The One that Ran Away

Submitted by Dustin:

I met Kimberly when I was seventeen years old.  I worked at a candy store in a local mall and she came in several times and flirted with me, but I was naive and never really tried to follow up with her.

Then one night she was there at closing time and she told me she didn’t have any way to get home.  I agreed to give her a ride, and she hung out in the empty mall while I closed down the store.

I drove her home and as I dropped her off at an apartment complex, she leaned over suddenly, gave me a nice kiss on the lips, then got out of the car.  She proceeded to write down her phone number and hand it to me through the open window, asking if I would call her for a real date.

I got a kiss without doing anything and she was very attractive, so I promised to give her a call.

I called a few days later and we set up a date – I would pick her up at a local bowling alley where she was hanging out with friends and we would rent a movie and go back to my house (remember I was 17 so it was my parents’ house…) to watch it.

I picked her up, we put in the movie, and snuggled on the couch.  There wasn’t anything naughty going on, though, just some hand holding and other harmless stuff.

The bad/weird part happened when it came time to take her home.  Having already dropped her off once, I knew where to go, but as I pulled off of the freeway near her apartment she said “Turn here.  You can’t drop me off at home.”

I was confused, but I followed her instructions and brought her to a trailer park.  She instructed me to park in a dark shadow, then surprised me with this:  “I ran away from home the other day so I can’t go home.  I’m hoping my friend Alexandra will let me stay in her room.  Can you go knock on the door to that trailer and see if Alexandra is there?”

Not knowing what else to do, I got out of the car and knocked on the door.  Immediately, a large woman wearing what looked like a crumpled bed sheet as a muumuu opened up and yelled at me.  “Are you with Kimberly?  Where is she?  She’s in trouble and you need to take her to her parents immediately.  Where is she?”

I backed away, feigning ignorance (and horror), ran back to my car, and peeled out of there with the lady yelling after me.

“So,” I asked Kimberly, “What now?  Is there anywhere else you can stay?”

"No.  But I’m not going home.  Just drop me off at Walmart.”

“What will you do there?”

“I’ll call some people I know.  It’s not your problem.  They’re open 24 hours.”

Not knowing what else to do (again), I dropped her off at Walmart.  Another quick kiss on the lips and she was gone.  I felt bad, but I had been thrown into the middle of things.

The next day the phone at home rang.  I picked it up and recognized Kimberly’s voice asking for me.  I was getting ready to answer when I heard my mom on another phone downstairs say “You’re not the kind of girl I want my son hanging out with.  Never call this number again.”  Then she hung up.

I never saw Kimberly again, but I still remember the feel of her kiss.