Leaving
He was dressed and outside their house of horrors before he was fully awake. His mother placed his bag on his back and took his hand. It was still dark and they were both terrified, but she knew her 8-year-old deserved better.
The essentials were packed into a single luggage bag which she dragged to the bus stop. They got a one-way ticket to Madison, Alabama. John’s father always said he would never amount to much but over the years, he proved him wrong.