Monster of a Mother, By Elise Stepka 8th Grade

My heart pounded in my chest as I ran faster and faster. I couldn’t go back, there was no doubt about that. He was getting closer.
My mind flashed back to the darkened New York City alley. I had heard someone scream and saw the figure fall. I ran over to see what happened. As I got closer I saw something lying on the ground. I looked down to see a woman writhing in pain. Blood was streaming from her head. “Tell Will.. Will Johnson…. I love him.” She whispered. Without another word, she closed her eyes, and stopped breathing. “Hello?” I asked cautiously. “Wake up!” I screamed. I was horrified. Who is she? Why did she jump off that building? I reached in my pocket for cell phone. MY fingers were milli-seconds away from dialing 9-1-1. “Oh my gosh!” a woman gasped. A man came running after her. I jumped into the dumpster so they wouldn’t see me. “Tony! Tony you can’t tell anyone!” she whispered. “It wasn’t my fault!” The man Tony replied in a low baritone voice, “I’m sure it wasn’t but what happened? What are we going to tell the police?” The woman walked closer to the dumpster and then turned around. “No! You don’t understand! It wasn’t my fault! I just meant to scare her! I didn’t mean to push her out the window!” As she walked closer, I saw her face. It wasn’t just any woman, it was my mother! Mom’s face was now streaming with tears. She walked over to the man, and kissed his cheek. How does she know him? She hasn’t had a boyfriend since dad left her 15 years ago. “I didn’t mean to kill her!” she whispered again. The world stopped. My own mother? The one who wouldn’t kill the spider in my room? The vegetarian? A murderer? I couldn’t take this anymore. As I tried to sneak out, the trash beneath me crumpled and rustled. “Who’s there?” asked the deep voice. That’s when I ran. My feet were a blur beneath me, exactly like m mind felt. All these years I thought I knew her and now she’s killed someone? I have to turn her in! Wait no I can’t, she’s my MOM! Some mom she is. I ran past a group of giggling girls wearing extremely short dresses. As I past them, I saw I only had two choices. Let the gigantic, strong, huge man catch me, or…. I sprinted past the security guard and made my way through the crowded dance floor. I had gotten away. Or so I thought.
I made it to the back door, my hand hovering over the doorknob. I felt a hand on my shoulder. There was Tony. He looked Italian, very handsome, and incredibly strong. He had me by the t-shirt and yanked me outside. He dropped me on the curb and stood over me. “Who are you?” he demanded. “I am Samantha Smith,” I replied trying to sound confident. “Jenny’s daughter?” he questioned, his face softened. “How do you know my mother?” I asked. “None of your business. I’ll do the questioning here,” He snapped. He grabbed me by the t-shirt yet again. “Ow! That hurts!” I whined. He ignored me. Hoping that someone would hear me. No ne did. He broke open the window to a moving van. The keys were in the ignition. What a coincidence. Somehow, he had found duck tape. He bound my hands together, behind my back. My feet were next. After he did so, he wrapped tape around my mouth. “Have a nice trip! We are going to be in here a while.” With that he shut the door and I heard it lock. I found a key hidden under the old couch, and tried it on the door. It opened. When we came to a stoplight, I jumped. I’ve been on the run, ever since.