Creative Writing Short Stories/Prompts by Kayla Weber (snow like ashes series .TXT) 📕

on the highway. He promised me a job and I thought it was modeling. It was fun the first day. I got to have a photo shoot and dress in pretty clothes. The second day was a nightmare. I had to go to a house, and I tried to run away, but I got caught and taken back to the place where I’m staying.” she pauses and takes a deep breath, “they beat me because I ran. I had broken ribs.” She lifts up her shirt, showing Miles the dents where Jon kicked her. “He made me promise to never run again.” She starts sobbing and Miles pulls her into a hug, smoothing her hair and whispering comforting words.

“I promise, I will save you. It might not be right away, but I will inform my boss later when I go to work, and something will be done. I promise. We better get you cleaned up now because you have ten minutes until he comes back.” Willow nods and cleans herself up. They sit there for the remainder of the time watching the game. When the doorbell rings, they get up and Miles pulls her close. “I will see you again. I promise that I will get you out as soon as possible.” Willow nods and is returned to Jon. She doesn’t run, but just climbs into the SUV and looks back at Miles. She smiles slightly and waves goodbye. They pull out and she goes to 10 more houses before going back to Jon’s house and collapsing into bed, exhausted.

Weeks pass and she has been there for months now, with no word from Miles. Every day she does the same thing: get up, shower, get dressed, eat, go to houses, come back, eat, and sleep. She is friends with a couple of the other girls. Sandy is being nice and she hasn’t tried to run again. One day, Jon drops all of the other girls off first. On the way to the house where Willow is going, Jon finally says something.

“This is a repeat house. He said you were amazing and he wanted to see you again.” Jon pulls in the driveway to the house with the cherry wood porch. Willow hides her smile and climbs out like it’s any other house. “Patrick will pick you up later because I have to run an errand,” Jon calls as she shuts the door. She holds up her thumb so he knows that she heard him. She walks to the door and Miles opens it without her even knocking.

“Eager to see me?” she teases, smiling and giving him a hug.

“Well, someone is in a good mood,” he teases back. “It’s going down today. I’ve got police stationed in other houses on the block and there are two with us. Let’s go through my plan.” Willow nods and they sit on the couch. Miles walks her through the plan. “When he comes to pick you up, you needs to act like everything's normal and walk to the car. When I give you the signal, you are going to run back into the house and hide. He will, maybe, get out and come for you. The two police are going to be waiting behind the door. When he gets to the door, I am going to let him in and the cops are going to arrest him. Hopefully there will be no violence. Do you think you can handle this?”

“Yeah. What’s the signal? What if he doesn’t get out of the car?” Willow worries, standing up to pace. Miles grabs her hand to stop her and makes her face him.

“I’ll probably just yell and then you run back to the house. If he doesn’t get out, then he doesn’t.” Miles shrugged, “either way, we are going to get him. We can get him out of the car here, or at his place.” Willow nods and sits back down. They hear the sound of a car pulling into the driveway and Miles squeezes Willow’s hand. “It’s going to be okay. Just relax. It won’t work without you being relaxed.” Willow sighs and heads to the door.

“Are you ready for this?” asks one of the cops by the door.

“I think so,” Willow shakes her hands out and stretches before opening the door.

“Maybe I can request you again,” Miles winks when Willow turns around. She smiles and walks to the car. “Now!” Willow bolts back to the house.

“Hey!” Patrick jumps out and runs after her. Miles stops him at the door. “Move now. She needs to come with me. She has more people to see today.” Patrick tries to shove Miles out of the way.

“Fine, come in and get her, but,” Miles pauses, moving out of the way, “you aren’t going anywhere with her. She’s done visiting other people.” The cops jump out from behind the door and cuff Patrick. “You’re going to jail and she’s going somewhere safe.”

“I have rights!” Patrick yells from the floor, struggling against the cops, making the cuffs leave a red mark on his wrists.

“Fine,” Miles leans down to look him in the eyes, “you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you. Now, anything to say?” Patrick shakes his head. “Good. You are going to take us to the house to get the other girls I know you have there. Get him up boys and put him in the back. Let’s move!” The cops hoist Patrick off the floor and haul him to the police car. Once everyone is settled in, Miles and Willow get into Miles’ car. Patrick gives the address and directions to the police officer.

Blue and red lights up the streets as police car after police car heads to the house. They surround the house that Willow briefly thought of as comforting and beautiful. Now it’s a big house of horror, she thinks and shudders. Miles gently holds her hand, as if she is a fragile flower. Jon walks out with a gun pointed at Sandy.

“Let me go and I won’t hurt her,” Jon yells as the police hide behind their doors and await Jon’s move.

“Willow, what is this guy’s name?” Miles asks, all traces of the earlier teasing gone.

