by Jen Naumann
Kalia shrugs. “No problem. I just hope everything is okay.”
“I’m sure it will be,” I answer. “I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
My worries continue to invade me as I walk away. Who had seen the pictures of us on the television? Were they showing our pictures on the news stations in Minnesota, too? If the person missing their money learns we are in California, they will most certainly come looking for us.
Between our foster parents, the police and the social worker, there are too many people that know we are homeless and it won’t take long for them to put the two together. I need to form a new plan to keep us safe. My first clear thought is to check to make sure the money is still where I left it before I grab Rose and split town.
I round the corner to the entrance of the public bathroom to discover Gabe leaning against the building. I nearly jump out my skin in surprise. “Gabe! You scared me! How did you get here so fast?”
His expression is blank. “Where do you think you’re going?”
There is a hint of something dark in his voice and his direct behavior frightens me. It is so unlike the gentle and caring guy I have spent the last few weeks with. My instincts cause me to take a step away from him.
“I’m not your problem to fix,” I tell him. “Just stay out of this.”
“Why do you think you need fixing?” There is an annoying hint of humor deep in his eyes.
I snap my eyes away from his. “Like I said, you don’t know me, Gabe. And I promise you, my life is not anything you want to get too involved in. Just walk away.”
He pulls on my arm so I will look at him. “And you don’t know me either. I don’t care what it is you are running from. Whether you decide you can trust me or not, I don’t plan on going anywhere. Not when it is so painfully obvious that something has you very frightened.”
I watch him carefully, wondering what it is he thinks he is on to. “How long have you known?”
He shrugs, taking a step closer. “Awhile, but that doesn’t matter. Whatever it is you’re running from, I want to help you.”
His open display of affection and concern for me are admittedly flattering and I am most definitely drawn to him. I yearn all at once to have his arms around me and hear him say everything will be okay—there hasn’t been anyone to tell me that since I was a little girl and for some reason I wish Gabe would be the one to do it.
“There are so many things I want to tell you,” I say. I am tired of trying to hide everything and want to be able to confide in him.
He looks down on me, his face soft with care. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”
“My sister and I are in foster care,” I say, a lone tear falling down my cheek. I figure that one secret is safe enough to give him. “Both of my parents are dead.”
He reaches up to wipe my tear with his thumb and allows his hand to settle on the side of my face. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to help me,” I whisper as more tears spill down my face. “My life is very complicated and I don’t want to drag you into it.”
He smiles and pulls me into his chest with the gentlest of intentions. “I don’t mind a little dragging. Whatever it is, I can handle it.”
I don’t argue any more when he wraps his arms around me.
* * *
My second day of school goes just as seamlessly as the first. Svetlana and Rose drop me off near the shop afterwards. Rose is very animated on the short ride, filling us in with every detail about her new classmates and teacher who she obviously adores already. I beam happily the entire time she speaks. I love that she has adjusted so well and seems truly happy.
When I arrive at the shop my new boss is wearing another outlandishly skimpy outfit but I smile brightly when she greets me. I help rearrange displays and dress mannequins while Kalia helps more customers that are mainly of the male species. A few boys too young to be running around without adult supervision are among those to stop in and they push each other around, arguing over who will actually talk with her. I find their interest in Kalia amusing and it proves to be great entertainment.
When my mind begins to drift during the slower part of the afternoon, I realize that I have yet to figure out a way to get some kind of legal identification if I am going to work toward getting my sister back. I would also feel better if we had something, should we have to leave town on short notice. With pictures of our family being displayed on the local news that could happen at any moment and I need to be better prepared.
In Minnesota my mother knew a woman who used to help her boyfriend make fake identifications for criminals. I heard them talking once about how it cost a lot of money and I knew she used to hang out in the scary parts of town where it was just as easy to score drugs. It is probably the best chance I have of getting what I needed, even though it has the potential of being dangerous.
While Kalia is busy with ogling customers, I Google the most crime-ridden areas in the city on the shop’s computer. The more dangerous the area, the more likely I am to find someone that can help me. I memorize directions to a nearby neighborhood and tell Kalia I have some errands to run when it is time for my break.
Some of the neighborhoods my mother had moved us to had been pretty rough, so it doesn’t take too much extra courage for me to stroll through the areas known for having more criminals. It takes a good fifteen minutes to walk to the area I chose and it appears likely suited for my mission. It would have been better if I had been able to go at night, but it would be harder for me to find an excuse that Svetlana would go along with. The small number of criminals daring enough to brave the daylight will have to be good enough.
After I walk a few blocks down the broken up streets I spot a few young boys playing basketball in an alley behind some rundown apartments. They eye me cautiously as I approach them. They are not too much taller than my waist, probably making them around eight or nine, but as they stop their game they look intimidating enough. Just as Rose is forced to act less like a six year old, these boys are similarly given no other choice but to act wise beyond their years.
“Hey, guys,” I try to sound casual as I greet them. “I’m wondering if you can help me find someone.”
