via

but my heart was beating so loud I could hear it in my ears. I walked over to the walk-in closet. My legs felt weak, and the bruise on my thigh burned with every step. I reached up

urry," I whisp

metal zipper made a loud, scratching noise that made me freeze. I looked toward the locked do

bought for me. I did not take the jewelry he had given me to wear to his company dinners. I only grabbed my thick, oversized sweaters, my plain t-shirts, and my old denim jeans. I

y smartphone. The screen was dark. I picked i

Mom?" I asked

re my mother sitting at the kitchen table, and my father reading a book in his favorite chair. I wanted to hear my mother's voice. I wanted her to tell me

ok my head and set the phone

red. "I canno

account. He would find out. He had spent seven years slowly cutting me off from them, telling me they did not understand our lifestyle. If I dragged them into thi

s. As I pushed them into the side of the suitcase, my eyes caught a small r

llen. I wore an oversized, loose cardigan that made me look like I was tr

I whispered to

ered standing in a bright university hall, holding my degree in Business Administration. I graduated with honors. Back then, I was vibrant and quick-witted. I had

ieved him. But after we got married, the compliments stopped. First came the little comments about my meals. Then came the rules about our money. Then he told me a respect

l in the mirror. I wiped a stray tear fr

on the soft carpet, and reached my arm deep under the wooden frame. My fingers brushed agai

a stack of green

ems, I would save a few dollars here and there. If a grocery bill was forty-five dollars, I told him it was fifty. I hid the extra bills in my socks, in old book covers, and finally under the bed. It

ticket out,"

inside, hiding it beneath a pair of thick wool socks. I zipped the pocket

ash of light cut thro

ht before disappearing. I froze on the floor. My breath caught in my throat. I knew thos

against a wooden post. I looked at the digital clock on

ng to a frantic whisper. "He said he wa

e the front porch. The garage door opener began to rumble down below, a low

agged it across the floor, trying to make no sound, and shoved it back into the depths o

's voice echoed in my head: When I get ba

nd the blood on the floor were still down there. If he saw them, he would kno

urned it to the left, and it gave a loud pop as the deadbolt slid back into

but then I heard the heavy thud of the gar

ght my knuckles turned white. My whole body felt stiff with terror. I looked d

aped against metal with a sharp, clicking sound. The hea

e to move a single inch as the large front d