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No doubt in search of another fucking drink.
Ryan stayed as he was, slumped on the floor, until it was over.
“Bitch,” Wayne muttered, the word slurred.
Ryan said nothing.
He waited until he heard Wayne clumsily making his way to the bathroom. As soon as the door shut, he sprang to his feet to bolt up the stairs. Every step hurt, his body burned, and he had to swallow back more blood, but he didn’t stop until he’d made it to Bonnie’s door.
He knocked softly. “Bonnie?”
There was a long pause before the door opened and her tiny face peeked out. “Ry? Are you okay?”
Ryan flinched when he saw how red Bonnie’s left cheek was. “Hey, it’s fine. Let’s go. Let’s get your bag packed, okay?”
Bonnie blinked. “What?”
“Come on.” Ryan urged her out of the way so he could come into her room and shut the door behind him. He found her pink backpack and stuffed it full of clothing and her favorite My Little Pony toys. “We’re leaving.”
“L-leaving?” Bonnie trembled. “But, but Ry! That’ll just make him mad!”
“We’re done, sweetie. We’re going, okay?”
“But you don’t have a car. You can’t take Daddy’s truck—” She cried and shook, pulling frantically on Ryan’s arm. “You’re gonna get in more trouble!”
“I have a car, I have money, and we’re fucking leaving,” Ryan said firmly as he headed to the window. “Remember how we used to climb down the tree? We’re gonna do that. And then we’re gonna run as fast as we can. We’re getting out of here.”
Bonnie’s eyes widened. “You said a bad word.”
“I know.” Ryan cringed. “Look, I’m probably gonna say a lot more if we don’t hurry up, okay? We need to go.”
Bonnie started to cry again. “What about my blankies? My, my pillow?”
Ryan struggled not to lose his temper. “Elizabeth Leigh, listen to me. We’re going somewhere else, okay? Somewhere better. Somewhere that piece of shit can’t fucking hurt us ever, ever again. And I will get you new blankets and pillows and anything you want. But we have to go now.”
Bonnie’s eyes filled with more tears, but she nodded slowly. “O-okay.”
Ryan hugged her tight and kissed her forehead. “Let’s go.”
Bonnie went out the window first, with Ryan right behind her with the backpack slung over his shoulder. As soon as he hit the ground, he scooped her up and ran toward the car as fast as he could. He thought he might throw up. Everything hurt. He was nauseated. He thought he heard the front door opening behind him but he refused to look back.
He ran and ran, stopping only to kick over the bricks where he’d hidden the keys. He unlocked the car and set Bonnie down, urging, “Get in, get in.”
Bonnie fumbled a little and he had to help her open the door.
“There we go. Get your seat belt on.” Ryan ran around to the driver’s side so he could get behind the wheel.
Gotta go, gotta go, go go.
Ryan cranked the car up and drove and fucking drove.
He couldn’t even fathom relaxing until they hit the highway, and he reached over to take Bonnie’s little hand. He was dizzy, exhausted, and every inch of him hurt…
But they were free.
He drove all day, stopping only for gas and bathroom breaks, until he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer. They made it into a neighboring state, and Ryan decided the budget hotel advertised at the next exit was good enough for tonight.
Bonnie was quiet, having only spoken up when she wanted to change the music on the radio or to request a snack. The redness in her little cheek had faded and she dozed on and off, cuddled with her backpack to keep her possessions close when Ryan parked in front of the hotel office.