They continue to stare me down until the smallest of the three steps forward with the basketball under his arm. “Depends how much money you got.”
The boy is too young to worry about shaving, but there are enough lines and scars from unknown injuries on his face that he even appears older than his true age. His white, stained tank top and ratty black gym shorts cling to his body in the late afternoon heat.
I shrug. “I don’t have much money. I ran away from my parents and I need a new ID so I can get a job and make it on my own.” I decide a partial truth is better that a total lie. These boys obviously come from a rough neighborhood and can maybe appreciate a story in which I am trying to get away from my parents and just survive.
The boy turns to look at what could quite possibly be his older brothers, as much as they look alike. The tallest one shrugs at him and the other nods encouragingly. The shorter boy turns back to give me another once-over, from head to toe.
“Maybe Shorty can help you with that. Follow me.” He bounces the ball off the walls as we walk through the alley. “You say you’re on the run? Sure don’t look like it to me. What, your momma take away your car or something?”
I shake my head. “No. I got tired of watching her kill herself with drugs.”
As I say it I wish it had been true—that I had run away months ago when the drug use became so paralyzing in our lives. Maybe if Rose and I had left, my sister would have had a normal childhood sooner and we would have been happier. I certainly wouldn’t have hesitated if someone had told me I would live by the ocean in a grand house with a caring foster mother and have a gorgeous guy interested in helping me out.
The boy turns to check my demeanor, possibly to see if I am pulling his leg. When he reads my somber expression he finally n
ods in agreement. “Ain’t nobody likes to watch their momma waste away.”
We walk the rest of the distance to our destination in silence. I try not to make eye contact with the numerous people we pass along the way. Staring at people in neighborhoods like theirs only makes them suspicious. I don’t want to stand out or draw any unwanted attention.
The boy stops in front of a large blue, metal gate, holding his hand up to keep me back. “You best wait here a minute. Shorty don’t always like visitors.”
I nod to let him know I understand and stand beside the large brick wall, holding my arms tight against my body in an attempt to calm myself. The dark alley we just passed through had been void of any activity, but I could hear faint screams and yelling of different voices coming from the crumbling buildings above. The unusual scraping noises coming from the pile of garbage bins within throwing distance from where I stand aren’t very comforting, either. Even the air smells dangerous and somehow threatening.
If Gabe could see me standing in the alley at this moment I can only guess how upset he would become, if in fact he is even capable of being angry. I have only ever seen him concerned or various different degrees of happy or concerned.
I stand alone for a few minutes before a hulking mass of an older man finally comes out from the doorway the boy had disappeared into. His dark eyes nearly disappear in the thick folds of his chocolaty dark skin as he looks me up and down. He is wearing a dirty gray tank top and a pair of oversized shorts that fall down beyond his knees. There is a large lump of what I guess to be a gun under his shirt, at his waistline. I force myself to see past the primal fear burning in my chest.
“Little girl, I don’t know who you are, but you sho’ don’t look like you belong here.” His deep voice thunders and his bushy eyebrows knit together at the bridge of his nose when he scowls.
I manage to choke the words out. “I…I’m looking for someone that can help me.”
“My boy says you ain’t got no money.”
He crosses his massive arms, waiting for me to answer. The man is so large he could easily swallow me whole. I try not to let his size intimidate me. I remind myself I am not here to start any kind of trouble, so I won’t be coming off as any kind of a threat; not that my miniscule size would appear to be any kind of threat to him.
I try my hardest to speak casually so as not to let him hear the fear pulsating through me. “Not yet, but I am working and would be able to get you some money soon. I need to get a job to support myself and my little sister.”
His scowl deepens. “You expect me to help you when you ain’t got no money?”
His voice is filled with anger and I can feel the rising tension radiating from inside him. I recoil in fear, my voice of reason finally being heard. He takes a large step closer, his dark eyes narrowing into small slits, and his hand reaches for the bulge at his waistline.
“You some kind of narc? Because a little girl like you ain’t got no business coming down here all alone.”
My heart begins pounding so rapidly I am afraid it will leap out of my throat and my stomach seems to drop like lead. I realize I am probably about to be the subject of great bodily harm and maybe had been a bit bold in thinking I could go into a rough neighborhood on my own.
I have never taken any kind of self-defense classes although we briefly talked about what to do once in health class. But I don’t have a pair of keys to stab him with and it is physically impossible for me to knee him in the groin as large as he is. My hands become cold and clammy as I try to think a way out of this very unfortunate event.
As his hands curl around the gun at his waistline, I decide coming down here was probably the last mistake I will ever make.
CHAPTER 6
I am mere seconds from likely being shot when the hulking man in front of me takes his hand away from the gun to cover both of his eyes. An extremely bright light flashes from over my shoulder and when I turn to look for the source I have to shield my own eyes.
“She’s not alone,” another male voice says from behind me.
