“Run.” she says with a gleam in her eye. The simple word lights up her face like the only star shining in a night sky.
She balances herself on the edge of the dock, casually skimming her toes on the still surface of the water making a few small tadpoles skimmer away, frightened by the unknown. Her hair is almost golden in the sunlight as it shines brilliantly across the lake from the never ending sunset that seemed even further away today than usual.

“To where?” I ask, but I can tell that she's already too far gone inside herself, inside her head imagining what it'd be like. Seeing it before her eyes like a movie screen instead of the scene before us.

“Anywhere.”

She pauses and looks around.

“Anywhere but here.”

She puts her feet carefully back onto stable dock and looks down at me.

I'm sitting cross legged looking at my reflection in the water and wondering what she really sees; how she really sees me and if she really thinks I'd have the courage to run away with her. And now I feel like one of those small tadpoles that swam quickly away from what seemed frightening, before actually giving it a chance.

“Would you?” she asks, sitting down next to me.

“Will you?”

I look around myself, at this place. This place I call home. And try to imagine it without me. It's easy. But when I try to imagine leaving it, I can't. I can't think of my mother, calling the police and making signs for me like a lost puppy to put around in hopes of finding me. I can't think of how my dreams, my dreams other than Nicole, would be put on hold and possibly put to rest forever if I left and didn't finish high school.

I love her, but I love my life too.

But isn't she my life now?



“Three more months” I say. “Three more months and were out. Were graduated and we can go whereever. Do whatever. Be whoever. Just give it three months.”

“I can't wait that long.” she says, putting her head in her hands.

“Please,” I beg “I know it's hard. But you've gotta trust me. Three months.”

“But my dad.” she says.

“I know, I know about your dad. But please.”

She looks up at me, and as I see her eyes fill with tears I want to tell her to go get her things right now, to pack up everything she owns tonight.

But I can't.

“How can we be together, when my dad barely even lets me out of the house? How can we be together when we both have school, work, friends, everything? I'll I want to do is be with you, but it seems like I can't even do that anymore.”

“It'll work.” I say, pulling her into my arms. “Trust me. These next few months will go faster than you think. And then we'll be free.”

“Free.” she says, trying out the word. The gleam returns to her eyes.

I look down to see that the tiny tadpoles have returned, one by one, back to their home.