Night Rain

Run away

Mom keeps shouting at me as I storm into my room and shove a couple of days worth of clothes and things into my backpack. "Where the hell do you think you're going? Who's gonna let you stay at their house, just like that?"
"I'll go to dad." She's lost for words. Then she gets really mean.
"Like they're gonna let you stay. She hates you. He doesn't care. You'll be back here tomorrow! And that is if I let you in!"
"No. I won't be back tomorrow." I pull my boots on and grab my phone and charger.
"Oh, please. You don't know anything about anything. But fine. We'll see for how long you manage out there..." She leaves my room and goes into the kitchen. Probably to drink herself into a stupor.
I grab the small stash of money I have hidden in an old book that I've turned into a box. Mom would never think to look there, god knows she snoops around my room well enough. It's raining slightly as I head for the bus stop, but I'm not turning back for an umbrella. I'll be at dad's soon enough.

The old city bus is right on time and I take a seat up front, close to the driver. It's nearly 11PM and who knows what kind of weirdos are out. It's a 45 minute ride to dad's, but about halfway the bus stops. I look out the window and see blinking lights and people gathering to take a look at an accident. Sighing I lean back and wait for everything to get moving again.

An hour and a half later I'm finally getting off at the stop down the street from dad's. The rain has gone from a slight drizzle to big fat drops pounding the pavement and I pull the hood of my jacket as far over my head as possible. Most apartments have dark windows, people have long since gone to sleep. A few lamps shine through curtains and show figures moving inside. As I get to dad's building I see that the light are off in his apartment. Cloë is going to be a bitch about me arriving this late. The rain becomes a torrential downpour and I run for the entrance. It's locked. Of course it's locked, it's almost 1AM. I turn to the buzzer, squinting in the dark, looking for dad's name. I press the tiny button, listening to the buzz go off. Nothing. I press it again. Nothing happens. Standing as close to the door as possible I get my phone out and call him. I'm sent to voicemail.

"Hi dad. It's me. I'm outside and it's raining real bad. Please let me in." I press the buzzer again. The rain has soaked through my jacket and cold droplets of water are beginning to run down my arms and neck. I take a step back to see if there's any sign of life in the windows, but they're as dark as when I got here. Like there's no one at home.
Pressing the buzzer I try his phone again, fighting back the tears threatening to fall when all I get is his voicemail again. "Please dad. Please. I'm right outside." I bite my trembling lip. Crying will solve nothing. My damp clothes are making me start to shiver and I need to figure something out. Find a place to stay for what's left of the night and come back here tomorrow.

The sound of heels on pavement has me turning around. A large black umbrella is walking towards me, legs and high heels eating up the sidewalk. They stop right next to me, angling the umbrella up and I see a woman looking at me.
She steps closer and tilts her head. "Oh dear. You're all drenched. This is not a night to be out and about." She pauses. "I've seen you before... long time ago now. 3B, right?"
"Yeah. That's my dad. He's not answering though." I wipe rain from my face. The lady shakes her head.
She looks at me, shakes her head again and speaks. "That's because they moved last month." I feel like someone punched me in the gut. I register her words, but I can't believe what she told me.
"But he'd... he'd tell me. He wouldn't..." But he would. And Cloë most definitely would.
She moves closer to the door and I move out of her way, out into the rain. I have nowhere to go. 

I'm homeless. Abandoned. Soaked to the skin. I can't stop the tears from falling. The woman is still looking at me and I know I should be leaving, but I don't know which way to go.
"I know you don't know me and you shouldn't follow strangers home, but you can stay with me tonight. Dry your clothes and assess your options." I begin to shake my head. But what choice do I have. Really?
"Thank you. I don't know what to do." She gets her keys out of her purse and holds the door for me. The hallway is dark, but lights sputter to life as we move towards the stairs. I glance at my savior. She looks to be in her late 20's and she's really pretty. Her brown hair up in a fancy bun, but her makeup is slightly messy, like she's worn it all day.

She stops outside of 2C and puts her key in the door. Her eyes are a soft brown and she smiles a little when the door opens. "My kid might still be up, but if he's not... well, let's try to not make too much of a racket."

We step right into her living room, there's just a small shelf with hooks for clothes right by the door. Her apartment smells of cinnamon. There are small table lamps here and there, casting a golden glow in the small space. Dad had a small three room apartment, this looks about the same size and with a similar layout.

My savior kicks her heels off, coming down to a little shorter than my height.
"Mom?" A much deeper voice than I figured any kid of hers would have, calls out from another room.
"No, it's Batman." She winks and gestures at me to take my backpack and jacket off. My fingers are numb as I fumble with the zipper.
"Mom. We're out of contact fluid, there was just enough for me to..." My body freezes as Maxwell Greaves walks in. I almost don't recognize him. First of all he's wearing glasses and second of all, he's in far less clothes than I've seen him in before. Low slung pajama pants are hugging his hips and he's not wearing a shirt.

Dear god help me!

Maxwell stops dead when he sees me. He looks at his mom, his face unreadable. His voice cracks slightly when he speaks. "Mom. Why is Kathy Paulsen in our apartment? And in the middle of the night?" Oh my god, he knows my name. How does he know my name?
His mom, who's name I now somehow remember is Jessica, takes her black coat off and gestures for me to give mine to her. "I found her, drenched, outside. She was trying to get a hold of her father. You know the guy, he used to live in 3B. And since it's pouring outside and she obviously has nowhere to go tonight, I offered her a bed."

I'm soaked to the skin, my clothes sticking to my body and I can't stop from shivering. I eye my backpack on the floor and from the look of it, I'd be lucky if there is anything that's still dry in there. I wish I could hate my dad. I wish I could hate my mom. Instead I hate myself for getting into this awkward situation.

"Don't look at me like that. Take these wet things and hang them in the bathroom. " I must have missed something. I look at Jessica, she's frowning. I don't dare look at Maxwell. Stepping out of my damp boots, I register that my socks a darker red than they were this morning.
"Oh dear, you're shivering! Maxwell, give me that and go get some dry clothes instead. Follow me Kathy, you'll never warm up on your own."
She grabs my backpack and ushers me into the bathroom. I try to protest as she starts going through my bag, but she shushes me and pulls out all my now very damp clothes.
"You have a nice warm shower and I'll make sure these are hung to dry. Put your wet clothes over there and I'll come in with dry ones. When your done, come into the kitchen and I'll get you something to eat."
I just stand there, looking at her. "I don't mean to be rude. But why are you being so nice?"
Jessica stops what she's doing and looks me in the eye. "When I was 15 I got pregnant. My parents kicked me out and I had nowhere to go. I wish someone had gotten me out of the rain back then."
"I'm not pregnant..."
"No dear, but you were stuck out in the rain." With that she disappears with my stuff. I just stand there and look at the now closed bathroom door. Then I shiver and I hurry to peel my clothes off to take a hot shower. Counting the dancing starfish on the shower curtain keeps me from having to think about dad.

I hear the bathroom door open and close once, and when I get out there's a fluffy pink towel and dry clothes waiting for me. In what must be Maxwell's old sweats and black t-shirt I silently make my way to the kitchen.
"For god's sake Max! She's obviously in need of some help, even if that's just dry clothes and a bed for the night. I'm not proposing she move in with us!"
"Mom, I'm not saying taking her in was a mistake, but... of all the abandoned girls in this town, you had to go and bring home the most gorgeous girl at school? Do you realize I was near naked and wearing glasses? Do you know how embarrassing that was?"
"Oh, Max. You're ridiculous."