A young, sandy blond haired guy steps out and lodges himself between me and the menacing mass of a man. My new hero’s back is so close he is nearly pressed up against me. All I can see of him from the back is his head full of thick, tousled hair and an evenly tanned neck. He is much taller than I am although significantly shorter than my would-be-attacker. Some kind of wonderful smell comes off of him, appealing to my senses quite well. I try to brush any excited feelings away, reminding myself I am in imminent danger.
Shorty removes his hands from his eyes and grumbles, taking a step back. “Well then get her out of here, man. She’s got no business in this neighborhood.”
“I completely agree. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
The stranger turns in my direction and I intake a breath of air sharply when his features are revealed to me. His nose, cheeks and jaw are perfectly angular, his face finished off by a set of full, rosy lips. He does not seem the type that would be living in the hood, dressed in dark board shorts, thick canvas flip-flops and a light blue t-shirt with a picture of the musician Jack Johnson playing a guitar. The fact that he is wearing a picture of my idol does nothing to curb his appeal.
He throws me a quick look, flashing his cool blue eyes that are buried among long, thick eyelashes. He is so breathtakingly gorgeous that I almost literally forget to allow my lungs to breathe out.
The next moments are very dream-like as he grabs me roughly by my arm and pulls me away from my near-death experience. We are completely away from the dark alley when he reels on his feet to face me. It takes a full minute of looking past his gorgeous features to realize he is angry.
“What are you doing here alone? Do you know how close you were to being shot or stabbed? What exactly were you thinking?”
The handsome stranger is fuming but it is hard to really focus on the anger coming from him when I am so completely drawn to his pleasing eyes. I don’t recall ever seeing a man with such thick eyelashes or such delightfully colored eyes.
“I…I don’t know.”
But I am more perplexed as to why I have to answer to him or why he even cares. I hadn’t seen him approaching us in the alley and do not know what direction he even came from. Had he been watching me the entire time?
“You have to be more careful.” He pauses to give me another disappointed glare. Why it bothers me so much coming from someone I have just met, I can’t say. But it does. “Where do you live? I’ll take you home.”
I laugh with my eyes still fixated on his. They certainly are captivating as the blue pools hold my gaze. “You think I’m going to let a total stranger take me home?” I feel redness creeping into my face but who knows if it is from being angry or if I am just completely flustered by his presence.
“But apparently you have no qualms about meeting with one in a dark, random alley.”
He stands close enough that I am able to smell his wonderfully fresh breath. I look away from him when his lips become a kissing distance away from my own. By taking a small step away from him I am able to break away from the unexplained pull toward him.
I mentally shake my head to clear the cloud that has formed around my brain. Who is this gorgeous stranger, and why is he so mad at me?
“Thanks for saving me, but I can find my way home just fine.”
My knight in not-so-shiny armor sighs and appears to collect himself. “I’m sorry. I was just upset to see someone like you about to be murdered. I didn’t mean to come off as crass.”
He looks back down at me, his face still hard with scorn.
I spin around and begin to walk away from him. “Don’t worry about it. I better get going.”
It is frustrating that I have irritated this handsome stranger when all I want to do is see what his lips feel like against mine. I have to stifle a laugh when I realize I am even having such thoughts about him. They are absurd when I am only just meeting him for the first time.
The loo
k in his eyes morphs into a kindness that seems to be pleading with me to forgive him. “Can I at least walk you back to somewhere a little less dangerous?”
I am too blinded by his looks to make a true judgment of his character, just as I had been with Gabe. But this guy had been brave in saving me from my impending doom and could have been killed just as easily as I had by the monster of a man back there. It would seem pointless for him to save me just so he could murder me—or so I tell myself.
“Sure,” I answer cautiously.
“Let’s go this way,” he says, leading me by my arm again. “Where can I take you?”
I feel a tingle when his skin brushes against mine. It similar to the charge I feel when Gabe holds my hand or touches my skin. We turn out of the final alley onto a less threatening sidewalk, out of the neighborhood. I have to speed my pace to keep up with his long strides.
“I have to get back to work.”
I already let Kalia down the day before and I need to get back so she won’t fire me. I glance down at my watch to see I have almost used up the entire hour Kalia had granted me.
“Where do you work?”
His voice is a little higher, as if he is amused to hear that someone like me works. But I don’t think I look anywhere near well off or anything like that based on my simple appearance, so I can’t fathom what “someone like me” looks like to him.
I cross my arms in front of my chest stubbornly even though it is my very first job and I had only been there a few hours. “What? I don’t look like someone that could work?”
“No, that’s not it…forget it.” All at once he must detect just how much I have to scurry to keep up with him. He slows his walking speed and I am able to relax a little.
“I work at a surf shop on Pacific Beach.”
A funny sort of recognition plays on his face at my answer. He is still holding on to my arm but I snatch it away from him. He is definitely attractive, but it seems as if Gabe and I could have something going eventually and I don’t want to give this guy the wrong idea.