The escape

As she drove, she started getting more and more scared. She gripped the steering wheel, and tried to tell herself not to panic. Though that was easier said than done. She didn't know what to do, so she just kept driving. She checked her mirror and saw the car still behind her. The only thing she knew for sure was that they were following her. She was scared to go home, being a single girl living alone. She didn't feel safer there. As she drove, she was grateful that the lights were all green. She would pray any time she got to a light that it would stay green. 'Please, please,' she would say to herself. She knew that she would at some point she would have to stop. She prayed that it wasn't who she thought that it was. So she just kept driving, being aware that she wasn't speeding. She didn't want to let on that she knew they were following her after all.

Then she came to a light. It was green, but changed to yellow. "Please don't, please don't," she said out loud. Then it changed to red, and she had to stop. There was no one around, the streets were quiet. She looked around hoping that she could find someone to help her. But there was no one to be seen. Then she saw the person get out of the car and come quickly to her car. She made sure that the doors were locked. She kept looking forward, almost frozen in place.

He knocked on her window and came down, so she could see his face. There he was. How had he found her. She had worked so hard to hide from him, to escape that life.

"Go away," she yelled.

"Talk to me. You think you can run away, and I won't find you," he said and banged on the window.

"Yes, leave me alone. I don't owe you anything," she yelled back.

Then the light turned green, and she quickly sped away. She drove as fast as she could, and managed to lose him. She got back to her apartment safely. But knew that she could no longer stay there. The building did have a lot of security, and her car was parked underground. But she knew him, and he would find his way in.

Then there were a knock on the door. She froze, unable to even move. How did he get in already? There was nowhere for her to go, nowhere for her to hide.

"Bethy, it's me," her neighbor Victor called her to, "I know you're in there, just let me in."

She knew that she could trust him, so she went and opened the door. She pulled him in quickly and locked the door right behind him.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked.

She didn't answer, she just went back to packing. He looked around realizing that something was wrong.

"What's going on?"

She answered without even looking up at him, "I have to leave. I'm sorry."

"You weren't even going to tell me?"

"You don't understand. He found me. I don't know how, but he found me. He followed me tonight, banged on my window. I was lucky to get away."

"Just stop for a second here," he said, making her stop and look at him, "I know that you are scared, but everything is going to be okay."

"You don't understand. He's going to kill me unless I get away from him."

"What are you going to do, keep running your whole life?"

"Yes, at least I will have a life."

"What kind of life is that? Always running, always hiding."

She looked at him, and could see how much he wanted her to stay. So she said, "What would you like me to do?"

"Stay, we can fight him together."

"By doing what? There's no escaping him."

"We will figure something out. At least here you have me, you aren't alone, and I won't let anything happen to you."

She couldn't say anything, so she just let him hug her. She slept in his arms that night, though she didn't really sleep. She more laid there, awake, afraid to close her eyes. When she ran from him, she knew she shouldn't have gotten into a relationship with him. The last thing she wanted to do was to put his life in danger at all. She just couldn't help but to fall for him. She sat in front of the window, and watched the sun rise. She usually did that outside, but she was too afraid. What was she going to do? Victor acted like it would be so easy to escape him, but he didn't understand what he was really like. Victor woke up and sat across from her.

"I know you are trying to be hopeful, trying to be positive. I know that you think that everything will be okay," she said to him, "But it's just not that easy. You don't understand what he's like. He won't stop until he kills me."

"So you're going to just keep running your whole life? Going from place to place, never stopping anywhere? What kind of a life is that?"

"At least it is a life," she said trying not to cry.

"Just let me try, please," he begged her.

"Try what?"

"Let's go to the cops."

"No!" she yelled. She got up and started to the kitchen.

He followed her, and said, "Just listen to me. I know that you have said no before. But I have a friend who is a cop. I know that he can help. He's a good guy, he's going to believe you. We have to at least try."

She looked at him, and saw the pleading in his eyes. She had never been more afraid in her life. The last thing she wanted was for something to happen to anyone else.

"Fine, I'll go talk to him one time. But if I don't think that things will be okay, then I have to run. I don't have any other choice," I said to him reluctantly.

