I don’t know why I waited so long.

Actually, I never thought I would go through with it. For so long, I’ve wanted freedom from someone who never loved me. My girlfriend, Marie. She hurt me in ways I could never have imagined. She always tells me, “Leah, you stupid bitch, you never do anything right. You better be grateful that I put up with your shit! I'm the only one who can.” This isn’t right, I told myself.

Today, I finally broke free.

Yesterday was the worst day of all. It was my twenty-third birthday. I came home from work after getting cupcakes and flowers from my co-workers, and she accused me of betraying and cheating on her. Why would I do that? There’s only ever been her in my heart.

“Marie, you must be mistaken. These treats are just from my work friends. There’s nothing going on.” I put my stuff down on the counter and moved in to hug her.

She pushes me away and starts to tell me off again. “I can’t believe you’d throw me away like this, and I did so much for you. I think I would have been much better off if we hadn’t met. You’re such an ungrateful shrew.”

Marie made me cry, for the last time. So, that’s why I’m running away, going wherever I can just to find peace. Since I didn’t have that much, I took all of my stuff in my backpack, and my cat, and ran away.

I remember how, in the very beginning, Marie was very adorable and kind. She looked great too. Thin with fat in all the right places. A gorgeous smile. And, I can’t forget that waning moon tattoo she has over her hip bone. After three months though, she stopped being so nice. She would have very irrational mood swings, and would never apologize or feel bad for taking advantage of my character.

I took care of her constantly, even when I was exhausted. She said she loved me, and would remind me every so often. And even though it seemed genuine at the time, it’s hard to believe that now. Look where we’re at, what we’ve become. It’s been almost five years since we started dating, and I was thinking about proposing before today. But one could ask, “Why would you want to marry someone like her?” Well the answer is simple: I can’t, not anymore. People like her can’t change.

I stop running and sit down somewhere to soothe and feed my cat, Kota. He’s an all black two-year-old kitten. I know he must be starving. Marie never fed him and was mean to him when I was at work. The only reason I found that out was because I had one of the elderly neighbors, Tom Fayden, go over to feed him one day. He had called me on my work phone to tell me, and I was livid. I loved Kota, and didn’t want him to get hurt. Thinking of that day still makes my blood boil inside. But now that Kota is right in front of me, he’s much safer.

I sit down on the damp ground that’s covered in leaves and twigs and take the kitten out of the pet taxi. He cries with hunger and is trembling from the cold. I put him on my chest and covered his little body with my warm and fuzzy sweater, then quickly got his food, opened it and put it on the floor.

Still holding Kota, I snag a blanket from my backpack and lay it down next to the kitten food and proceed to gently put Kota down to have him eat.

I take out my phone and look at the battery: 70%. That’s surprising, considering how much I’ve used this thing today. I turn up the screen’s brightness and notice the many notifications from Marie: “Where did you go this time? Did you go to your so-called friend’s house again?”

“You know you need me. Don’t deny it.” I scroll through and they look mostly the same, except for a different one she’s never sent before. “I need you. Please don’t do this, I’m sorry, Leah.” At this point, I almost feel bad for leaving. But if I go back, the cycle will just start all over.

I look at the time: 8:24. Since I have so much time to kill, I should go find a place to lay low for a few days.

I look at Kota. He’s stopped eating and curled up into a ball on the blanket. I touch him, he’s still cold. I put the blanket over him and worry about whether he will be okay or not. I lay next to my kitten, not caring about if my clothes get wet. I kiss Kota’s head and place my hand on him.

I pick up my phone again and unlock it. Marie’s messages still show once in a while, but I never respond. I call my friend, Raena. “Hey,” I say. “Hi,” she replies, “Are you okay?” I don’t know what to say, even though there’s a lot on my mind. “No, actually I’m not. I need a favor.” Raena sighs. “What is it?”

“Can I stay at your place for a few days? Me and Kota aren’t safe right now.” “Sure thing. Also, sorry, I just haven’t been the same since the other week.” I am suddenly confused. “What are you talking about?” I ask.

“I’ll tell you when you get here.” Raena abruptly hangs up.

I wait ten minutes before leaving, so I can let the kitten rest, then put him back in the pet taxi while he’s still in the blanket. I gather the bins, and put the backpack on, then grab Kota’s taxi.

