when i was ten years old i ran away
i took to the streets and the highway
with the lights of the cars on my back
i walked three miles to a tanning salon
i asked a total stranger for a ride
to my best friend's house 20 miles away
nobody was home when i got there
i waited in the dark and the cold air
until they came home and found me on their door

they asked, "what's the story?"

i don't hate my father for hurting me
and i don't blame god, who stood there watching
and i don't hate my mother for hurting me
for all of her pain suffered defending me
i don't hate my sister for crying
and being too small to stop anything
i'm just a grown up broken child

i was playing alone downstairs
when i heard a voice calling from upstairs
"Bring me the note I sent with you to school."
i forgot to bring the note home with me
and i could feel his anger on my right cheek
when he sent me out in the cold to bring it back
i trudged through the snow on my way to school
a janitor opened up the classroom
i grabbed the note and headed home
i could not believe this was happening
i could feel my fingers trembling
as i set the note on the step and i turned away

that's the story

i don't hate my father for hurting me
and i don't blame god, who stood there watching
and i don't hate my mother for hurting me
for all of her pain suffered defending me
i don't hate my sister for crying
and being too scared to stop anything
i'm just a grown up broken child