He smiled and kissed her, knowing that there were no point in any more words. We ate breakfast, and had to accepted the fact that would be the last time we ate together. As the drove to the station, she was on high alert. She watched every car that she saw, knowing he was there somewhere close. As they walked into the station, Victor held her hand. He seemed so sure that everything would be okay, and she was terrified. They went into a witness room with his friend. She told his story as he listened closely.

When she was done, he at first just stond there. Then he said, "So you want to press charges?"

"I don't know. He's going to get off. He has alot of money, and he has many people convinced that he is the greatest guy in the world."

"I understand that," he said, "But he doesn't live here. He can't trick us, he can't trick me. You need to let me help you, but only if you make a statement and let me."

"Fine."

"Great, I'm going to get what we need. Victor, can you help me? We will be right back."

They left the room, leaving her alone there. She sat there and did feel safe for the first time in a long time. But she wasn't sure if this was a good idea. It would only make him angrier with her, she couldn't help but to think to herself. The cop came back in with a piece of paper, and she started to write everything down. She wasn't sure how long she was alone in there, or why Victor had left her alone for so long. But she was focusing on what she had to say.

When they were all done, the cop said, "Okay, leave this with me. I'm going to run it up the flag pole. Don't go anywhere, don't leave. I can only help you with you let me."

"I know, he has just done so much to me. You don't understand," she said, so scared.

"I do understand really. I have seen this so many times. You can trust me, I promise that everything will be okay."

They left, and started to drive. They drove a little ways before Victor pulled into a parking lot.

"What are you doing? Why are we stopping?" she said starting to panic.

"We're going to get something to eat," he said so confidently.

"No, we can't do that. Are you crazy? He'll find us, we can't act like nothing even happened," she tried to reason with him, tried to get through.

He smiled at her, and said, "I'm not going to hide, we are not going to hide. Not now, not ever. Everything will be okay. As long as you are with me you are safe, I won't let anything happen to you."

He kissed her with such confidence, and she couldn't help but to laugh at him. She let down her guard, and wasn't paying attention to what was happening around her. She got out of the car, and there he was. Before she could do anything he had pushed her against the car, and had his hands around her throat. She could feel her air supply being cut off as she tried to pull his hands off of her.

"I knew you were a whore," he was yelling at her, "Can't keep your legs closed. I'm going to kill you."

Victor then pulled him off her, and punched him in the face. He went to see if she was okay.

"So this is the punk that you replaced me with, really," he yelled.

"Stop, you need to go away," she yelled back at him.

"Don't you get it I will never leave you alone. You are mine. I won't stop ever," he yelled back at her.

He charged them again, and him and Victor started fighting. She wasn't sure what to do. There was no one around to help them. She just started pleading for them to stop. When that didn't work, she tried to pull them apart. He saw this as his opportunity. So he pushed her to the ground and started to hit her. Of course, this made Victor angry and pull him off her. Victor hit him so hard that he fell to the ground.

As Victor got her up, her ex yelled, "You think I'm scared of you. No one will stop me. You are mine, now and forever. You will never escape me. First, I'll kill your boyfriend right in front of you. Then I'll kill you, slowly. I'm going to make sure that it is slow and painful."

"That's what I was waiting for," Victor said with a smile.

She wasn't sure what was going on. Then suddenly cops surrounded them. And before she knew what was going on, her ex was being arrested.

"What's going on?" she asked Victor.

"When we were at the station, my friend and I came up with a plan. We knew that it wasn't going to be easy to get him. I knew that I could get him to say what he really was going to do, that he wanted to kill us. So he's going to be arrested for attempted murder or you and me along all the other charges. He's going to be going away for a very very long time."

She wasn't sure what to say, so she just started to cry, "Really?"

"It's over, everything is over," he said and hugged her.

She wasn't sure what to say. But she felt like for the first time in a very very long time that she could breath. She wasn't sure if it was really over, or maybe she just didn't believe it. But she knew that at least for a little while she could breath. She hadn't felt free in such a long time. Now she was free.

- T