The next morning, it took Taylor a while to remember what he was supposed to do that day: Run away. Taylor got up, quickly made his bed, and took a shower. While he was showering, he kept thinking, This might be the last time I shower here. Oh, well, I won't be missing much. and, I hope everything goes okay.

"Hey, kid. You almost done in there?" Taylor heard Harth ask.

"Yeah. I'll be out in a couple of minutes." And out of here in an hour, Taylor thought happily.

"Okay. Well, I probably won't see you before you leave, so. . . bye," Harth said, sounding like he knew that they weren't going to be seeing each other for a while.

Taylor turned off the water and said, "Yeah. . . Well, bye, Dad." Then Taylor said something he never expected to say: "I love, you Dad."

Taylor sensed his dad's surprise. "Oh. Well. I love you, too, Taylor." This was the first time Taylor ever remembered feeling connected to his dad.

Taylor grabbed his towel, stepped out of the shower, and started to get dressed. He had just pulled on his jeans when he realized that he might need some warmer clothes. It was mid-October, and winter was coming on fast. Taylor didn't want to spend more money than he had to; he had no idea how much was in his account. He pulled on his shirt, and walked into his room to replace light clothes with heavier ones.

Taylor knew his mom would still be asleep, so he didn't have to worry about hiding his big duffle bag. Taylor paused when he reached the back door; he was contemplating on whether or not he should write a note. Nah, she won't care. Or notice, for that matter. With that decision made, Taylor pulled on his navy blue hoodie and stepped outside.

Should I take her car, or my crappy Mustang? Taylor thought, looking from the brightly shining blue Sandura to the dull metallic gleam of his old red 'Stang, as they used to be called. I'll take mine, Taylor thought, moving towards the driver's door. It'll look less suspicious.

Ten minutes later, Taylor was in front of the bank's drive-through I.V.S. "Hello! Welcome to First Worlds Banks. How may I help you?" The young blonde on the other side of the I.V.S. said with fake friendliness.

"Yeah, my name is Taylor Wilson. I'd like to close my account," Taylor said.

"All right, Mr. Wilson, please verify the address for me."

"Six-oh-two, south Berry Drive."

"Okay," the blonde said, tapping on something on the screen of her I.V.S. A small box with a long line appeared on Taylor's. "Sign on that line, please."

Taylor signed, and a blue scanner bar went over the signature, ensuring that it wasn't forged. "Sorry, but my signature's changed a bit since kindergarten," Taylor said.

The blonde girl laughed. "It's fine, the computer recognizes you. How would you like your money distributed?"

"Um, however. Not too many hundreds, though," Taylor said. He doubted there would be enough for even two hundred dollar bills.

"Yeah, that could look suspicious."

"Wait, you mean there's actually enough for there to be, like, multiple hundreds?" Taylor asked in shock.

"Yes," the girl said suspiciously. "Mr. Wilson, do you even know how much is in your account?"

"No. How much?"

"One thousand, one hundred fifty-seven dollars and twenty-eight cents."

"You're kidding."

"No." The lady looked at a clock. "Mr, Wilson, aren't you supposed to be in school?"

Taylor looked at the clock, also. Fifteen minutes till school started. "No, school starts in fifteen minutes," Taylor said with a nervous grin.

"Okay. Here's your money. Have a nice day." A bunch of bills appeared in the small money box, along with twenty-eight cents in change. Taylor grabbed them, stuffed everything in his wallet, and sped off.

Okay, if I can get to a town in another state by at least nine tonight, that'll be good. I need to find a good, cheap motel, though. I don't want to be driving all over trying to find a decent place. I hope I don't get caught. If I do, I hope they leave me in jail. I couldn't stand to live with them for another two years.

I hope that Lini actually finds some small corner in her soul where she loves - or loved - me. Then maybe she'll feel remorse for everything. I wonder if Harth actually meant what he said. I wonder if I did. I don't know, but I've always thought that he liked me more than she did. She hated me. If abortions were still legal, I'd probably be dead! If abortions were still legal, we'd have a lot more taxes. If. . .

Taylor continued to think about his past and his future. Never in his life had he had this much time to think without interruptions. Never in his life had he even dared to think about his future. Never in his life had he done a lot of the things he was doing right then. Knowing that made Taylor feel nervous, excited, happy, and scared at the same time.

When Taylor's mom locked him in his room, Taylor would often think about his escape plans. He never fully believed he would be carrying them out. Taylor had often thought - fantasized - about just openly rebelling, but he never thought he would be able to. Now he that he had started to, he wondered if he could ever take it up a step.

© Sabrina Waddell 2009