Running in Circles
By: G. Price
The lock on the door clicked. Vivian knew she was in trouble. She paced the floor, ran her fingers through her hair, and breathed in nervous gasps. Things have come to a head, she realized. It was pretty sneaky of Jerry to keep us apart like he did, she muttered to herself. He kept us from talking to each other—God, what a mess we got ourselves into. We have just about enough money to get started somewhere, find a place to live, buy some decent clothes and get a legitimate job, but first, we have to get out of here.
She picked up the house phone and Mike answered, "Yeah, what d'ya want?""
"It's Vivian, Mike, I need to talk to Jerry."
"Well, he's pretty busy right now, Viv. Wait, let me ask him."
Vivian heard Mike whispering while his hand covered the mouthpiece.
"Yeah, okay, Vivian. He said to tell you he'll be up in a little while."
She continued to pace the floor, still not sure about how she was going to handle this problem. She thought about what to say, how to sweet-talk Jerry into telling her where Julie was. She waited and waited. It seemed like an eternity passed before she heard a knock on the door.
"Vivian, it's Jerry."
"It's okay, Jerry, come in."
Jerry unlocked the door and swaggered into the room. He showed all of his teeth in a big smile. His shirt had popped a button, and he was tucking his shirt tail in his trousers.
"Hi, sweetheart. I know you're worried about Julie. I didn't mean to be so rough on you. I've got things on my mind. Julie wasn't feeling well when she got up this afternoon, so I sent her to the hospital. After that unfortunate experience with that nut, I was worried about her. You know I take good care of my girls."
"Jerry, I know you do. You've always been good to me. I can't complain." Vivian tried to sound agreeable. She smiled, saying, "don't you think it might pick up her spirits if I go to see her? What hospital is she in?"
"I don't think so, babe. I called and the report is that she's sleeping soundly after getting a sedative and probably won't awaken until morning. Maybe tomorrow, what d'you say?"
Vivian noticed he ignored her question about which hospital Julie was in, but she said, "Okay, Jerry. I'll see you tomorrow. I think I'll get a good night's sleep myself, since I don't have a job tonight. Good night."
Jerry raised his eyebrows, looked at her thoughtfully and smiled, saying, "Goodnight." He walked out slowly, looked back again, and closed the door softly. She heard the lock click, again. In for the night, or, so it seemed.
Vivian could hear sounds of partying downstairs, loud laughter, singing, and raucous yelling. She knew the moment had come for her to make her move. Somehow she had to get out of this house. She packed a small suitcase with some of her clothing, cosmetics, and jewelry, and she gathered all the money she saved. She picked up her small book of poems and opened it. She found the book in some junk that had been tossed out by one of the neighbors in the trailer park, and reading the poems always calmed her and made her feel good. Someone had written on the flyleaf, to Jill, believe in yourself and your belief will make it so. She packed the book with her other things and closed the suitcase. Here I go again, Vivian thought, I have a little more money and a few more belongings, but I feel like I'm a little girl again, running away from home. A couple of hours later, the noises downstairs began to subside. Vivian knew the scene; it meant that the coke lines, the booze and whatever else they passed around had served its purpose. Euphoria took over their minds and they were tripping. I'll try to find Julie, she thought, when I get out. But she knew that she would be lucky to get away with her life, if she got out at all.
The window. She opened it, looked out from her second-floor bedroom, and saw a small ledge. Too narrow to climb out and lower myself, she thought. No, the only way is to walk out. She hunted around until she found a small tool that she used to pick the lock on the door, and after some struggling, managed to unlock it. She fastened her small suitcase, tied it as securely as she could, and dropped it out of the window. She dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt because it was cool outside. She opened the door cautiously, and peered down the staircase. Just as I thought, she said to herself, everyone's zonked out. Those that were still awake were in such a drugged state that their eyes weren't focusing and they wouldn't know what was going on around them. Vivian knew that Mike and Lucky were guarding the house, though, and she was going to have to think fast to get past them.
She slowly walked down the stairway and then moved toward the kitchen to get something to eat. She opened the refrigerator and took out a hard-boiled egg, tomato and ham slices. She made a sandwich. No one noticed her. She ate slowly, and walked to the back door. She didn't see anyone outside the door. She quietly turned the doorknob_it wasn't locked! She went to the front door and looked out. She saw Mike at the front gate. He was motioning to—yes, he was motioning to Lucky to come over to him. When Lucky started toward Mike, Vivian knew it was now or never. She rushed to the back door, opened it and quickly hurried to the side of the house to get her suitcase. She ran so fast that it felt like her feet had wings on them as she headed toward the back of the house. She climbed over the fence and sprinted for the woods that lay behind the homes next door. It was a dark night and she could barely see. She tripped over a tree trunk and fell down, hitting her shoulder and bumping her head hard against a rock, but she didn't feel the pain, the adrenalin had kicked in. The houses were set far apart and she crossed over to the next yard and continued running until she felt it was safe for her to go out to the street.The lights of the city seemed to beckon to her and they promised her safety in the crowd. Her heart was pounding and she was breathing in gasps. She knew that once she was in town she could find a way to leave this nightmare that she had never really wanted. Sorry, Julie, I don't know what else to do. I have to get away, she cried as tears streamed down her face. The suitcase suddenly felt very heavy, and she set it down so that it would roll on its wheels, and she walked until she found a cab. She collapsed in the backseat and asked the driver to take her to the nearest bus station. The ticket she bought would take her miles away to another place, another world, and safety. She headed for Nevada not knowing what awaited her there.
