Please vote, comment, fan and suggest to other friends IF you like it.
Chapter 3
“No, please stop, don’t do it” She screamed. No matter how much she yelled it wasn’t enough. Lia watched as Max poured gasoline on Attie and lit up the match. She ran toward her little sister, but she wasn’t fast enough. Attie was screaming and she couldn’t save her. She sunk to her knees in front of the burning Attie and tried to clutch Attie to her, but all that was left was the ashes. Lia had failed to save her little sister.
Lia woke up with a start to unfamiliar surroundings. She bolted out of bed and let her eyes travel back and forth to every corner of the room. Her eyes rested on the bed where Attie was still sleeping and it all hit her at once, where she was and why she was there. She came back to the side of the bed and sat in quietly. She ran her fingers through Attie’s hair and placed a small kiss on her forehead.
Lia used her fingers to wipe the tears off her face before she started to get ready. She knew she had a nightmare, but it all felt too real. She didn’t have a watch or cell phone to tell her the time, but she assumed that it was morning by the rays of sun that filtered through the unopened window.
After Lia packed, she decided to leave Attie asleep and go talk to Miss Sallie about possible arrangements before she went out to find her dad’s old office. She found Miss Sallie in the kitchen drinking something that smelled a lot like hot cocoa. She glanced at the oven’s clock and noticed that it was only 7:23.
“Good morning Miss Sallie”
“Lia, how did you sleep child?”
“I slept well thank you, thank you so much for last night.” Lia wanted to say more but she wasn’t sure how to proceed, she was fumbling with her fingers while debating how to start
“Sit down Lia” Miss Sallie said, pointing to a chair. Lia followed her direction and sat in the chair. Miss Sallie moved around the kitchen, her back turned to Lia who still wouldn’t say anything. She placed a mug in front of Lia, with some toast, and then sat down across her.
“Eat, then you can tell me what happen” her tone said there was no arguing. Lia hesitated only for a little bit, but Miss Sallie continued “I have saved some for Attie.”
Lia ate quietly, and when she was done she got up to place her mug in the sink. She went back to sit, where an expectant Sallie was waiting.
“Well?” Sallie said
“Um… well, um… my stepdad he was not himself last night and we didn’t want to stay there.” There she said it; she didn’t give her enough details for her to do anything, but she didn’t lie either. Miss Sallie looked at her as if she could will Lia to spill everything out, but Lia said nothing more.
“Okay then” Miss Sallie said, unable to find anything else to say
“So I have to go get some things done, but I would like to leave Attie here. I know she doesn’t usually stay on Saturdays, but I’ll be back later to come get her, I just have a few things to do”
“Lia, I can help you if you tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s nothing really Miss Sallie.”
Lia wanted someone to help her, but she couldn’t risk it since she was still 17 and she didn’t have a job that could support both Attie and herself. If anyone found out about the things that her stepfather did, they would most likely place them in foster care. That also meant she risked losing her little sister. With renewed fervor, Lia knew that she would have to do this on her own. She stood up ready to go, but before she left she had to know one more thing.
“Miss Sallie, my stepfather never came here, right?”
“No, I don’t even think he knows I watch Attie.”
“Okay, I would like to keep it that way, please.”
“Sure” Miss Sallie said with concerned written all over her face. She wanted to help, but she wouldn’t push it. If Lia needed her she would come to her. Miss Sallie loved these girls, which was another reason she didn’t charge them much when it came to watching Attie.
****
Lia walked for about 20 minutes from Miss Sallie’s house to the street where her dad’s business once thrived. She stood in the middle of the narrow street and looked both ways. The place looked deserted. On her right, there were two glass doors, one leading into the tax preparation office and the other to the dry cleaner. On left, there was nothing but dirt and some grass growing up in small patches in random places. There were a few scattered trees and the dirt stretched out to the next street. There, she could see other houses and something that looked like a mom and pop store and some children playing. She turned her back on the dirt and faced the doors to the rundown businesses.
After her dad’s death, her mom had tried to take care of the business, she was doing fine, but when she met her step father, things went downhill. Not only she got pregnant, she got arrested roughly a year after she gave birth to Attie. From whatever money there was, it was used to fund her stepfather’s alcohol addiction, causing the place to close. Lia was surprised that Max didn’t try selling the building, which meant that he didn’t have any rights over the properties.
