"Have you packed everything?" mom asked. "We need to get out of here before your dad will be back."
I could hardly believe what I was hearing, but the look in her eyes told me that she wasn't kidding. She wanted to leave this place and go somewhere where we wouldn't have to worry about being caught by my father. And I didn't want to argue with her, so I quickly started packing a few things in a bag. The only thing left on our living room table was my laptop, which I put into the computer bag.
As soon as I had finished, mom came over and gave me a big hug. Then she grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door.
"Let's go!" she said. "We should probably get going right now if we're gonna make it there before sundown."
"Where are we going?" I asked as we walked down the stairs.
"First we'll stop at your grandma's house," mom answered. "Then we'll see, maybe we can rent a cabin or something along the way. You know how expensive it is to stay overnight in any hotel around here."
She stopped and looked back at me again. I could tell that she had thought about that for some time. It must have been hard for her to come up with an idea like this. She just couldn't bring herself to run away from home without letting her parents know about it first. But now she was ready to do whatever necessary to escape.
"If your dad catches us, he's gonna kill us both," she continued. "So let's hope that we won't meet him until we reach our destination."
The two of us walked silently all the way to the front door. We were almost outside when mom turned back and gave me another quick kiss.
"I love you" she whispered.
"I love you too," I replied.
Mom opened the door and we stepped outside. There was a light rain falling. Mom made a face and put her hooded jacket over her head. I followed suit and zipped up my own jacket.
"We better hurry," mom said. "The sooner we get to your grandma's, the sooner we can figure out what we're gonna do next."
It took us a little while to find the car, but once we did, we got in and drove off. I sat quietly in the passenger seat, looking out of the window and wondering where we would end up.
"I'm sorry that I had to lie to you earlier," mom said. "But I really hope that you understand why I had to do it."
"Yeah" I sighed. "I guess I don't blame you. But I wish that you hadn't done anything like that. I mean... I feel used."
"You're not," she said quickly. "I've never felt more alive than when we're together, and that's the truth. I'd do anything to keep this feeling alive. The only problem is that we can't stay here anymore. Your dad might catch us at any moment, so we have to move far away from home. That's why I lied to you earlier - to protect you."
"And what about my father?" I asked. "He won't find out?"
"No," mom smiled. "There's no chance of that."
I was still confused. How could she just pretend to have forgotten about his existence? What kind of person could do something like this?
After about an hour drive, we arrived. Grandma's house was located in a small town called Trumansburg. It wasn't very large, but it offered enough attractions to keep a couple of tourists occupied for a day or two. One of them was a large lake, which was surrounded by a park. People often came here to spend their family vacations. In fact, it was always full of kids and families. Mom parked the car in front of the house and we went inside.
Grandma was suprised to see us, but she didn't show it. After a short hug and a few words she showed us to our bedroom. We decided against unpacking yet, because we needed to talk about what we were gonna do next. Mom sat down on the bed and held my hands in hers.
"Look, sweetheart," she began. "Our life is kinda screwed up at the moment, and we need to get away from here. This whole situation is making me crazy, and I don't know how much longer I can take it. I've been thinking about it for a long time, but I didn't have the courage to do anything about it. When we finally talked about it last night..."
"You wanted to run away together," I guessed.
"Yes," she nodded. "I think that running away may be the only solution for us. I can't bear the thought of living here, under the same roof with your dad. I know he has suspicions, and I don't want to be around to find out what he thinks. I'm scared that he's going to catch us one day. So, we have to leave as soon as possible, so that he doesn't know we're gone. Do you understand?"
"Yeah," I sighed. "I totally get it. And I think that you're right. We should go somewhere far away from here. But where?"
"Anywhere," mom answered. "Let's wait until we have a plan.
