Girls of Portland

Chapter Eight: Juniper

I woke up slumped against the side of my car. There was shards of glass in my hair, and some all over my sweater. I touched the huge gash on my face, and felt that it had dried up. I looked up at the sun.

"So you decide to shine brightly right now?" I muttered. "Keep it up."

I slowly got up and felt tiny pricks of glass in my sweater. I had been in too much of a daze to notice. I could feel my head throbbing as I staggered to get my phone and purse.The clock said 10:54. Oh shoot. My job. Aside from babysitting, I worked as a tour guide at the local museum. No, it was not my lifelong dream to be a museum tour guide, I just needed the money. My shift started at 9:30, but I had obviously missed the first half hour tour. My boss is probably going to shoot bullets out of his eyes when he sees me. I decided that I could bear the pain in my face, and got back inside my car. I combed out my hair with my fingers and made sure I at least looked a little bit presentable. Just as I was about to start the car, I heard a knock on my window. I froze completely and slowly willed myself to look out the window.

"Hey... Juniper," A voice I had not wanted to hear ever in my life again flooded my ears. I slumped back against the seat and closed my eyes. "I know you're in there. What happened to your face? Why is there a huge cut?" I shook my head."Oh come on. It's Harper."

I grimaced and rested my head in my hands. Get out and show this girl that you have ultimate control over her, because you do. Especially after what happened. I opened the car door and stepped out to face Harper.

"Hi Harper. How's life? How's your mom?" I kept a blank stare on my face, as I ironically said casual greetings. She gave me one of her phony smiles that I knew so well. She used it so well, from lying to her parents to convincing me to do things I didn't want to do.

Except this time I wouldn't give in.

"It's alright. I promise I'll explain everything to you, just let me stay with you," she pleaded.

"I already said yes. Look, I have a job to go to so I would-"

"I can come with you." Harper offered.

"No! People can't see us together! They'll get suspicious!" I whispered.

"What do you mean? No one here knows about it!" She exclaimed urgently.

"It's all over the news! Pictures of my mom, everywhere," I glared at her.

"No, don't do this again. I didn't force you to do anything. You were tired of her. She controlled you."

"No, no, no. Shut up, you didn't come here so you could put the blame on me."

She frowned at me. "Ok, where do you want me to stay?" She demanded angrily. This was the Harper I knew.

"In my apartment. If I find one thing missing, I swear to God I will call the police, and I will tell them everything" I replied. Leaving Harper alone in my apartment wasn't ideal but there wasn't much she could do there. She nodded. "Promise."

I led her inside my small apartment. It was tiny, but I kept it neat and organized.

"Shoes go here, coats go there, keep your suitcase here, because you'll be sleeping on the sofa, and the bathroom is right there." I said gesturing around the apartment. "Alright, I'll be back in a couple of hours." I said without a goodbye.

"Wait, Juniper," I turned around to see Harper standing there awkwardly. "This is nice. Thank you."

I had a sinking feeling in my stomach when I saw a black van in the museum's parking lot at the end of my shift. I instantly thought of last night when my car was hit (still not fixed by the way) and my heartbeat quickened. I know you're probably thinking; oh she's just paranoid, blah blah, she didn't get enough sleep, but just as I was getting into my car, I saw the license plate.