would hear her. A silly thought.
He wasn’t even in the house.
Feeling ridiculous, a nervous laugh bubbled in her throat. The only thing that kept her moving, kept her packing, was that there was still hope to get away. Her mother had called last night, the first time in three years. The conversation hadn’t been completely unpleasant, but the second she had read the unfamiliar number, she had known.
She’d lifted the phone slowly, her voice but a whisper. Chris had been asleep on the couch, passed out, drunk off his ass. She sneered, remembering disgustedly how he had smelled of sex and beer. He hadn’t had the time to yell at her, of course, or to even make a move at her.
He had been too busy slumping against the door, falling asleep right there. Jamie had tried to drag him to the bed, hands shaking and body repulsed by their close proximity. She was still shocked that she had even tried to make a move toward him; but seeing him lying there, handsome face clean of anger, had reminded her of the days when everything had been happy, pure.
Jamie snorted, pain pulsing through her shoulder as she reached up for the hangers. She winced, but pushed it aside. If she could just get out of the house before Chris came back, there would be no more pain, no more anything.
She recalled her mother’s phone call, the small feather of hope that had risen inside of her last night returning. Just thinking of the soft voice was enough to strengthen her. Jamie gave a muted curse as her shoulder throbbed even more, but carried the hangers to the bed.
“Come home, Jamie,” her mother had whispered. Jamie had frozen. Her heart had stopped, trying to believe if it really were her. The soft sob had been enough of a confirmation.
“Mother?” she’d asked, hand turning numb from how hard she was clutching the phone. Before, when Chris had let her have a cellphone, she had been able to call and text her mother, despite the fear that he would find out.
She never got a reply.
“He’s gone,” she remembered her mother saying into the line tremulously. “You can come back to me, he’s gone.” The utter joy that statement brought, despite the flash of old betrayal, had kindled a hope into Jamie’s heart that she hadn’t felt in forever.
The call ended shortly after that, her mother pleading with her to come home. She hadn’t mentioned Chris at all, something that Jamie was grateful for. She would have broken down right then. Taking a breath, Jamie used the sound of her mother’s voice to push her forward, to seal the zipper closed.
Jamie stared at the closet, eyes haunted. She had only grabbed the things that she had brought with her. There were no family heirlooms within the house—when her father had thrown her out, he hadn’t let her take anything except what she had bought with her own money.
Staring down at the packed suitcase, she felt frozen. Was she actually going to do this? She thought. After so long, she was actually going to leave Chris. Would he know to look for her with her mother? She highly doubted it—he had made sure that she cut all ties with her family, and he would probably think that she was too much of a coward to face her father again.
She could only agree with that. If her mother hadn’t called, hadn’t asked her to come back, she wouldn’t have. The shame of knowing that her parents had been right when she had been wrong was too much to bear, and even now it made her heart hurt.
At least her mother still wanted her.
Jamie grabbed the suitcase and started moving towards the door, looking around her. The entire room was spotless. The light from the glass windows glazing over the room, covering it in a shining brightness, would forever be imprinted in her mind. But not as something to remember, instead as something she would force herself to never be put through again. She made a quick trip to the bathroom to grab her shampoos and make-up.
Chris had left his keys on the counter. A rush of relief ran through her, and she sent a brief prayer to whoever decided to give her this luck. First her mother calling her, then Chris leaving the keys to his truck on the counter. Now, if only she could find a credit card…
She walked outside barefooted, into the brisk afternoon air.