𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐊Ö𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐍 ⌁ 𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 [𝟏]

XI. ON THE RUN

father daughter dance by kesha

"I really just don't know how to love, how to trust
I try but when I talk about him
I should probably cry but
He's nothing, he's no one, a stranger
Oh I wish my heart wasn't broken
from the start
I never stood a fighting chance
In all my days, from my
cradle to my grave
I'll never have a father-daughter dance"

40.0312° N, 81.5885° W

          "Just the water for today?" The cashier asked after I set the plastic bottle of water on the counter. I gripped onto the bottom of one of the shoulder straps from the black backpack I wore.

          "Yeah." I replied in my fake American accent as she scanned the bar code. I pulled out a couple dollar bills from the pocket of my blue denim jacket that I wore over a grey hoodie, along with some leggings and sneakers. A black cap crowned my head just above my ponytail.

          "A dollar fifty." She said before I handed her two-one dollar bills. The cashier placed the bills in the cash register and handed me two quarters along with the water.

          "Thanks." I took the water and money before walking out of the convenience store. I waited until I was a couple blocks away to walk into an alleyway. I looked around to make sure no one was close-by before twisting the cap of the bottle open and taking a few sips of the water. After finally hydrating myself, I zipped open my backpack to drop the water bottle inside, along with three other plastic water bottles, two sandwiches and a box of Pop-tarts that I managed to steal.

          Yes, I did have money. But why waste it on things I could easily slip into my jacket. And the money itself? I guess you'll have to ask the person when they realize their wallet is missing.

          I pulled out the cash I already had to take a look. Seventy-five dollars, a bus to get me out of Ohio would cost at least a hundred and fifty.

          A few days after HYDRA fell, I managed to steal just enough money for a bus ticket. The farthest it could take me was Cambridge, Ohio. But I've already been here for more than a week, staying too long wouldn't be smart. Especially because I was using someone's credit card to pay for a motel room. It won't be long until they track their payments to here.

          I could technically find a homeless shelter, but considering the state laws on housing unaccompanied minors, the most likely outcome would involve social services. If I tell them I'm an orphan and my parents are dead, then I'll probably end up in the foster care system. And the whole point is to not be in the system. If I tell them my parents are alive but I don't know who they are, they'll probably do DNA testing, and who do you think the results will match up with? And if I straight up tell them who my parents are, they'll still do DNA testing, but it won't make a difference whether I was lying or not. There are zero good outcomes from me going to a shelter, so I have to work with what I got.