I start walking towards the road but it’s now very dark. Taking out my phone, I check the battery again: 54%. I turn on the flashlight and walk across the road.

There’s no cars, no noises, except for the sound of cicadas. I hear Kota start to wake up and cry for me. I see a nearby gas station and quickly walk towards it. As soon as I’m there, I set everything down again and tend to Kota. I gently take him out of the cage and hold him to me.

There’s a loud car that passes by, then it disappears down the road of dense fog. A woman comes out of the grocery store and I immediately recognize her with the sunflower tattoo on her neck. It’s Marie. I can’t see her face, thankfully, but I don’t care to. She gets in her car at the gas pump and drives off.

I look at Kota. He opens his green eyes and slowly moves up towards my face. I pet him, but no purrs come out. I go into the store.

It’s really warm in here, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I go to the cat food aisle and get more cans for Kota, since I know I’ll need them. Then I go to the milk section and get a gallon, before grabbing a bag of Oreos for myself. I go up to the register. “Hi.” I say to the cashier.

He looks at me with dead eyes. “Will that be all?” he says in a monotone voice. I read his name tag: Emmanuel. He scans my groceries. “$7.24.” I take out my wallet from my back pocket and hand him $10.

He hands me my bagged food. “Have a good night.” Emmanuel says. I walk out and check on Kota. He’s tired. I put him back in the cage and he immediately lays down again. My heart sinks.

Usually he wants to play at night, but tonight he isn’t budging. He barely ate today. Is he sick or something? Now that I think about it, maybe Marie could have done something to him yesterday. My poor kitty! I put my fingers into the cage and pet Kota. I don’t feel anything yet, but as soon as I touch his little foot, he suddenly meows in pain. I feel so bad that I start to tear up.

That evil whore! Marie, you will pay for this!

I take out my phone and call Marie. “Oh, now you want me?” she asks. “What did you do to my cat?!” I scream at her. “What? Is he hurt?” she laughs, “I didn’t think it would do something to him.” What the fuck? “Answer me!” I yell. “Okay, okay,” Marie sighs in defeat,

“I just didn’t want to hear him cry. So I put him in the closet. Then he cried even more, I had to shut him up somehow.”

Marie starts crying and begging me. “I’m sorry, Leah, please forgive me! I’ll pay for whatever he has to get done to make him better.” I hang up and start bawling. My cat is hurt! My Kota. I call out to him in his cage.

“Kota?” I say. I pet him and he quietly starts purring. The sound makes me happy, but I know he’s in pain.

It makes my heart sting to hear him cry. A car suddenly stops in front of me and a woman rolls down the window. “Excuse me. Are you okay?” she asks. I shake my head quickly. “My kitten is hurt. Please, can you help him?”

“I might be able to. I worked as a veterinarian a few years back. Do you need help, too?”

“Yes, thank you. I don’t want to stay out here all night, and I’m trying to get to my friend’s house.” I say. “Okay, that’s fine. My name is Danisha. Please, get in. I’ll help your cat and then give you a ride.”

I’m hesitant. In my heart, I know it’s not really safe, but my mind is saying to do it just to save Kota. “Alright.” I open Danisha’s backseat door, and put my bins and backpack in. Then grab Kota’s cage, get in the car, and put him on my lap.

The driver seems familiar, and upon sitting down I recognize him immediately. At least I know I’m safe now. “Oh! Hi, Tommy. It’s been a long time and I was wondering when next I’d see you out. How are you? And nice to meet you, Danisha, I’m Leah.”

She turns her head and smiles at me. “It’s a pleasure. What’s wrong with your little kitty?” she wonders. “My ex-girlfriend did something to his foot, and I feel really terrible right now, for him.” I force myself to swallow the lump in my throat.

“Aw, I’m sorry,” Danisha says, “We’ll get him some help. We’re almost home already, we don’t live far from that gas station. We go there all the time.”

Tommy had waited for us to finish talking before taking his turn. “I’m good, thank you, Leah. I hope you and Marie are doing well, yes?” he smiles. “Of course, we’re doing great.” I lied. “Never better.” The atmosphere turns quiet and I see a long driveway on another road, but we keep driving and go straight past it. Then, we stop and make a right turn, before driving more and pulling in front of a garage.

“We’re here.” Tommy says.