Page 9 of Escape

“They’re not always bad,” she insisted.

God, I hoped so. I didn’t want to think about her enduring every day what I’d witnessed in her dad’s car.

For the next little while, Josie and I focused our efforts on finishing our food. When she was done, I asked, “Do you want dessert?”

“Oh, no. I shouldn’t.”

“I think we should. Come on, what do you like?” I pressed.

She licked her lips. “Well, I saw they had that coconut cream pie. That sounded delicious.”

“Ew, gross. You like coconut?”

“You don’t?”

I shook my head. “I can’t stand it.”

“Oh. Okay, well, I don’t need the pie.”

Laughing, I insisted, “Just because I hate coconut doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. I’ll have the chocolate mousse pie instead.”

The next thing I knew, I was watching Josie as she ate her coconut pie. She savored every bite, and all I could do was feel something squeeze painfully in the center of my chest. How could anyone, namely her father, ever put their hands on her? How could someone who was supposed to love and protect her ever want to hurt her?

Once we finished eating dessert, I said, “I think we need to go have some fun.”

“What?”

“There’s an arcade at the opposite end of the shopping plaza, and I think we should go play some games for a bit,” I told her.

“Huck, this is a lot,” she noted. “I don’t have any money, and you’ve already purchased this food.”

“I worked over the summer, and I saved a lot of money. I want to go have some fun with you, Josie.”

She held my stare for a long time, and I thought she was going to turn me down. But a moment later, she said, “Okay. We can go play.”

With that, we got up and left.

Maybe the day hadn’t gone exactly like I had planned—I certainly hadn’t indicated to Josie how I felt about her—but I couldn’t say I was disappointed by the time we wound up spending with one another.

And by the time I went home, I realized how grateful I was for my mom and made sure I hugged her a little tighter.

It was supposed to be a joyous occasion.

In so many ways, it was.

At this very moment, there wasn’t anything I would have rather been experiencing than exactly what I was.

Josie’s body was pressed tight to mine, her arms wrapped firmly around me. I was hugging her back just as tightly.

We’d just graduated.

After months of getting to know one another, working together on science projects, eating breakfast and lunch together, and occasionally doing something fun when we were supposed to be working on our projects, we had gotten here.

The moment felt bittersweet.

Because I’d been looking forward to this day from the moment I started my senior year. The only reason I’d wanted it to slow down was because I’d met Josie and didn’t want this time to end. Of course, I also realized that the sooner we graduated, the sooner she’d be on her way to getting out from under her father’s thumb. And I wanted that more than anything else. I wanted her to be free, to be safe.

“I can’t believe we’re already here,” she said.