The next morning the family was sitting around the table for their breakfast routine. The man sat at one end of the table, sipping coffee and eating a piece of toast, seemingly ignoring the rest of his family by blocking them out with a newspaper. Mikey had dressed casual as always, wearing only a blue shirt and matching jeans with his old but still durable running shoes. Annet, with her head bent over the side of the table to avoid looking at her husband, busied herself by putting on her shoes, glancing up to see her son grabbing his Backpack, a simple black bag with two straps.

"Think you two are going somewhere, do you?" said the man, a mocking yet authoritative tone in his voice, not even glancing up from the paper.

"Yes Adam, we are. Me and Mikey are going to the Library." said Annet.

"No. You are going to clean and Mikey is going to go to his room." said Adam.

"No. We have free will and I am taking him to the library for a school project." said Annet. Mikey watched the both of them cautiously but Annet held her ground and kept her voice steady and assertive.

"Didn't you hear me, woman?" said Adam as he started to stand up.

"Didn't you hear me?" said Annet mockingly, glaring at the man as he began to walk towards her, his plaid shirt open in the front to reveal an unkept mass of hair and muscle.

Mikey tensed and grabbed his fathers arm, attempting to slow his actions. Adam raised his hand, preparing to strike.

"Touch him and you will regret it" said Annet, raising her voice to a level that made even Mikey cringe.

A moment passed as a decision quickly registered on Adam's face. "Fine, but be back before dark." he said, glaring at them both as he moved to sit back down, making a show to snap his newspaper back to an upright position before blocking them both out yet again.

The two left the house quickly, walking up to a small brown car. Annet and her son Mikey got in and buckled their seat belts; without even looking back they drove into the direction of the local town courthouse.

"First things first, the divorce" said Annet as they walked up to a marble building that said 'Bear Lake County Court house' and below that was 'serving the state of Oregon since 1814'.

The two walked in and quickly went up a flight of stairs, an air of tension thinning with each step they took. Soon they found themselves sitting in a small cozy office. File cabinets lined the walls filled with various cases and framed diplomas along with personal pictures filled the space of the walls above them and on the empty shelves. Mikey looking around absentmindedly while his mother was filling out the necessary paperwork. A few minutes later the man behind the desk stood up along with Annet as she handed him back the stack of forms. Mikey stood up hesistantly.

"The paperwork will go through in two days. " the man informed Annet, smiling sympathetically at her.

"Thank you, your honor" said Annet, looking down at Mikey before wrapping her arm around her son.

"If there's any trouble we'll give you a call." he said.

"Cell phone, please." she said quickly as the man nodded knowingly. He had seen the glint of fear in her eyes.

Both mother and son gathered their belongings and said a quick good bye to the Judge before walking back down the steps and outside to the library right across the street. Annet looked at books with vague interest but nothing caught her eye. Her mind was focused as wasting as much time as possible before she'd have to inevitably return home with her son. Mikey found a guide on moving out properly and attaining job skills along with a novel that he thought both his mother and him could read, 'Awakening'. He checked out the two books while Annet lifted her head briefly from behind a low bookcase and froze. Adam was making his way furiously up the steps. Annet immediately ran to Mikey and shielded him as Adam burst through the double doors, rattling the glass and startling the librarian along with the other customers.

Adam ignored the Librarians interrogation and made his way to his family raising his hand to strike at both of them.

Annet flinched and closed her eyes preparing for the impact but none came. She reopened her eyes to see a police officer standing between her and her deranged husband, holding his arm inches from her face.

"Sir, you will have to come with me." said the officer.

"And why is that?" asked Adam sneeringly.

"Reports of Marital and Child abuse filed by neighbors and local school personnel. And from what I see here...I have the right to take you in without question." said the officer, giving him a disgusted look before he handcuffed Adam. He led the disgruntled man out to the squad car and pushed him inside.

As the squad car drove away with the lights flashing Annet smiled a serene smile and turned to face a bemused and shaken Mikey. "My brother also reported it a few times" she said before hugging him. "They may only have him for a couple of days but it is a couple of days of just us."

Mikey relaxed into his mothers embrace and lead her back out and on the way to their now empty house. Her words were swimming in his head. They only had a few days to get this right. This was their chance of escape and Mikey would make the most of it.