I’d imagined running away every night since I was old enough to dream. But in my dreams, I’d taken her and Nora with me. We were a family. The three of us against him. Forever. In the end, my angelic mother, who I’d placed on the highest of pedestals, proved she was no better than he was. She blew me a kiss as she backed out of the driveway. She wasn’t crying. She wasn’t frantic. She smiled. And then she was gone.
