A shoulder to cry on (Five minutes freewrite)

The night they ran away together they made a vow to always look after each other, be the rock the other could lean upon, the shoulder to cry on, if need be. As soon as they got out of town, they held a little ceremony under the stars, although they both knew that only Randy was strong enough to be a rock. At least at the time. Ellie was a mess. No wonder, after living with a violent vulgar character like Marcus as a stepfather.
Randy was like a guardian angel to her, giving her courage in her darkest hours, a glass of whiskey to steady her and, above all, a kiss to wipe the tears away. All the hours they spent pouring over a map in her geography book, his strong index tracing the road ahead, reading out loud the names of the cities where they could make a new home. Sometimes, her delicate finger would playfully suggest detours to places with unusual names that caught her fancy. A silly game, until they both knew it was time to go. Before Marcus manged to beat all the spirit out of her, before doctors managed to medicate the will out of her.
The day she turned 17, they climbed into his car and just drove away to hide in the big city where no one would know or care about two young things madly in love.

Life was sweet. Randy loved playing the man of the house, although his meager pay would not allow much by way of luxury. They did not need much. A bucket of chicken wings and cold beer was better than the fanciest of restaurants. They took no notice of the peeling paint on the walls of the tiny room they rented. He would not let her look for a job, she needed to heal and grow strong before she could face the world. Most days she could not make herself go out with or without him and she spent her time writing poems in a little notebook, that she'd hide in the back of her drawer where Randy would have no reason to look. She was afraid Randy would call her silly or even worse that he wouldn't understand. Months went by and they got word nobody was looking for her, no reason to live in fear anymore.
A new Ellie emerged from hiding - one that would go to the gym and get herself a library card. She went to poetry nights, not to read her own words, she was too shy for that. She just sat there at the back of the room taking everything in. When it got late, she'd pick some beer on the way home and kiss Randy passionately so he'd know she loved him.
She did so on the night she met Jeff.
With his pale face, his wild strands of hair and his dark coat, Jeff was exactly what you'd expect a poet to look like. A tortured soul whose mournful words spoke directly to hers. The careful looks they exchanged, the timid smiles, the offer to walk her home - Randy knew nothing of this. The first time he learned about Jeff was the day she came home to find Ellie packing a bag. She cried and said she was sorry things had turned out like that, sorry if it felt like a stab in the back, but she was out of the door before the pain made him double down. No arms to break his fall, no shoulder to cry on.

Story written for @mariannewest's freewrite challenge. Today's prompt was: back pain! Check out her blog and join our freewrite community.
Image: Pixabay