DO NOT RUN

GINGER: My phone buzzes on the table beside the bed. I blink at it, wiping my tears with the sleeve of my jacket, my heart still pounding from the chaos that just happened. I walk towards it, hoping it is Hu, and when I see his name on display, my heart lightens. ‘What are you doing right now, Love?’ I grab the phone with shaky hands, nearly dropping it as I type back, my thumbs hitting too many keys at once. ‘I had a fight with my mum. A bad one, and I don’t know what to do, Hu. I want to see you because I want to get out of here, and because I am losing my mind. Scared, but I have nowhere to go. There is no money to run away at the moment and I am grounded.’ I stare at the screen, watching the little ‘typing’ bubble pop up, vanish, and then come back again. My heart lodges in my throat as I wait for what he has to say, and I pray he will have a solution like he always does. He is still typing when I continue to show the severity of my case. ‘She locked me in my room. I swear I’d jump