Getting Out

The day had finally come!

Matt and Keith had enough of the crap that they put up with at home. Twins, just graduated from high school were now being told what university to go to and what to take. They hadn't even decided what they wanted to do with their lives.

Mom and Dad had bought them motorcycles, a promise made if they graduated with honors. They worked hard for that. Within a month of graduating, they got their motorcycle licence and the motorcycles were purchased. They were put in the boy's names; they paid the insurance and registration on them. Though nobody expected what would happen next.

Matt and Keith had slowly sold all of their electronics except for high end laptops, their newest phones, and iPads - all part of the graduating gifts from Mom and Dad. After wiping, then reinstalling the OS on their gaming systems, everything was sold.

Mom and Dad were so busy planning their son's lives that they didn't notice the items leaving the house. The money was put in a separate bank account and over a 2-month period they made a good bit of cash. Each of them brought in about $7K after everything was done. Even the cars they received for their 16^th birthday were sold and to be picked up the day the boys would leave.

It was the September long weekend; their parents went away. They had a little sister, 2 years younger, Suzanne though everyone called her Suze. They would leave her a note and a phone number where she could get a hold of them.

Suze saw the motorcycles outside and packed with one bag on each. On her way to her room, she checked the boy's bedrooms and growled at the sight of each one. When she reached her room, she saw them at her desk writing something. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, hey Suze!" Matt said awkwardly as he set their note on her pillow.

Suze grabbed the note and read it. She started to panic. "NO! NO! You can't leave unless you take me with you. I'm old enough, I can choose to be on my own." They found out later that she had done a lot of research on when she could legally leave home and their parents could not do anything about it.

Keith hugged her tightly as she fought back the tears, "Hey we still have our phones and you can call us anytime. We will come back if it's an emergency." He kissed her cheek and she pushed him back.

"NO! You don't realize what kind of hell I will be in after you both leave like this. They will blame it on me. Say I drove you away. You have to take me with you!"

Matt looked to Keith who nodded, they knew it would be true. They had fought a lot with her the last few years, she even had run away at 14 because of them. When she came back, they called a truce, and actually worked to get along... in private. They never let their parents know and would fake a fight a couple times a week. If their parents knew they were getting along, Suze would have been shipped off to Germany to live with their Dad's cousin and everyone knew that wouldn't be a good thing.

Matt and Keith nod as Matt says, "Ok, pack only what you need. I can make a call and have your computer and game system sold within the hour. Along with anything else you want to sell. Keep the laptop, phone and Tablet."

Suze nods and was already packing before he finished talking. Matt grabbed their note to Mom and Dad and redid it. Adding that Suze was coming with them because they loved their sister and that they didn't want her to suffer because of their decision to leave. Other than that statement he wasn't cruel or anything like that. The note simply stated that they didn't want the life their parents wanted for them and they were taking charge of their own life, Suze was doing the same, but the three would always be together. And they could call Matt or Keith anytime. They even signed 'love Matt, Keith and Suze'.

Now they all knew that Mom and Dad would place the blame for this on Suze and she was ok with that. Suze was an accident in more ways than one can imagine. Mom hated her as she was the daughter of one of Dad's numerous affairs. Dad took her in as a baby after her mother died but grew to resent her as he felt that her presence put a wedge between him and his wife.

Within 3 hours of Suze coming home, the things she wanted to take were packed and, in the car, and anything of value she didn't want to take with her were sold. The car and her insurance were, thankfully, in her name.

By noon they were driving away from the house.

As they drove away, they passed their parents in their minivan and clueless to the three vehicles they passed. Keith was the only one who noticed the silver Grand Caravan that passed and silently was grateful to get out when they did. They weren't expecting Mom and Dad home until late Monday. He wondered what brought them home so soon.

They travelled for 6 hrs. Only stopping for bathroom breaks and food. Keith felt the vibrating of his phone going off every few mins, it made him chuckle. He knew multiple messages would be left. He made Suze turn her phone off because he knew they would have some sort of tracking on her phone. Their parents didn't trust Suze and when Keith told her about it, she flipped. She would leave her phone in a washroom somewhere and a message on the lock-screen for them.

After eating they drove another 2 hours to a small town and found a hotel. They shared a room to save money. The next morning, they would be gone before 7am. They would ride for 2 more days finally heading west towards Texas.

There they found this sleepy town far from their parent's home. They weren't known to anyone and they didn't hide why three siblings chose to run from home. No one questioned them or the fact Suze was only 16. She enrolled in school there using her real name, her mother's maiden name, not her father's last name.

The three of them stayed in that sleepy little town until Suze graduated and Matt finished his 3rd yr auto mechanic apprenticeship.

Their Mom and Dad never came looking and Keith never returned their call. He did call back the only call he needed to. The local Sheriff had called to make sure they were ok and talk to Suze. Most knew how their parents felt about Suze, so it was just a status check. Keith was told not to change this number without giving them a new one, but he never heard from the Sheriff again keeping that number on the cheapest plan possible while getting a new phone at the same time with Suze and Matt. Keith's final contact with their parents was a picture and text saying, "We're doing fine." The picture was of all three of them, smiling and Suze giving them the finger.

1 year after Suze graduated, they were on the move again.

This time it was Matt and Keith, Suze and her husband, Daniel. They moved north to a sleepy town in Colorado where they settled. Matt got married first, Keith would follow a couple years later. It would be several years before that same Sheriff would call to let them know of their parent's passing. He didn't say how, and no one asked.

In a strange turn of events, Dad had left everything to Suze. Their Mom had passed away a couple years before and their Father changed his will. The boys understood. She sold much of it, except the antiques. And even though she didn't have to, she gave the boys each a 1/3 of the sale of the house. It was the least she could do for bringing her with them when they left.