Runaway

Dad,

Got lots to tell you in a very short time, we’re on the run you see. I don’t know what we’re running from but I feel like I’m trapped in an action film and they’ve forgotten to give me a script and I’m just running around without knowing the plot. I hope mum will explain it to me when she gets back. Becky isn’t with us, I think she’ll come later.

We’re now in a hotel, it’s called the something Inn, I didn’t quite catch the name because mum sent me straight to the room so she could pay at the reception. It all went so fast and I don’t really know what to think. I was in my room drawing the Chrysler building from the architect book you gave me. Well actually I was tracing it but Mrs. Beckers said that if you do a lot of tracing you can improve as long as you eventually stop and start drawing without having the image underneath the paper. I will start drawing properly later on in my drawing career but for now I’ll stick with tracing, maybe for another year or maybe a little bit less. But anyway as I was busy tracing mum grabbed me by the arm and the pencil just flew out of my hand. She didn’t say sorry, she didn’t even look like she was sorry. I asked her to please pick up my pencil, I made sure I sounded polite even through I was annoyed but she just ignored me and started putting my clothes in her bag, the scruffy bag she always takes to the gym. I asked her where she was going and why she wanted my clothes but she still ignored me. It was like I wasn’t in the room, like she muted me the way Becky does to the TV when she wants to read her book when there's a boring person on the X-factor.

It was very strange because suddenly mum burst out of my room as quickly as she had entered it. But I followed her. She told me to stop following her and get in the car. I asked her why and she shouted JUST DON’T ASK ANY QUESTIONS. See I use capitals so you can imagine the sound of her voice, it wasn’t pleasant at all.

I sat in the car without making too much fuss about it but I think I deserved to make a fuss because it was so unexpected and I don’t like being left in the dark. I suddenly remembered my sketch book but as I started to get out of the car she ran out of the house and slammed my car door shut. I asked her if I could quickly get it but before I finished my sentence she told me to stop talking. She said she was really sorry, really really sorry but we have to go quickly.

She hit the foot pedal so hard that we shot backwards it was painful and I hit my head against the chair. I quickly clicked my seatbelt. I was really grateful for my seatbelt I know I usually don’t like to wear it, I tuck it behind my back when you aren’t looking but this time I held on to it for dear life. I was terrified and I’m not afraid to admit that. It was also raining quite a lot which I hadn’t noticed before because I was so confused about everything. And the rain got louder like pebbles were being catapulted onto the roof and mum was leaning forward trying to see through the rain and the wish washers kept going up and down and I kept hoping she would turn them off because they were only making it harder for her see and the sound was making me feel funny.

I was so scared we were going to crash. I dug my nails into the car seat but when my hands started to turn purple I decided to demand an explanation. I’m sorry, it may have been rude but I wanted to know where we were going and why. She couldn’t hear me because the rain pebbles were banging on the roof too loud. So I asked her again and again until I was shouting as loud as I could. But she didn’t respond, she just ignored me. I was getting really sick of her ignoring me, she must have been able to hear me, so I looked her straight into the eyes, I was going to say something pretty mean for a son to say to his own mother but she had these two fat tear drops sliding down her cheek and I just couldn’t do it.

We pulled over in the parking lot of this hotel. She wiped her tears on her sleeve. I wished Becky had been there. I was about to ask her where Beckey was and then she interrupted me and said:

“Some things are difficult and I don’t think you’ll understand just yet but we need to stay here tonight, I’m sorry if it’s confusing”

Just like that!

So now I’m sitting in the room, with these awful flower patterns all over the place. You would have hated it here, it’s not minimalistical at all not anything like our house and it’s very small. I think I can hear her walking down the corridor, I should probably stop writing because she doesn’t know that I write to you this often, I’m sure she wouldn’t approve.

I hope things are less confusing where you are.