The signs were peeling off of the glass doors; Lia walked towards the tax door and peeped in. She couldn’t see anything through the dusty window. She tried the dry cleaner, it looked shoddier. Lia stepped back and took another look at the building. The old paint was peeling off the slowly and helplessly moldering walls. The grass on this side was dry and brown, making the place look dejected. There were simple red letters on a black rectangular background that read NO TRESPASSING.
Lia walked to the back of the building and paused, she didn’t have any keys. She surveyed her surroundings before pulling on the doors. They didn’t budge. She tried to think of ways to get in, but the windows were also in the front of the building. Lia took a good look at the employee parking, remembering all the times she’d been to this place. Her eyes landed on a clay pot that used to have a plant. Now all there was in that pot now, were some dried twigs and dirt. ‘Of course’ Lia should have thought of that already. Her mother used to save a key there because she was always losing hers.
Lia started digging in the dry dark dirt, hoping that somehow she’d be lucky. She had been digging for a while before her fingers finally grazed on something metal. She kept digging and was rewarded with a rusty dirt covered key. Lia brought it out, used her fingers to clean it and hurried to the doors. She tried the dry cleaner first and held her breath, nothing happened. Her shoulders slumped a little. She tried the other door. At first, when nothing happened she looked and felt really defeated. Seeing as she had no other choice, she decided to give it another attempt. Lia put a little more force and struggled to open the door one last time. It was a good thing she didn’t give up because the key turned and the door noisily opened.
Lia strode in the dark room and flipped the switch on, but the light didn’t come on. She ambled by the door again and used the clay pot to prop the door open. In the corner to her right was a filing cabinet and a door, which -if she remembered correctly- would lead to the dry cleaner. There was additional door parallel to the one she’d walked into. If she went through that door, it would lead to the bathroom in the waiting room. On the corner to her left, there was a dusty shelf with random books and encyclopedias. In the very center of the room, there was a small wooden desk with a dust covered computer on it and a chair behind it. Facing the desk were two metal chairs with what used to be blue cushions. The rest of the room was bare. Lia navigated through the dust covered furniture to a small hallway on the left that also led to the waiting room.
The waiting room was modest. On the right, nearby the actual office, was an entrance to the restroom. Lia turned the faucet on and was thankful to see water coming out, granted it was cold but it was on. Back in the lobby, there were several chairs, some with the same blue cushions and other plastic ones. On the left, almost by the glass door was a small workspace which used to be the greeter’s desk. Lia strolled back into the bureau using the door by the bathroom; she used the door that was now on her left to go to the dry cleaner.
She was greeted by a swirl of dust. With her left hand she covered her nose and mouth while she swatted at the dust with her right. Lia already knew that she wasn’t going to make use that room. She kept going in anyways to check and see if anything was operational. She explored the wall for a switch and flicked it in what she assumed was the “on” position. She got nothing. This confirmed that they didn’t have electricity. Lia opened the back door and welcomed the light that infiltrated the room. The back room of the dry cleaner looked busy. There were paraphernalia everywhere, bags and bags of clothes among other things. On one side there was a rack with hangers and on the other side was a shelf with powdered detergent, bleach and a small bucket. Lia found a huge red tub that she sure she would find a use for. She decided that she was not going to waste much time in the cleaner, so she didn’t really look at the front.
She took the detergent, the bleach, the small bucket and the red tub and brought them to the other side of the building. Lia also found a broom, which she brought with her. She went through the bag of clothes, where she found some sheets and a couple of old cotton shirts. She decided that she could use the sheets, so she took them with her, the shirts she would use as rags to clean the other side. She also brought the rack with the hangers for her and Attie’s clothes. Once she was certain she took everything she had a use for, she closed the back door and stepped out of the cleaner and closed the door connecting the two rooms.
She half-filled the pail with cold water and poured detergent and bleach, and proceeded to clean everything. She wiped furniture, swept the floor, cleaned the bathroom and moved stuff around. The only thing she didn’t touch was the front door; she didn’t want to give anyone the impression that there was someone in here. It bothered her that she had to leave the glass door dirty and many times she almost cleaned it, but every time, Lia thought about how that could affect Attie and herself.
Once she was finished, she took the bus to a nearby Wal-Mart where she got the most necessary things. Lia got a small battery operated heater, which wasn’t as expensive as she expected. She got a lamp, some candles, a three lighter pack, a small clock and some D batteries for both the lamp and the heater. After a lot of internal debating, she got a twin air mattress with a battery powered pump. She got some toothpaste, deodorant, body lotion and soap, toilet paper, some peanut butter and pre toasted bread, a gallon of water, a small cooler and a bottle of pain reliever syrup just in case Attie had a headache. Everything cost her about hundred and fifty dollars. She decided that she would have to wait till next paycheck to get anything else. She placed most of the smaller things inside a backpack, she tied the small mattress to the bag, she carried the heater, the cooler and water in her hands.
