“Kelly, come back!” He yelled out into the rainy street. The girl turned around and looked at him, her mascara streaming down her face.

“Dad, I’m leaving. You never cared about me and you never will. Just leave me alone!” With that Kelly turned and ran into the darkness, leaving everything she had ever known behind her. As she walked down the road she pulled her jacket tighter around her body to ward off the cold. ‘I must not look back, I must not look back’ she thought to herself. ‘If I look back he will still be there at the door and I won’t go through with this… I have to go through with this.’ She hitched her backpack up and kept walking, determined to get to the bus stop before a full scale storm erupted around her.

When she got to the bus stop she was surprised to see that it wasn’t completely deserted like she had expected. Instead there was a man there, leaning up against the wall smoking. Kelly looked around; hoping to see the bus coming so she wouldn’t have to be alone with this stranger, but the street was empty. She cautiously made her way to the bus stop and sat down on the seat furthest from the man. He didn’t acknowledge her presence so she thought she would be okay. She looked at the timetable next to her and saw that the next bus wouldn’t come for 20 minutes. So Kelly settled into her seat and dug around in the bag she had brought for her phone. 5 Missed Calls. Kelly threw her phone back in her bag in disgust. ‘Can’t he take a hint? I am leaving and there is nothing he can do about it.’ She looked out into the rain and replayed all that had happened the night before.

She had been planning to go out to the pub with a few friends. ‘I’m going out’, she had called to her father who was, as usual, on the couch drinking. ‘Where are you going?’ He had asked, slurring his words slightly. ‘I told you yesterday and earlier today, I am going out with some friends.’ She had replied, slightly annoyed that he was too drunk to remember. ‘Oh… well, have fun.’ He had said distractedly, his attention now back to the TV in front of him. Kelly sighed and walked over to the door and opened it, ready for a good night. She was just about to close the door when her father yelled out ‘Don’t be too late or I’ll have to ground you.’ Kelly stopped and walked back in angrily. ‘Dad, how old do you think I am? I am 18, I can go out wherever I want for as long as I want. You can’t stop me just by grounding me!’ Her dad turned and looked at her with bloodshot eyes. ‘You aren’t 18 yet missy. In another three months you will be and then you can do whatever you want. But until then you are still my underage daughter.’ Kelly had tears in her eyes as she whispered ‘I turned 18 a week ago. You don’t even know your own daughter’s birthday.’ With that Kelly ran out the door, tears streaming from her eyes and a plan to leave as soon as she could.

As Kelly sat at the bus stop she remembered all the times he had let her down. The time he had forgotten to pick her up from dancing and she was left there for two hours; the time he had gone out to dinner with his girlfriend instead of taking you to your school concert; and the numerous times he had gone out and forgotten to buy you anything to cook for dinner. Your father had never been there for you and since your mother died it had just gotten worse. That is why you had to leave.

The man on the other side of the bus stop was still just standing there, smoking and Kelly was growing more and more confident that he wasn’t going to speak to her. It was a big surprise for her when he suddenly said “so what is a girl like you doing out so late?” Kelly looked up ate him in surprise.

“Catching a bus.” She replied simply. The man laughed quietly and continued smoking.

“So what are you doing, running away from home?” He asked

“No, I am leaving home. There is a difference. I am old enough to be out on my own.”

“Oh really, how old is that?”

“I turned 18 a week ago.” The man nodded and looked out into the rain.

“So where are you going to go, there aren’t many hotels in the city that let people in at midnight.”

“My uncle and aunt live there, they will take me in until I find a place to stay. The have been expecting me to leave since I turned 18.”

“Why would they be expecting you to leave?”

“My dad isn’t the best parent in the world. They knew he was and also knew that I wouldn’t have anyone else to go to. So a few weeks before I turned 18 they said to me that they would always welcome me into their homes if I needed it.” Kelly blinked in shock, why was she telling this stranger everything? She didn’t even know his name!

“I’m Shane, by the way.” He held his hand out to shake. Kelly looked at it for a moment.

“Kelly.” They shook hands then went back to staring out into the rain.

After a few minutes of sitting in silence the bus came around the corner. Kelly got up and Shane put out his cigarette and dropped it into a bin. They both got into the bus quickly to keep out of the rain. There wasn’t anyone else on the bus so they could sit wherever they wanted. Kelly went right to the back and sat down at the end of the long back seat. Shane sat three seats in front of her. Kelly felt uncomfortable that he was following her but didn’t say anything. She sat with her forehead pressed up against the window, watching the suburbs go by.

Kelly’s stop came around and she stood up, ready to go.

“Kelly, wait.” Shane stopped her. “Here is my number in case you need anything. I am here to help.” He smiled and gave her a card with a mobile number on it.

“Thanks.” Said Kelly, knowing that she would probably never call him. She got out of the bus and looked around. She started walking down the street towards her uncle and aunt’s house. Towards a fresh chance at life.