It was a nice Saturday morning, I was out for my morning run. Summer is my favorite time of the year. It's when I can run , and run, and run. In the winter it gets really cold, too cold. I don't like to run in the cold, but running is my escape, so I do it anyway. I had just finished my run and walked onto our porch when I suddenly heard a loud crash, like a glass vase smashing against the wall, and then yelling. It was my mom's voice, it was full of anger, she was probably drunk again.

"You lied to me, when Ashlynn gets home I am taking her away and you will never see her again!" I heard my mom yell.

"You can't take her away from me, she is my daughter too. I raised her-!" my father started yelling, but he suddenly stopped and I wondered why.

The next thing I heard was loud stomping and the front door swung open. I was scared and I didn't know what to do. My father was right in front of me, staring at me.

"Ashlynn?" He started. "How long have you been there?"

"Dad....what's going on in there... where are you going?" I asked, it was all I asked, all I could ask. I already knew the answer though, he was leaving, everyone is always leaving.

"Ashlynn, it's all going to be okay." my dad started to comfort me, but my mom wasn't having it. She came out screaming her head off.

"Get away from my daughter!" was all I heard before a bunch of stuff was thrown out our front door. My mom came out, gripped my arm, and dragged me back inside.

Before I realized what she had been doing, the empty wine bottles confirmed what I already knew. She was really drunk. I was probably going to have a hard time with her for the next few weeks. Now that my dad is gone, I have no one else to go to, it is just me and her.

"Ashlynn, Ashlynn, come on, pack your stuff, we are going to move in with Grandma Linda. We have to be gone before Jared, I mean your father gets back." My mother was talking, but I could barely hear her.

Looking around the room, all I could see were a bunch of boxes stacked in the living room, out of all the boxes, there were only three small boxes with my name on them. She went and packed my stuff and she probably didn't even get everything that I needed.

"Go check your room for anything that I could've missed. We leave tonight and we aren't coming back." I looked at her, grabbed a small box off of the floor, and went to my room. As I walked into my bedroom, I realized that everything was different. The small desk lamp was now on the floor, shattered to pieces. My closet didn't have anything organized neatly how I liked it, and the snow globe my father had bought for me when I was little was now broken into small glass shards. She had torn it all apart and it felt like there was nothing left. It felt like I had nothing left.

"Ashlynn, Let's go! We have to leave," my mom was really yelling now. It has been like this ever since I could remember. It's my normal.

As I came downstairs into the living room, all the boxes had been packed into the small town of Campton Hills. I would be living in my grandmother's beautiful, huge house, and I should be happy about it, but I'm not.

"Let's go Ashlynn, we don't have all day, it's an hour drive there and I want to be there before my mother wakes up!"

"Ok, yeah, I'm coming." I walked out of the living room and saw her sitting on the porch, drinking some more wine. It's like her day job is to consume as much alcohol as is can on a daily basis. I'm only going to be a 7th grader this year and I'm more responsible than my 30 year old mother. "Mom, are we going or not?"

"Don't give me attitude young lady, you shouldn't disrespect me like that. I'm your mother and you should treat me like a mother should be treated."

I couldn't do anything besides roll my eyes, she was never nice towards grandma Linda. They always fight when we visit, so my mother started making excuses of why we can't visit. We haven't seen her in almost a year and a half now.

It took us about an hour to get to my grandmother's house. The car ride consisted of nothing but loud music and my mother having a fight with herself. Since I refused to get in the truck with her being drunk, I forced her to hire someone to drive us. She ended up hiring someone from the company she used to work at. She got fired because she kept getting drunk while she was supposed to be driving people around. It was a safety hazard, and she picked alcohol over her job.

When we reached the house, it looked bigger than I remembered. It was a three story building, with a lot of windows. and it was painted with an off white color. The yard was beautiful with a variety of colored flowers throughout it. It was more beautiful than I remember.

"Ashlynn!" my grandmother running towards me broke my thoughts. Before I could process her, she scooped me up in her arms and squeezed me tight. I really did miss he so much.

"Okay, Grandma Linda, I have to breathe." She was squeezing me so tight I literally thought is was going to suffocate me.

"Oh Ashlynn, I'm so sorry, I just missed you so much. You're mother is always up excuses and so I never get to see you anymore. you grew up so much," I could she her eyes starting to gloss over, she was about to cry.

"You also haven't seen me in a while mother, I am your daughter." my mother snarled behind me.

My grandmother and I looked at each other and then glanced at my mother. My grandmothers fae grew serious and she didn't look like she was about to cry anymore. I could tell there was going to be a fight sooner rather than later. I slowly got out of my grandmother's warmth, I instantly missed the feeling of being loved and missed.

"It's okay, grandmother, I wanted to go for a run anyway, It's been a long car ride," I tried to give her a smile, but it didn't work out as well as I hoped.

"Okay, well before you go you should go pick a room and we'll get all your stuff up there. How does that sound?" She suddenly got all cheery. I know it's just a mask, but I think since she thinks I'm still so young and innocent, she tries to hide these things from me. I just go along with it, but eventually my mom will get drunk l, find me, and complain about everything.

"Yeah, sure, thanks grandma." was all I could get out. I didn't want to be here when the fireworks went off. I had to go for a run.

I picked a bedroom on the third floor of to house. It was the farthest room I could find from my mother's room. She picked a room on the second floor, which, surprise. surprise, is right next to my grandmothers personal bar. I already knew coming here would be a bad idea, but if she was always drunk, she was gonna get us kicked out sooner, rather than later. I guess that is when I decided that I should only unpack the stuff that I absolutely need. I mean it is less stuff to pack in a hurry, when she gets us kicked out.

After I unpacked all of my clothes, I picked out a pair of black leggings, black tank top, a small running jacket, and my running shoes. I don't know how long I'd be running, but I knew I needed it. As soon as I started down the stairs, I heard my mother's voice getting louder. We've only been here for about an hour and my mother was being her drunk, obnoxious self. I couldn't stand being around her when she got like this.

"Would you stop yelling Jennifer, Ashlynn is going to hear you!?" I heard my grandmother trying to calm mom down.

"Ashlynn is my daughter, I'm the one who gets to say what she can and can't hear, you can't," my mother started swaying around, she looked like she was about to collapse at any moment. It wouldn't be the first time it happened and In know it certainly wouldn't be the last time I saw it.

"Jennifer," my grandmother sounded more demanding. She always tried to protect me from my mother, I always appreciated it. "You best remember that this is my house, and I will be respected here. I could kick you out anytime I want, so you better clean up your act before I do just that."

"You're hilarious mother, you wouldn't do that because for some odd reason you love Ashlynn, and you would never kick her out. If you kick me out, she goes with me and there is nothing you can do about it," my mother now wore a mocking grin. Hearing her say all of that, basically using me, it actually stung. She's said hurtful this before, but she always tried to make it seem normal. This time. saying it behind my back, it actually hurt. I need to run, now...

After hearing that I tried to sneak my way downstairs and out the door, but my mom spotted me out of the corner of her eye.

"Ashlynn, come over here and give your momma a hug," she slurred. I awkwardly walked over to her and gave her a quick hug. "Are you going for a run already, we just got here." I wanted to say 'You are already drunk and we just got here' but I thought against that. It would only make her mad, so instead I just shrugged.

What was I supposed to say? I glanced up at my grandmother hopping that she would say something and she did.

"Jennifer, we still need to talk, leave her be." was her response and I was grateful for it. Right after she said that my mother left me go and I hurried out if the front door while she was still focused on my grandmother. Once out the door I felt relief wash over me and I started down the sidewalk.