As I fell deeper into my reverie, I forgot where I was. I didn’t know this street. It was unfamiliar. I was brutally aware of how cold it was. My heart was pounding, my head was racing. Memories flooded through my head. It was getting too much. It was just like my childhood. Wandering the streets without a purpose or direction, just looking for somewhere to sleep for the night. Oh God. The club. Jack. He must have been drunk or delusional. Maybe it was a bet. Just Alex and Jack joking around. He was a famous guitarist in a famous band. He travelled the world. Thousands of girls loved him. He had bras thrown at him on stage. I was a washed up homeless girl who happened to be in the right place at the right time. I turned right at the crossroads. Quite ironic seeing as nothing went right in my life. It was a dead end. Just rubbish bins and a few black bins. It’ll have to do I muttered under my breath. Admittedly, I had slept in worst conditions. I sat cross legged and banged my head, deliberately, against the brick wall. Maybe it would rid the bad thoughts that haunted me. It didn’t.
I pulled my old hand-me-down phone out from the bag that Kim lent to me. No calls. No texts. As usual. My eyelids began to droop. I needed to sleep. Sleeping on the street in the bitter winter cold in a dress was not the best idea, but it was the only one I had. I arranged the black bags around me and curled into a ball.
Goodnight Holly Walker.
“So just put your pointer finger on this string. No not that one, this one. The top one. Yes! You’ve got it. Just practise and you can be like me Walker.”
“I can’t do this and you know it! I’ve got fat fingers.”
“They’re fabulous.”
“Sarcasm?”
“What would make you think that?”
I hated waking up after sleeping on the floor. You were aware of how much your ribs ached. How much your head longed for a pillow. How much you wished someone would care for you. I slowly sat up holding my head. I was still in the alley. Still surrounded by black bags. But it was different somehow. It was getting dark. Did I really sleep for a whole day? That was a record. I heard a vibrating noise somewhere. Somebody was calling me. Wow. That was different. Different but nice. An unknown caller. I pressed the answer button and held the phone to my pounding head.
“Hello? Holly?” a man’s voice asked.
“Yeah. Yeah. This is Holly. Why?” I said sleepily.
“It’s Jack. Jack from last night. Where are you?” he asked. He sounded worried.
“I-um-I. I don’t know. I went to sleep after I left the club in an alley. Why?” I stuttered. Damn I was shy.
“Your parents reported you missing. They tried to call you. I saw the report on the TV and I remembered I had your number. It was worth a try. Where are you? I’ll come get you.”
I walked out of the alley and in the daylight that was left I could see a sign. I knew where I was.
I gave Jack the address and he assured me he would get there as soon as possible.
My hair was a mess, my dress looked even worse than last night. Sleeping on the street had given my skin a lovely tinge of blue. Great. Jack will love this.