by Roxanna Kay

Created on: November 10, 2009

It was midnight when my blind date dropped me off at home. He promised to be back at one-thirty to pick me up at the corner and take me to Pasadena, Texas with him.

Quietly, I entered my house. The image of my dad sitting in the recliner horrified me. He should've been in bed already. How was I going to get the suitcase out of the hall closet, pack my things and sneak out?

In my room I folded all my clothes and had them ready to be thrown in the suitcase. I couldn't get my stuff out of the bathroom with dad up, so I left it. At ten after one I heard my dad's bedroom door close - what a relief. I had twenty minutes to silently pull the suitcase off the top shelf of the hall closet, pack it and get the screen off my bedroom window. At fourteen years old, I didn't consider simply walking out the front door - guess that would've been too easy.

The screen popped off after a little prying with a fork. I sat the suitcase and my pillow on the ground, and then crawled out the window. When my feet hit the ground it was like a small victory - I had made it outside. I replaced the screen then slithered down the side of the house, pressed as tightly against the brick as possible. One step away from the house and my shadow grew so huge it scared even me.

My heart began to race as I belly-crawled from the house to the other side of my dad's truck. There was maybe ten feet between my dad's truck and his bedroom window. His bathroom light flipped on - the light ripped through the darkness and for a moment I thought I was caught. I nearly threw-up as I slid around to the other side of the truck and hovered next to a tire. By this time my heart was near explosion and my mind began playing tricks on me. What if Joe didn't show up and I have to sneak back in the house? What if he does show up and I actually jump in his car and go to Pasadena with a stranger?

The sound of the Pontiac Firebird rounding the corner was the determining factor in my "what ifs". He actually showed. I actually jumped in his car and headed to Pasadena with a stranger.

I was fourteen and he was nineteen, not a good situation for him to be in. We thought the smart thing to do was to put me on a bus to Dallas, Texas. That way he wouldn't be taking a minor across the state line - I went on my own free will. This way maybe he wouldn't be arrested for kidnapping. I boarded the bus with everything I owned, a scared little girl determined not to allow the fear or the little girl in me surface. Joe promised to follow

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