Crushed and Broken

Chapter 4
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-"Hello?" Jonah's voice says on the other end?
-"Jonah! Thank god you picked up!" I say through tears.
-"Charlotte, what's going on?"
-"It's my mom. She's going crazy again, I don't know why, or what's going on, but something is wrong, and I'm scared. I'm scared Jonah!"
-"Oh jeez Char. Umm.... Hang on a sec." Jonah stops and talks to his mom in the background. "Charlotte, my mom says you can come over here for the night if you want. You can stay however long you need to."
-"Are you sure Jonah?"
-"Yeah, positive. We'll meet you at the candy store in 10 minutes. That way your mom doesn't know your with us and come find you."
-"You're the best Jonah!"
-"No problem. Just go pack your stuff and get out of the house. I'll see you soon!"
When Jonah hangs up, I instantly start packing. I throw clothes into my overnight back, and then slide the window open. I've only done this once before, but it worked then.

I step out onto the tree right next to my window. After sliding the window closed, I climb down, slowly. Once my feet are back on solid ground, I creep around the side of the house, and onto the street. From there, I run.

I get to the store where Jonah is going to meet me. I wait there, patiently. Finally I see Jonah's dark blue car pull around the corner. His mom parks, and I hop in the back seat. Within 30 seconds, we're gone.

-"Charlotte, what was going on at your house?"
-"My mom was home and she was going crazy again. I didnt want her to get angry, but I was scared she would be mad about something. So I called you, to get out of there."
-"Okay, rememeber you can always call us Charlotte. Always."
-"Thanks Mrs. Henderson."

My mom has an abusive past. She used to always hurt my older sister Katie. Katie never let her hurt me, but when she moved away to Georgia, I was my mom's new target. She was arrested once, and sent to rehab. The doctors there said she was fine after a year, so she came back home. She was normal for about 6 months. Then it started getting bad again. Everyday I live in the fear that she's going to hurt me. She hasn't yet, but I know it will happen. My dad doesn't do anything about her behavior; he acts as if nothing happens. It's horrible, and I can't wait to get out of that house. I just keep telling myself, only 3 more years with them. Three years, and then I'm free.

We sit in the car for a couple minutes in silence. Then, my phone rings. I look down at the screen, and it says one word. The one word I was hoping never came up on that screen, ever. My mom was calling me.