CHAPTER 3 - SAGE
I can’t recall exactly why I started following her on that day. Or even how I’d slipped away from my nanny and out onto the Pacific Beach boardwalk. I’m sure she was busy trying to keep my little sister, Sierra, out of trouble, unaware that the perfect child had wandered away. I remember trailing the girl wearing two different shoes, being pulled along by a woman in a navy-blue skirt. She didn’t notice me as we weaved through the crowd, dodging bikers and skaters trying to pass from the oncoming lane. After a minute or two, I felt the sun beating down on my shoulders. Sweat began to bead up on my nose, but I didn’t care. There was something about that little girl that kept me going, skipping in time with each of her steps. She had auburn hair, cropped unevenly at her chin. And when she finally glanced back in my direction, I noted soft, pale skin and bright-green eyes. She flashed a quick smile which I mirrored unconsciously. When she turned forward again, I wondered if the smile was for me or something that was always there, like the sky.
I was probably only following her for a short time, but I suddenly began to feel lost and very far from the safety of my nanny. Disappointment poured over me, and I slowed my pace, ready to turn back. Then, the girl came to a screeching halt, yanking her wrist from the woman’s grasp. She turned to face me. The woman bent down to pick up the contents of her bag, which must have spilled with their abrupt stop.
“What’s your name?” the girl said.
“Sage. What’s yours?”
“Jax. Are you in trouble?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged, trying to figure out what she meant. “Why are you wearing two different shoes?”
This time she shrugged. “I don’t know.” Then she looked down at her shoes and back up at me with an endearing smile that didn’t quite belong to a small child. At least, I’d never seen one like that on any other eight-year-olds. The smile disappeared as swiftly as it came when a boy on a bike rushed by me and clipped my elbow. “Hey! Watch it!” Jax said, grabbing my hand and pulling me closer. That was the first of many times Jax would watch out for not only me, but anyone she loved.
The woman she’d been walking with had finished with her bag, stepped over to where we stood, and then ushered us over to the side.
“Jacqueline, why did you stop like that?” she asked.
“Grandma, I think this little girl is lost,” Jax said.
“Are you, honey?” she said as she bent down. Grandma didn’t appear to be very old and had a friendly smile, but I still felt I’d done something wrong. I couldn’t speak and searched over my shoulder to check if Miss Ellson was coming after me. I pictured her panic-stricken face racing down the boardwalk with Sierra in her arms. She always acted in fear of being fired. Sometimes I wondered if my father did that to her.
“Yeah, she is, and I think she goes to my school,” Jax said.
“Do you go to Linfield?”
I nodded and a tear stung the corner of my eye. My throat went lumpy, and I tried to swallow it back. That’s what I got for trying to have fun for once—for forgetting who I was for just a second. I vowed if I got home safe it would be the last time. Little did I know that Jax would make sure I never kept that promise.
I can’t believe it’s been almost twenty years since that fortuitous day at the beach. I can still remember, as if it was yesterday, sitting next to Jax and drinking cherry soda while her grandmother spoke with my nanny. I wasn’t afraid of getting in trouble when I heard Miss Ellison talking to my father on the phone. Mom had been out of town on business, like on so many other occasions. I was more worried about Miss Ellson getting in trouble.
