Chapter One

PROLOGUE

Mia stared out the window and wondered how had her life become so bad. Once upon a time she had been happy, her mum had doted on her and she had a stepfather who treated her like his own.

He was like a different person when her mum did not come back one day. It was like he switched to a nasty person. He suddenly hated Mia and blamed her for everything. Nights in the pub were a blessing but then a dread for Mia. Even if the house was immaculate he would still find a reason to shout and hit Mia. Like she were nothing.

Her stepfather and her uncle soon found ways to punish Mia and she was trapped. She could not leave, for fear of no money and nowhere to go. Her stepfather hid her car keys until he needed taking somewhere. She was to afraid of what beating would be next if she dared to breath the wrong way, let alone leaving the life she had grown to hate..

Chapter One

“Mia” That slurry voice shouted from the bottom of the stairs. Mia froze on the spot. She could not let him find her. She needed to hide. He was back far earlier than normal and it threw Mia into a state of panic.

What if they found out she had just taken the car keys and found money in the safe. She would be dead meat. However, it was a risk she was willing to take. Listening to them both talking last night had helped ensure Mia knew the pin of her stepfathers safe.

Grabbing her half packed suitcase she pulled open the balcony doors and hesitated for a moment looking at the drop, doubting if she were able to pull it off.

The voice was getting louder as he got closer up the stairs.

“I know you are in there, you filthy little slut. You better open that door and be ready for me.” The door handle rattled, but luckily for Mia it was bolted. Although with her uncles strong weight, she knew that it would only buy her a few more moments to bide her freedom.

Throwing down her belongings, she yelped as she lowered herself down from the makeshift bedcover rope she had made that morning. The second her feet touched the ground, she grabbed her suitcase, hurried to her car and threw it all in before starting the engine. Locking all the doors, she nervously took a glance back in the rear view mirror and screamed at the sight of her uncle standing behind her car. He was yelling and looked absolutely furious, but she slammed her foot on the accelerator and the car spluttered as it moved off the driveway.

Mia kept driving and driving until she was sure she was far away.

Pulling into an almost empty parking lot, she sat back in the seat and took a deep breath. She did not stop the tears flowing from her face. They were happy tears. She was finally free.

Free from the years of torture and abuse she had had to put up with since her mother left. They had all blamed Mia for her mothers disappearance but Mia knew her mum would never leave her without a reason. She loved and adored Mia from the moment she had been born.

Her stepfather did not care about Mia at all, he was more interested in drinking and taking drugs all the time. On the rare occasion that he was sober, he would make Mia clean and scrub the whole house from top to bottom. He even made her scrub his shoes and didn’t seem bothered when she told him how her uncle was abusing her. She had been labelled a liar, a dirty filthy hoare like her mother. Yet, if meals were not prepared and cleaned after to his approval, she was beaten and starved for days afterwards. Often, only being able to go out for groceries or to get her stepfather and uncle more beers.

Mia did not have any friends, nobody wanted to waste their time with someone like her. She had nobody to turn too, nobody would believe her anyway. That’s why she had had to leave. If she stayed any longer, who knows what would have happened to her. She could have ended up dead and nobody would have noticed or cared.

Mia stared back at her reflection in the rear view mirror. The nineteen year old girl, staring back at her looked beyond exhausted. Her long brown hair tied back into a pony tail, it was greasy and matted from not being able to bath as regularly as she had liked. Her wide brown eyes no longer twinkled with the happiness she once knew.

She pulled open her purse and counted the money she had stolen from her stepfathers safe. She did not feel any guilt for taking the money, it was hers after all. He just felt he had the right to take it for himself and not provide Mia with anything.

Mia decided that she would book herself into a cheap hotel for the night. She grabbed her phone and took out the SIM card. Breaking it in half she threw it out the window before going into the shop.

The shop was fairly quiet and Mia nervously walked around piling things into the basket as she did so. She knew she would need supplies as she had no intention of going back home ever again.

The further away she got, the better things would be for her. Her uncle and stepfather would be furious with her by now, but they would have to sort their own dinner out from now on.

Mia hated them with every ounce of her body. How could they treat a young girl that way, it was horrendous how she had spent night after night crying her heart out, wishing her mum would come back for her, wherever she was.

They should have looked after, protected and cared for her. Instead she was left to pick up the pieces every time they tore her down.

“Can I help you Miss?” An overweight middle aged woman appeared in front of Mia who realised that she had been staring at the chocolate aisle for longer than intended.

“No, I am ok, thanks.” Mia mumbled, picking up a handful of chocolate bars and throwing them into the basket before heading for the checkout.

It was almost six pm and she was starving and tired.

“Excuse me, Is there any hotels around here?” She asked the checkout assistant hastily. The checkout assistant glared at Mia through her thick glasses before shrugging her shoulders.

“One just ten minutes away. Wouldn’t waste your time though. Place is a wreck. Surprised it’s still open, if you ask me.” She scowled as she handed Mia her change. Mia smiled politely, picked up her bags and hurried back to her car. She clicked her seatbelt back on and opened the SIM card she had just bought. Sliding it into the new phone, she switched it on and waited for everything to load. She knew that getting rid of her old sim and phone would lessen the chances of her being found by the people she hoped would never cross her path again. Mia did not want to spend her life looking over her shoulder but she also did not want to end up dead at the hands of her stepfather and uncle.