It was dark, all the stars present in the sky as we sat on the hood of his beat up Camaro. I had a woolen blanket around my shoulders with his fedora sitting on my head.
I couldn't ever recall a time that I had been so peaceful, and happy.
I looked over at him, his dark hair almost blending in with the sky as he leaned against the windsheild of his car. His eyes were closed with his chin tilted toward the heavens. A faint bruise was forming on his jaw and I resisted the urge to gently probe it. I really hoped it wasn't broken.
"Why are you staring at me, Princess?" He mumbled. I blushed, not that he could see it with his eyes closed. Instead, I layed back beside him, hugging the blanket tighter around myself.
"Because I've never seen something so beautiful." I knew it was cheesy. I knew that he'd tell me I was delusional. I knew he'd tell me I was just his friend with benefits that he hauled all over the United States. I knew this.
But what he said next surprised me even more.
"Obviously you haven't looked in the mirror lately." He turned, his eyes opening and the green and yellow stared straight into my soul. My breath hitched in my throat.
"What? No snarky comeback? You've turned on me, Ace. Where's the usual lecture?" I asked. He smirked before leaning up on his elbows.
"That went out the window the moment I laid eyes on you." He leaned forward, touching his lips to mine. I shivered, and it wasn't from the cold.
"I think I love you." He murmured. I gave in, right at that moment, because I knew that no matter how hard I fought it, I loved him too.
I awoke with a start, my heart pounding in my chest and sobs ripping through my throat. When would this pain ever go away? When could I stop dreaming? Tears leaked down my face as I looked outside, rain was pattering against the window.
You would have thought it'd be soothing, but it was the exact opposite. All I could think about was the first time he kissed me. We had just escaped a bar where he nearly got himself killed. The rain was pouring heavily around us as we stood beside his car.
He kissed me then. And that was when I knew I was completely lost. I was done for. I had fallen in love with him.
A life of adventure in front of me, and I fell for him.
I was really messed up.
I glanced around, half hoping that he'd come in with a large smile and McDonald's in his hands and the other half, hoping he was rotting in Hell.
All I really wanted, was my mother. I haven't seen her in two years. And I really wanted to see her now. But I couldn't. She'd made me leave. Telling me that I wasn't wanted anymore, and that I would have a nice life with Mr. Mystery.
How I missed her hugs.
Living in Foster's Corner wasn't how I expected it to be. I was still being haunted by nightmares and sadness. Grief and shame. It was all there. No matter how far I ran or tried to forget, it's all still there. There was no escaping it.
I stood from the springy and soiled mattress. I walked down the hall to the tiny bathroom of my shitty apartment and turned on the shower head. I needed to relax. I needed to calm myself and get my mind on something else.
Waiting a few moments, I climbed into the shower. The luke warm water beat against my back and I turned, allowing the water to wash away the stains left on my cheeks from my tears.
Yesterday I had joined Ice and her friend Jared. Jared was nice, but almost the exact opposite of Ice. He had big clunky glasses and freckles out the wazzo. Along with slightly oily and disheveled brown hair that flopped into his face. Puberty had not been kind to the kid, but he was nice, and accepted me.
And for that, I was grateful.
When the water began to run cold I turned the facet off and stepped out, pulling a ratty light blue towel around my slender body and walking back to my room. Digging in my knapsack, I found a clean, well, almost clean pair of jeans and a black sleeveless t-shirt.
Pulling them on over a fresh pair of underwear and bra, I then began to search my knapsack for a few quarters. I really needed to do some laundry, maybe there was a laundry mat somewhere in town that I could run my clothes in.
I came back up with 85 cents and some lint. It consisted of two quarters, two dimes, and three nickels. Hopefully I had enough to run just one load.
I shoved all my dirty clothes into the sack and swung it over myshoulder before pulling on my faded blue hoodie. Lifting the hood up, I left the shabby and run down apartment in search of a laundry mat.
There was one about two blocks away, and I ran inside, escaping the cold rain as I did so. My hair was stringy and limp, dripping water down my shirt and back as I wiped stray drops from my eyes. Since when did it rain in Ohio?
"Hello! How can I help you?" A small lady said from a counter five feet away. In the large room there was four washers and four dryers. Kinda small if you asked me.
"I need to run a load of clothes. How much is it for each machine?" I asked. She smiled politely, despite my rude behavior.
"It's fifty cents a load. For both the washer and dryer." She said happily. I glowered and looked down at the change in my hand. I was fifteen short.
"Damn." I muttered. The lady frowned.
"Is something wrong?" She asked. I shook my head.
"No...well, yes. I'm fifteen cents short." I said ashamed. She seemed indecisive before nodding quietly and pulling out two quarters from her pocket.
"I was saving them for the coke machine on my break but you could have them. I really don't need that Mountain Dew anyway." She poked at her slightly pudgy stomach and I took the change gratefully.
"You can have my nickels and dimes. I won't take this without giving you something in return." I said. She smiled.
"Well, I have a way you can pay me back. I need another employee here at the laundry mat. I pay minimum wage, but I'll be going out of town for about a month and a half, and need one more person to man the store. Would you be interested?" She asked. I thought about it for a moment.
The only way I was able to afford the first month's rent was because I had lifted some cash from him before he left me at Burning Man a month ago. The whole time I had been starving myself and hitch hiking across the country to get to Ohio.
I don't know why I stopped here. It just seemed like the perfect place.
But with how fast my money is going, and I'm down to my last eighty five cents, I knew I needed the money. And as much as I don't want to work in a Laundry Mat, I knew this was my only option at this point.
"How much does it pay an hour?" I asked. The lady smiled.
"7.70. It's not much, but it adds up after a while." She gave me a kind grin and I weighed my options.
"How many hours do I work a day?" I asked. She frowned.
"Are you still in school?" She asked.
"Yes, I'm nineteen and a Senior." I said. She nodded.
"Well then we'll say full time after school. But I'll cut your hours in half. So, what time do you get out?" She asked.
"Three." I replied. She nodded.
"Alright. How about three thirty to eight thirty. When the store closes?" She asked. I nodded.
"That would be perfect." I replied.
The lady clapped.
"Excellent! You get paid every other Friday. I'll see you after school today! My name's Sarah, by the way!" She said cheerfully. I smiled back tentatively and turned to dump all of my dirty clothes into the washer.
While my clothes tossed and turned in the machine I did the math in my head. Everyday after school for five hours at 7.70, at least five days a week, times two...
385 dollars a week times two...
770 a month. Rent and utilities was 400 so that left me with 370 for other things. Like food, and new clothes.
But that was just Monday through Fridays. That isn't counting if she wants me to work on the weekends, which I wouldn't mind.
When the buzzer on the washing machine pulled me from my thoughts, I transferred over the clothes to the dryer, popping in fifty cents.
Things might just be turning around.
***
A/N Uploaded twice in two days! Woo! I'm not totally satisfied with this chapter. But it's fun and things are turning around for her. So you can't complain.
Anyway, thanks for reading Lovelies!
Lotsa Love,
C
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