under a pile of socks.  She stuffed the cash into her hoodie pocket as she headed towards the door.

She hesitantly placed her hand on the door knob.  She hated leaving her room while her parents were having one of their parties, but at the same time she needed the escape.  She sighed as she turned the knob slowly, pulling the door open and stepping out into the hall.  Maybe if I'm quiet enough, they wouldn't noticed.

As she got closer and closer to the living room, the stench of cigarette smoke and alcohol was so strong, it almost made her gag. That, as well as the couple vigorously making out in the hallway. She could feel butterflies as she approached the living room.  It was the same scene as always, yet she always got a sick feeling when she saw it.

People were shoved wall to wall into their tiny apartment. Couples were on the dance floor, drunkenly all over each other, mom on the couch, shooting needles up her veins with some friends, and there was always that one guy that had way too much to drink, puking out the window. It was their own personal rave, and she hated every bit of it.  She kept her head down, being cautious not to accidentally step on a discarded needle or an empty beer bottle as she made her way to the front door.

As she turned the knob, she felt a hand on her shoulder, sending shudder down her spine.

“Hey, baby girl, where are you going? The party's just staring,” a gruff voice whispered in her ear.

“I'm just going out dad,” she said in a small voice, turning to face the man she calls father. She couldn't bring herself to look into his brown eyes as he loomed over her.  He was a very tall, rugged man with shaggy blond hair, similar to that of his daughter's.

He started dancing uncomfortably close to her, so close that she could smell the alcohol on his breath. “Don't you want to stay here and dance with your old man?”

Sophie blushed, stepping back closer to the door. “I really need to pick up a couple of things.”

“Kay, kay,” he replied. “Just save a dance for me when you get back.”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Sophie mumbled, head hung down as she slipped through the door, into the cool night air.

Sophie slumped her shoulders as she stuffed her hands into her pockets, trying to put on a tough face.  As a female, especially a short one such as herself, it was dangerous for her to be out in the city late, so she always tried her best to appear unapproachable. She made sure her bangs were fully covering her sky blue eyes.  After all,  the eyes are a window to the soul and she didn't want anyone in.

Once she had her “tough girl” look down, she briskly walked down the stairs, keeping the same pace as she walked to the convenient store down the street. She hated walking through her neighborhood at night, but she hated being at home even more.  As Sophie opened the front door of the convenient store, she startled the cashier, who apparently dozed off.

“Huh? Who iz it?” the cashier, a young Hispanic man with short brown curls, mumbled as he was awaken.

“It's just me Kris,” Sophie replied, in her soft voice.

“Oh,” Kris yawned, stretching his arms.  “Here for the usual, Soph?”

“Uh huh,” Sophie responded, walking over to the slushie machine. She grabbed a big cup from the top of the stack next to the machine. She placed the cup underneath the nozzle for the blue raspberry and pulled the lever down, slowly watching the sugary icy goodness pour into her cup. Once the cup was full, she grabbed a lid and a straw.

“Just needed a pick me up,” Sophie said to Kris, lifting the cup up.

“Don't we all,” Kris replied, as she took a sip of the drink, then giggled.  Even though she was painfully shy, she felt like she could open up to Kris. Well, just a little.

Sophie grabbed a small pack of toilet paper on her way to the register, as proof to her father that she was picking up something they needed.

“That it?” he asked, as she placed the items on the counter.

“Yep,” she replied with a nod.

“That would be five seventy-two.”

Sophie pulled out a five and a one, and handed him the money. As he was opening the register, putting the bills in and grabbing her change, Sophie stopped him.

“No, you can keep the change.”

“'Kay,” he replied, placing the change inside the small dish with loose change. “Later,” he waved as Sophie headed out the door with her bag and slushie in hand. She gave a small wave back before stepping out into the night.

She started drinking her slushie on  her way to her favorite place to escape: the neighborhood park. Technically the park was closed after dark, but there was a hole in the fence just big enough for her to squeeze through. It wasn't much of a park. All it had was a couple of swings, a small jungle gym with a couple of slides and some monkey bars, and a few benches.  But none of that mattered to her. It was a safe place in the city where she could escape to at night and be alone with her thoughts.