Luckily the bus picked her up in front of the store and dropped her off across the street from her new home. Lia didn’t take the time to unpack or fix anything; she decided to go get her little sister before it was too late.
November 19th 2010
This is the first of many nights in our new little home. It’s not much, we don’t have power or hot water, but it will do for now. It’s so peaceful, Attie loves it. She hasn’t once asked about her dad; for that I am grateful, I wouldn’t even know how to answer her.
I can’t believe Max would go to such lengths, maybe he’s crazy. I was almost too late, and she was almost burnt alive. I have lost a father, my mother was put in jail, and I have been hit many times by Max, yet nothing was as scary as that moment. I woke up and I couldn’t find her, if the unthinkable had happened, I would have never been able to live with myself. I’ve never felt that much anger towards someone. Someday, I’ll have enough money to support both of us, and then I’ll adopt Attie and we’ll never have to see Max ever again. Until then I will protect her with my last breath.
I can see Attie is tired; she’s rubbing her eyes and yawning. I’m more than tired and I am so glad that tomorrow is Sunday. Well goodnight, I’ll come back again.
That was the best night sleep Lia has had in a long time, she didn’t wake up till about eleven. At first she was worried that she would have a nightmare, but then she reminded herself that she was far and no one knew where she was.
Lia used cold water to wash her face and brush her teeth. She filled the bucket with water and put it outside so the sun could warm it up. She had turned off the small heater sometime in the middle of the night since it wasn’t even that cold yet. Now she moved it away before she climbed back in the bed with Attie.
While she waited for Attie to wake up, she planned her week. Lia would have to wake up earlier than usual to get Attie to Miss Sallie and then go to school. Miss Sallie was now about twenty minutes away from her, with the school being in the middle. She would pass the school every day on her way to drop Attie off, and then she would have to walk another ten minutes back to school. That meant Attie would have a forty minutes’ walk every day too. Lia wasn’t worried about herself, she didn’t mind walking, she enjoyed it in fact, and it helped her clear her mind. Since she couldn’t find a better solution, Lia decided that a little walking never killed anyone. If she had enough money someday, she’d get Attie a small bike; meanwhile she was going to take a shower.
That was easier said than done, the water was still too cold and the space was still too small. Lia had to stand in the red tub, so the water wouldn’t get on the floor. She also had to use an old cup to scoop water from the bucket and pour it on herself. By the time she was done, she came to the conclusion that no shower was worth that much trouble. Lia was just about done when she heard Attie call out her name.
“Lia? Where are you?”
“I’m in the bathroom Attie, I’ll be right out.”
Lia quickly dried herself and threw some clothes on before she went to find her little sister. She’s already told Attie that she was not to come in the waiting room, she didn’t want to risk someone seeing them through the dirty glass door. Lia was glad that her sister listened, she found Attie sitting on the mattress. Attie had her feet crisscrossed with her elbows resting on them and her face in the palm of her hands.
“You’re okay Attie?”
“hmm mm, I’m just hungry”
“Really, you just woke up” she said with a smile
“But I am” she said, her eyes brighter than before. “I think I can eat a cat”
Lia held in her laughter “a cat? The expression is a cow Attie, you think you can eat a cow”
“Oh” She said hiding her face behind her small hands “but a cow is so big, I can’t eat a cow, can you eat a cow?”
Lia couldn’t hold it anymore, she just laughed and it felt good. “No I can’t eat a cow” She said as she bent over to pick Attie up of off the mattress. She placed her in one of the metal chairs before she started putting peanut butter on a piece of toast. “How about a peanut butter sandwich, do you think you could eat one?”
Attie’s eyes lit up “yes, that’s not a cat… or a cow” she added at the last minute.
“You’re right; now eat up so we can go to the park. We’ll have some real food later”
Both girls ate while Attie asked as many questions as a three years old could ask; she never ceased to amaze Lia. Why Max couldn’t see Attie for who she was, really puzzled Lia.
After they finished eating, Lia filled the sink with the water that she had left from earlier and washed her sister. Attie didn’t stop wriggling and complaining about the water being too cold. When done, Lia got rid of the dirty water and then they were on their way to the park.
__________________________________________________________________
Please let me know what you think. Thanks for reading :)