“Jon. His name is Jon,” Willow whispers, clinging to him, shaking in terror. “Please don’t hurt him.”

“Honey, after everything he did to you, I can’t promise anything,” Miles opens his door, “now please stay here where it’s safe. Hide under the dash please.” He climbs out and Willow follows him, ignoring his protests.

“I want to help. Maybe I can convince him. Please, let me try,” Willow begs.

“Absolutely not. He could shoot you!” Miles yells. A few officers look over at them and he waves them off. “We have a professional that goes to talk to people like him. I don’t want you anywhere near him.” Not liking being bossed around, Willow crosses her arms and narrows her eyes. “Please, I implore you to not go over there. I don’t want anything happening to you. It would hang over my head for the rest of my life if you got hurt.”

“I have to,” Willow whispers, turning her back on Miles. She takes a deep breath and starts walking, but Miles stops her. “What?”

“I’ve got your back. Please don’t say anything to upset him. I know you won’t listen to me and stay so the only thing I can do is help you.” Miles shrugs and Willow smiles.

“Thanks,” she walks up to Jon and inhales deeply. “Please Jon,” she whispers, “let Sandy go. She has nothing to do with this. I’m the one you should be mad at. I ruined everything you had and I deserve to be punished, not her,” she begs and sees Jon’s grip falter. Sandy sinks to the ground and crawls back into the house to the comfort of the other girls. He points the gun at Willow and starts to pull the trigger. There is a loud gunshot and Jon’s eyes open wide as red blooms on the left side of his shirt. Willow takes a shaky breath and falls to the ground next to Jon. She pulls his head onto her lap and moves the hair out of his face. “Oh, Jon,” she whispers, “this should have ended differently.” She reaches up and wipes at the tears streaming down her face. Miles rushes over and pulls her away, letting Jon’s head thump on the ground. She turns and buries her face in his shirt, letting herself go to the sobs. An ambulance shows up and the crew starts to load Jon onto a stretcher.

“Shh. It’s okay. He can never hurt you again. Nobody will ever hurt you again. I will keep you safe.” Miles rubs her back as she sniffles out the last of her tears. She looks up at him with shining, hopeful eyes.

“Thank you,” she says, standing on her toes and kissing him on the cheek. “Can we get the others and get out of here please?” Miles chuckles and nods. The police usher the other girls out, leaving all of the belongings in the house. Everyone gets a fresh start, she thinks, smiling and leaning into Miles. The girls come up to Willow and Miles moves away to give them some privacy.

“Hey thanks Willow,” Sandy utters, “what you did back there was really brave.” She gives Willow a hug and moves away to talk to the police.

“Yeah, you were amazing,” the other girls agree. Willow smiles and ducks her head bashfully.

“It was nothing. I just didn’t want anyone to get hurt,” she blushes and they all laugh.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Annabelle asks, shooing the other girls away. Willow nods and they walk a short distance away from the house. “Thanks for saving us. I know it wasn’t easy, Trust me, I was you once. I tried to get help from the police, but the one I talked to was in on it. I’m just so glad that you found someone to help. Plus, I think he might have a thing for you,” Annabelle wiggles her eyebrows and winks. They burst out laughing and Willow shakes her head.

“You think so?” Willow turns to look at him, “I don’t know. He’s definitely cute though,” she smiles at Miles and turns back to face Annabelle. “He’s really sweet and I like him a lot, even though I didn’t think it was possible that I would ever want a man in my life again.” They nod in agreement.

“Let’s go join the others,” Annabelle announces, linking her arm through Willow’s. They stroll back to the others and everyone piles into different cars. The ambulance crew puts Jon into the back and heads to the hospital. The girls are taken to a safe organization to recover, and everyone leaves except Miles.

“Hey Willow,” Miles calls.

“Yeah?” she asks, turning around to talk to him. He scratches the back of his neck and rings his hands.

“Um, so..” he pauses, looking down and clearing his throat, “oh man. This is harder than I thought. Um, I was wondering if maybe you would like to go on a date sometime.” He looks up at Willow with hopeful eyes. She smiles and nods.

“I would like that very much. Call me sometime. They have phones here,” she hugs him and pulls back to catch up with the other girls.

“Okay. I’ll call you every day. See you when you get out,” he replies.

Months later Willow walks out and breathes in the fresh scents of summer. She looks around and smiles as she catches sight of her boyfriend. She runs over to Miles and jumps in his arms. He spins her around and she laughs for what feels like the first time.

“I missed you so much,” she exclaims.

“I missed you too. Now, how about that date you promised me?” Miles teases. They walk hand in hand to the car and drive off, never looking back.

Years later, Willow graduates from the academy and she