The screaming rocked the little trailer, much louder than usual tonight. Alex had been sitting on the floor watching the clock, waiting desperately for it to turn to midnight. Her bags were already packed, they had been for a week now. All she had to do was wait. Just a few more minutes, and she'd be eighteen. Just a few more minutes and she'd be free. Of course he had to ruin it.

Was there any creature in the world more callously cruel and worthless than a stepfather? Alex couldn't think of any, as he dragged her around the shitty little trailer by her hair. It wasn't the first time he'd done it. Sometimes she thought about cutting it all off, but she just couldn't bring herself to that point. Letting him take another piece of herself away. She would defy. She would fight. Claw, bite, scream. She would never make it easy on him.

Her mother stood by, sobbing uselessly, half hidden behind the doorframe. Just like always. She was just as worthless, all she could do was cry and hide. Never lifting a finger to help her own daughter, no matter what her bastard of a husband did.

The blood that dribbled down her chin tasted like victory. Alex wasn't sure if it was his or her's. Probably a mixture of both. She spat the chunk of his arm back at him, and laughed. The lamp shattered next to her head. She didn't look back. She didn't grab her bags. She ran out the door with nothing but the clothes on her back, and into the freedom of night.

As it turns out, freedom is cold. When the adrenaline faded, Alex found herself walking down the side of a road. She wasn't sure what road she was on. The wind was howling around her, snatching at her raven locks. It reminded her too much of home. The damp flurries of snow falling around her reminded her of just how far she'd come. "A few miles from home and freezing to death on the side of the road. Happy birthday to me."

(I want Alex to be paired up with an older woman. I'd prefer she be rescued rather than abused, but you can do whatever you want as long as I get to call you Mommy. Chats will be ignored. I'm not really looking for a ton of OOC chatting, just jump in where the prompt leaves off. I'm limitless except for scat. Everything else is on the table. Be brave and ask me about it. I'll write with anyone with a good prompt, but I prefer women)