The Pact - Chapter Two

TWO
Morgan sits at the foot of his bed and stares at me. I am in the middle of the room with my hands on my lower back. I am very sore from Victor’s terror. I breathe slowly trying to control the discomfort. Morgan wants to know how I stood up to Victor today and where I found the courage. I just did. I was tired of him picking on Morgan and I, we have always taken his beatings, and we have never stood up to him. I decided that today was the day and I did my best. I fear my best was not good enough. Victor is going to come after us at a later time and finish what we started.
“Victor is going to kill us one of these days and he will feel no remorse in doing so.” Morgan says.
“I know. This is why we are gonna leave.” I say.
“We have enough?” Morgan asks.
I show my brother my bank book with close to seventy-five thousand in it. I banked every single penny I could from work. I worked massive amounts of over time for this money. Morgan states that he has close to ten grand in his account. Silently we agree to combine the money and make our escape. Without a single word we fill our duffel bags with our belongings that we cannot live without. Once we are done, we open the window closest to my bed and we climb out onto the fire escape, we have done this many times before.
Once we are on the ground we race to my car and climb in. I start the engine. We look around for Victor and he is nowhere in sight. I shift the car into gear and we leave the parking lot. Our first stop is the bank. I guide the car through traffic as Morgan keeps a look out. I park in an empty spot and we walk into the bank.
We speak to the bank manager and explain we are moving cross country so we need to close out our accounts. She is happy to help us but is sorry to see us go. Morgan and I are afraid that she might check with Victor but he is not on our accounts and he has never been mentioned. We leave the bank and climb into the car. The both of us are on edge.
I pull into the gas station and fill the car up as Morgan gets us drinks. We are back in the car and entering the highway. I head south and merge onto interstate ninety-five. Morgan is looking around, checking the mirrors, and making me even more nervous. I ask him to relax. Victor is not following us. As we cross the border into Rhode Island Morgan wonders where we are going.
“Brant, California.”
“What is it like?”
“It is a small beach town with a great school system.”
“School system? Who wants to think about school right now?”
“We have to. We need to get enrolled in order to start in the fall.” I say.
“The system is that good?” Morgan asks.
“That is what the report said. I want us to finish high school. I want us to walk down that isle and be proud of what we have accomplished.” I say
“Look what we have accomplished today. You stood up to Victor and we have left.” Morgan says.
“I know, I am just thinking ahead, we are going to have a lot of happenings over the next few years.”
“We aren’t going back are we?” Morgan asks worried.
“No way in hell. We are going to make it out here Morgan. First of all we are financially all set.” I say.
“But…” Morgan starts.
“There are no buts about it Morgan. We are going to be fine.” I firmly state as I glance over at my brother.
Morgan seemed to be satisfied with this. He reclines his seat back and he stares out the window. I turn on the radio and find a classic rock station. Within moments my brother’s breathing is even and he is sleeping lightly. I am glad for I will need him to take over at some point.