As soon as Sophie crawled through the hole, she ran up to a big patch of grass and began taking off her red canvas shoes. She was in such a rush to leave home that she forgot to put on socks, not that she was going to keep them on anyways.

She let out a sigh of relief as she laid down in the grass, tossing the bag of toilet paper aside.  She dug her toes into the grass.  There was nothing she loved more than the feeling of the soft grass between her toes.  

Sophie gazed up at the night sky.  She was actually able to see the stars out tonight, which was a rarity for her.  Usually they were drowned out by lights or covered by smog from the factories. She reached her hand towards the sky, and closed it, as if to grab one of the stars. How she wished she could be one of those stars, freely shinning bright in the night sky, not having to deal with the wild parties, her drugged up mom, or her father sneaking into her room late at night.

Maybe she should do it! Maybe she should run away, and be free like the stars. But where would I go? She was only fourteen, so she was too young to get a steady job.  And the streets were dangerous late at night. Not that it stopped her from going out, but she couldn't imagine being out here every night.  Something was more likely to happen to her the longer she stayed out.  And what would she do for food? Being free like the stars isn't so easy when you're human.

Tears began rolling down Sophie's cheeks.  She wanted to get out of there so badly,  to leave home, find some place where people would take care of her. Find someone who would truly love her.  But the sad reality is it's impossible for her. At least right now. Maybe one day when she is older, maybe one day when she is stronger she could..

Without warning, sleep finally overtook her. There, in the grass she escaped to her thoughts of peace and freedom.

“Miss, miss,” Sophie faintly heard as she was being lightly shook awake.

“Huh?” she responded, groggily rubbing her eyes before looking up and noticing a police officer crouching over her. “Oh!” Busted.

“You know the park's closed after dark, right? And besides, you shouldn't be out this late. It's three-fifteen.” the officer stated.

Three-fifteen! I was asleep for that long?

“I'm sorry officer,” Sophie shyly apologized, getting up and grabbing her bag and what was left of her now melted slushie. “ Just needed to get some fresh air.

“I wouldn't consider this the safest place to get fresh air this late.”

You have no idea, Sophie thought to herself before nodding. “I know.”

“Would you like a lift home, kid? I would hate to make you walk back home so late.”

Sophie wanted to decline, but she didn't want to arouse any suspicion. She knew all she was doing was just laying in the grass, but he didn't know that.  This was Jersey after all.

“Okay.”

Sophie was quiet on the ride home, except for giving the officer directions.

“This is the place right here,” Sophie said, pointing to her apartment building as they approached it.  She took off her seat belt as the car stopped.

“Goodnight, kid. Stay safe. And out of trouble,” the officer said to her, as she opened the car door.

“Okay,” she replied, stepping out of the passengers seat.  “Goodnight to you too.”

Sophie let out a sigh as the officer pulled away and headed upstairs to the apartment. Next time she'd have to make sure she didn't fall asleep or stay out of sight.

When she opened the door to the apartment, she was surprised to see all the party guest have left. Most nights these parties would go on until the sun comes up.  She was relieved to find her father, sound asleep on the couch. At least he would leave her alone tonight. Those kind of nights see to be getting more and more rare. She blushed at the thought. Her mother was nowhere to be seen. Probably off with some other guy no doubt. Her parents weren't actually married and they had somewhat of an open relationship.  Sophie often wondered if the only reason they stayed together was because of her, their “love child”.

The apartment was a disaster though. It looked like a tornado hit through the living room at full speed. Beer bottles and cigarette buds were strewn all over the floor, furniture flipped over, and even a lamp was broken.  The party guest at least had the courtesy to pick up the needles that were on the ground earlier. She sighed.  Lord knows her parents weren't going to pick up this mess, they never do.  Looks like she'll have to skip school, again.  She was planning on faking sick anyways cause of her lack of sleep.

Sophie lightly tiptoed to her bedroom threw off her hoodie, threw down the bag of toilet paper, and tossed the melted slushie into her waist basket before collapsing on her bed. She buried herself under the covers, wrapping her arms around her pillow as she laid her head down and drifted off back to her fantasies.