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tece26

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1. Jake walked into his room and slammed the door. He took his shirt off and threw it on the pile on the floor. Looking in the mirror he examined the gash across his shoulder that his brothers gave him a week before. It was once again an angry red color and stung like hell. No matter what his brothers thought, it was not funny taking his father’s beer and draining it in the dogs’ dish. Then they had blamed him, and his father didn’t need any more reason to beat him. Jake had never been his fathers’ favorite.
2. Bobby and Shawn were still laughing as they headed out the front door. Jake waited until he heard the door slam shut before he headed to the window and watch them get in Bobby’s car. The sun was long gone, but he strained to watch the car as it drove down the street and turned out of town.
3. Good riddance! Jake thought.
4. He picked up a nerf football on top of his dresser and through it as hard as he could against the wall. He hated them so much! One day he was going to get out and never come back, never even look back.
5. He walked over to his closet and careful with his sore arm, lifted down several boxes of junk from the top shelf. Then felt around on the wall behind them until he felt the small notch he had etched into the paneling.  He pulled the marked panel to the side and found his treasure.
6. When he was little his grandfather would sit him down and tell him wonderful stories about his childhood in Italy and his crazy family still left there. He worked on carving figurines and trucks, different toys for Jake with each new story. He was the only good person in this family as far as Jake was concerned, and the only one to show Jake any love. His family had destroyed all the carvings Grand dad had made him, except this one. It was a beautiful but simple oak box carved with the faces of him and granddad.
7. Jake pulled the box down and fingered the lid before opening it. He dug in his pocket for the $100 he had earned for a couple of odd and end jobs he had done at the lumber yard, loading and moving whatever they told him too. No one knew about his job, and he always stashed the money he earned in his box. This brought the total to just over $2000.
8. Soon, he told himself. He would go somewhere no one knew of him or his family and start over. He would get an apartment, a job and maybe even look into classes at a community college. He started out the dark window as he dreamed, and saw Keri’s porch light come on.
9. She walked out pulling on her coat and looking around. She was looking at his house, then turned and walked down the street.
10. Jake jumped up and grabbed for his shirt. He put the money and boxes back in place and messed up the area so it didn’t look like he had been there. He didn’t trust anyone. He slipped on shoes and a coat and headed for the back door and slipped out. He wasn’t sure, but he hoped Keri was headed for the park.