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“What are you doing, baby girl?”  Michelle put her hand on her young daughter’s shoulder.  Kara was sitting in a chair next to the living room window, staring at the blur of cars whipping by on the highway below.  Her nose was pressed against the cold glass.

“I’m looking for daddy’s car.”  Kara answered without turning her head, never moving her eyes from the road.

Michelle sighed deeply and went to the sofa, picking up a random magazine from the coffee table and starting to flip through it angrily.  “He was supposed to be here hours ago, honey.  He’s not coming.  As usual.”

Kara didn’t respond, just pressed her forehead against the window more firmly so her mother didn’t see her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

“Don’t you have a great life?” Michelle continued.  “A great apartment, gorgeous clothes, the best schools…we did all of this WITHOUT him.  We don’t need him.”

Kara just shrugged, refusing to face her mother.

“Suit yourself.”  Michelle stormed from the living room, slamming her bedroom door behind her.

Kara ignored her mother and the cramp starting in her neck, staring at the road through the blur of her tears.    A robin’s egg blue SUV, just like the one her daddy drove, was coming down the highway toward their building.  She closed her eyes, not wanting to watch it pass her by.

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Stowaway

Gaining passage on the ship hadn’t been easy.   Pirates were notorious for not allowing  women on board.  They were bad luck.  A distraction.  Her mother had cried as she chopped off her hair, but she’d felt nothing.  She looked in the smudged mirror at her reflection and saw a willful young man with a face of stone.  She was ready.  And now she worked long hours, her once delicate hands rough and scarred, her back aching, her mind still reeling from the rough talk of some of her shipmates.  But she kept quiet, worked hard, her eyes on her goal.  No one suspected a thing.

It was night.  The men had finally all retired to bed.  She walked across the deck of the ship to the captain’s quarters, looking up at an inky black sky brilliant with millions of stars before she quietly opened the door to gain entry.  He snored loudly as he slept.  The room stank of liquor and unwashed bodies.  Another reason not to allow women on board, she guessed.  She crept closer to the bed, pulling out a knife.  His eyes snapped open as she pressed the cold metal to his throat.  His eyes met hers and she saw understanding in them at last as he took his final breaths.  She had her father’s eyes.

She threw the knife overboard and returned to her quarters, waiting for the shouting to begin.

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On Second Thought…

“You’re almost here!”  Devon encouraged her friend as she reached the top of the mountain.  She’d climbed many peaks all over the world, this was nothing to her, but Allison hated the outdoors, and exercise in general.

“Wow, this is beautiful!”  Allison huffed as she joined Devon at the top.  The sun was high.  It was fall, the air was clear and dry.  They could see for miles.

Allison put her arm around Devon as they took in the glorious view.  “And thank you, Dev, for forgiving me.  All that stuff with Eric…”

Devon shrugged and cut her off.  “We weren’t meant to be anyway.”

Allison snorted.  “Truth.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Uhhh, just that Eric is so outgoing…and you’re…such a…well…studious, err…type.”

“Mmmm…”

“No offense.  I mean, you know I love you.  You’re my best friend since like, forever.  You’re just not the right kind of girl for a guy like Eric.”

“And you were more than happy to make sure he knew that.”

“Come on, Dev.  I thought that was behind you.”

“Oh, it is.”  Devon took off on the downward trail at top speed.  Allison screamed after her to wait, since she had the car keys, but Devon just ran faster, leaving Ali and a years-long dissatisfying friendship behind.

She’d never catch her.  She’d been a track star in college, in between her studies of course.

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Runaways

My first time submitting a story for Sunday Photo Fiction!  I love these writing challenges.  So much fun!

“Hitchhike?”  Amanda asked incredulously.

“Yep,” Taylor responded.  “I’ve done it tons of times.”

“I don’t believe you.”  Amanda and Taylor, best friends and neighbors since 2nd grade, were running away.   Amanda’s parents were unbelievably strict.  And Taylor’s mom’s brain was so fried she probably wouldn’t even notice she was gone for a few days.  Why stay?

“Okay, maybe not tons of times.  But I’ve done it.”

They arrived at the main road, the truck stop/gas station that faced their subdivision was well-lit and bustling despite the late hour.

“Come on, I’ll show you how easy it is.”

Amanda waited out front while Taylor went to the back parking lot to find a driver willing to take them to the next town.  She was back within minutes.

“I found a guy, but we need to leave now.”

“Tay…I don’t think this is a good idea.   What if…”

“Amanda, come onnnnnn.”

“It’s too dangerous.  Let’s just walk.”

“That’ll take hours.  Someone might see us!”

“No.”  Amanda took a step back.  Her decision was final.

A big rig drove past, blaring its horn.  “Fine, stay.  I’m getting out of here.”

“Taylor, no!!!”  Amanda grabbed Taylor’s arm, but she shook her off, causing her to fall in the gravel.  She stood to see Taylor blowing her a kiss from the open cab window.  Amanda ran after it as long as she could, screaming for Taylor, until it rounded a curve and disappeared.