"The Color of Love" by Tamsin T

My heart continued to race long after silence fell once more upon my room. Isaac had slipped out of my window hours before, when the screaming turned into throwing and the throwing became a gun. I scratched at my arm idly as I stared at the door. I knew my father wouldn’t return tonight, but still I was unable to avert my eyes. I never truly believed he would understand because I knew how he felt about people of color. But, he’s my father, and I had the utmost faith in him because of that.

The floor by the door creaked and a dark shadow appeared beneath the crack. My body tensed as I squeezed the hem of my shirt. The shadow stood there for so long that I thought I would suffocate. My heart hammered away in my chest as a tear rolled silently down my face. Seconds later, the shadow moved away, allowing me to take a long, shuddering breath. I wondered briefly how much time had passed at that point. I had no recollection of minutes to hours or seconds to days because after my father pulled out his gun, my world stopped and my mind went blank. I bleakly remember Isaac screaming for me to hide and myself begging for my dad to stop, to understand. Everything moved in slow motion after that; my father wildly tearing through my room, Isaac defending himself from flying objects and deafening blows, my mother downstairs, my mother cleaning the dishes, my mother closing the door, my mother doing nothing.

When my breathing had steadied, my body felt numb with sleep and exhaustion. I peeled my eyes away from the door and began fiddling with my cell phone. It could have been five minutes or maybe fifty when it sent vibrations through my arm. I jolted upright and flipped it open to find a single text message from Isaac. Tears stung my eyes and sobs racked my body as I read:

We need to leave… to run away together. I don’t want you living there, not with those people. We’ll buy a small house together or a big house or whatever you want. I can’t live in a world where you’re not smiling everyday, every moment of your life. I love you Kath and I’m so sorry things turned out the way they did.

I knew I would never regret the decision I made that day. Isaac was everything to me and he always had been. I thought of grabbing a bag and filling it with necessities, but I decided it was time to let go completely. I left my entire life behind and never once glanced back. I placed a small note in the center of my pillow so that maybe one day they might understand why I left:

            “Laundry is the only thing that should be separated by color.”