Thanks to hells666angel, LoneWolf-234, princessbleachhead, and a special thank you to The 2nd Mrs de Winter for reviewing. I'd also like to give a shout-out to my friend The Ferrett. I know you're reading, even if you aren't reviewing.

Honestly, of all of the stories I have, I think this one has the greatest potential for submission to get published. Because of this I'd really like to ask for everyone's honest opinion of what they do and don't like in the story, what I could work on and improve, etc. It really is a great help when I go back to edit.

Forbidden

Leaving

David

How could I have been so stupid? I should have been more careful. All through Christmas dinner I feared that something would be said about it, about me and Jackson. I know Emily kept looking at me, her eyes practically begging me to calm down. Somehow, and I don’t know how, I made it through dinner and managed to keep myself relatively calm on the drive home.

As soon as the car is parked I get out and head inside, struggling to keep myself from running. There’s not much time; I can feel it like a hot fire poker twisting in my gut. If my parents have seen a lot of my art then they have to know, they’ve probably figured it out.

Once I reach my room I close my door and grab a bag, beginning to grab some of my clothes from my closet and throw them on my bed. After selecting enough that I am sure I can survive on I go to my bed and begin to fold the clothes before placing them in my bag. I need to prepare for Jackson and I to leave. It won’t be easy because slave masters don’t react well to runaways.

A runaway slave who is captured is punished severely and I can’t let that happen to Jackson; I won’t let it happen. We will go far away from here, where no one knows us and we will lay low until they stop looking. I will not be separated from Jackson.

I bend down and reach under my bed, pulling out my safe lock box. Quickly I spin the combination and open it, pulling out the money in it. I have been saving for years, in case I should ever have need of it. Then I toss the money in my bag and zip it closed.

Sighing I look around the room, seeing many pieces of my artwork sitting all around the edges of the room, some hanging up on the walls, and some set on the floor leaning against the wall. I will need to leave them here; there’s no way I can fit them in my luggage, especially as we will need to travel with as little as possible. Perhaps if I am lucky I can return here someday to collect them all.

A soft knock comes from my door. “Who is it?” I ask hesitantly.

“David, it’s me,” Emily’s soft voice replies.

I sigh in relief. “Come in, Em.”

The door opens and she walks inside, closing the door behind her before she turns to face me. “What is going on?” she asks. “You were acting so strangely at dinner tonight.” Her eyes flit around the room and land on my bag. “Are you going somewhere?”

“They know, Em,” I say. “I can’t stay here any more. They’ve seen my art. They have to have put the pieces together.”

She looks at me, her face somehow serene and troubled at the same time. “Maybe they don’t know. You could always tell them that he made an intriguing model for your art. Just because they’ve seen your art doesn’t mean that they’ve realized the relationship between you and Jackson. You don’t have to do this.”

I shake my head. “Even if they don’t know, it’s only a matter of time before they do. I’m not going to let anything happen to him. It’s best if we go now.”

“Think about this, please. You don’t have to do something this rash.”

“I’m not going to sit around and wait for it all to come out. It will be better for everyone if we go now.”

“But…who will I talk to when you go?” she asks. “You know as well as I do that I can’t really talk about stuff with Mom and Dad. And Charles…he’s always too busy with other errands and appointments.”

“Em…I’m sorry but I can’t stay here any longer. Jackson and I have to go. Please, just, please don’t say anything to anyone about this.” I pick up my bag and start to head for the door.

“David!” she cries. It is the sound of her voice that makes me stop and turn to look at her. Those pale green eyes that one could glance over easily, but once trapped in her gaze it is nearly impossible to break away. The color of them isn’t really noticeable unless one really looks. They draw you in, captivating you with their endlessness. At the current moment though, the pale green color is obscured by the tears that are welling up there.

“Emmy, please…I….” I pause and sigh, then drop my bag, moving over to her and pulling her into a hug.

“Don’t go,” she murmurs into my chest.

“I have to,” I say softly. “I will come back some day…I promise.”

After a few moments I pull away from her. She looks up at me. “You’ll keep in touch, right?”

This was part of what I had hoped to avoid. I didn’t want to have to say goodbye, to know that someone was watching me go. “I’ll try to, if it’s safe.” Then I turn to walk away again.

“David,” she calls. I look at her once more. “Be safe.”

“You too, Em.”

Then I pick up my bag and head out the door. I can hear my parents down in their bedroom, probably getting into their nightclothes and going to bed. Carefully I head down the stairs, looking around for any sign of the slaves. Emily knows I’m leaving but I can’t let anyone else see. They could be ordered to tell and would have no other option than to reveal the truth.

It seems to take ages to make it out of the house, and then I still have to make it across the yard to the slaves’ quarters. I sigh and look across the yard, the shadows from the trees crisscrossing over the yard in a pattern I would probably wish to draw if I had the time to. To avoid detection I need to follow the trails made by the slaves each day. Otherwise my footsteps would be visible in the new snow that covers the ground.

Letting out a deep breath, I take one more look to see if anyone else is around. Seeing no one I start across the yard, heading towards the small home that Jackson and Tyler live in.

Please let this work. If I’m incredibly lucky then Jackson will be alone and I can tell him the plan, get him packed, and get away from here before anyone notices. Perhaps they won’t even come searching. But to think that way is to be overly optimistic, thinking that my father won’t chase after a runaway slave.

I know things will be rocky and that we will both have to be extremely careful about where we stay and who we associate with but surely we can make it work. I glance in the window as I reach Jackson’s home, looking for his familiar silhouette. Seeing him in the common room area I tap on the glass, just light enough for him to hear. I watch as he turns and notices me, then I motion for him to open the door. He does and I walk in, looking around as I enter.

“Is Tyler here?” I ask softly.

He shakes his head. “No, he’s with Jenna.”

I sigh in relief. “Good. Go to your room and pack whatever you can. Do it quickly. We’re leaving.”

His eyes widen. “What? David…but, why?”

“Because I do not want to lose you. We’re going to go, run to where they can’t get us. Hurry, before it’s too late.”

He backs away from me and moves off to the side room, the one that is his bedroom. I follow him. “What should I take with me?”

“Anything, everything. I…I don’t know where we will go or what we’ll do. You’ll blend in better than I will.”

He stops what he is doing and moves over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “We will get through this,” he says. “Nothing is going to keep us apart.”

I kiss him briefly. “I know…now hurry. We need to leave as soon as we can.”

Pulling away from me he nods, then turns back to packing his things, throwing them into his small bag without really caring about folding them or putting them in any semblance of an order. A few minutes later he looks at me. “That’s all I’ll be able to fit in my bag.” He sighs. “I guess we should go.”

I nod and grab his bag. “Go and see if anyone is out there. We don’t want to be caught.”

For a moment he doesn’t move, but then he turns and walks through the common room and out to the front porch area. I feel like I should hold my breath while I wait for him to return. It’s too soon for them to have noticed that I’m gone, right? Surely it is; they’ll all be getting ready for bed now. We’re safe and together…for now at least and I will do everything I can to make sure that it stays that way.

He returns a minute later. “It’s clear.” Then he grabs his bag and mine. “We’ll move faster if I have the bags,” he points out.

I nod and together we leave his little home, both on constant watch for the other slaves, hoping that no one sees us. Once out of sight of the plantation I feel a little better about our chances. We run through the night, Jackson pushing me to keep going every time I want to stop, every time I feel that I’m too tired to continue on any longer.

As dawn approaches we stop at a small motel. I pay in cash for a room for just a few hours. We need to rest just enough so that we can keep going and then we need to move on. I fear that we are still within the area of my father’s reach. We will need to run much farther to find freedom.