AllFreeNovel
Share Us
What drew me to her as I walked down the street? I found myself intruding on her personal space for the second time.
“Do you work at the center?” Her somber voice had me shuddering.
“Oh, um . . . Yeah, I volunteer. Do you hang out there?” I hadn’t seen her before, but surely I hadn’t met everyone. I was only there twice a week.
“Uh, no.”
Before I could even think of a response, her back was to me, and she was darting down the street in the opposite direction of the center.
My stomach somersaulted as a bad feeling snaked up my spine.
The second I stepped inside the center I went straight over to a few of the kids. “Conor, Chloe, Jenna—can I ask you a question?” I plopped my bag down on the floor and took off my coat.
“Hey, Anna. What’s up?” Jenna asked.
“I saw a girl outside. She was maybe sixteen, seventeen, with curly brown hair. And, um, brown eyes. I’ve seen her twice there now, and I—do you know her?”
I was pretty sure there were a lot of people who’d match my award-winning description, but Conor and Jenna exchanged looks. Jenna rolled her eyes at Conor as her lips drew in a straight line.
There was that bad feeling again.
“Am I missing something?”
“Um, I think that’s—” Chloe started.
“When did you see her?” Conor interrupted. “And where?” It had only taken me about five minutes on my first day to realize that a lot of these kids were wise beyond their years, and Conor was one of them. It was like they had been forced to grow up far faster than they were supposed to.
“Just a minute ago, outside that store—Clarke’s.”
Conor turned toward the exit.
“Wait!” I shouted, prepared to chase after him if necessary.
Jenna’s hand on my arm kept me in place. “Don’t follow him, Anna.” Her voice was pleading. But why?
I technically had no control over the kids or their whereabouts—they came to and from the center at their discretion. It was a haven for them, not a prison or school. It was hard for me to imagine someone as young as twelve or even sixteen roaming a busy city alone, but then again, this wasn’t Kentucky.
“Should I be worried? I feel like I should say something to Adam.”
“Can you wait? Adam kind of goes big brother on us all, and he has enough stress. I don’t want him to worry anymore. And besides, I doubt that’s actually her . . .” Jenna bit her thumbnail as she looked at me.
“And who is ‘her’?” I looked to Chloe when Jenna remained silent.
“I’m starving!” Chloe rushed toward the kitchen, leaving me even more worried than before.
When I looked back at Jenna, she was staring over my shoulder. I peeked back to see Conor coming in through the door, shaking his head.
He must not have found the girl.
“We’ve got this, Anna. Don’t worry.” Jenna nodded before going to join Conor. Once again, I was shocked at her maturity, her easy confidence.
I couldn’t give up so easily, however. I went over to one of the other volunteers, Missy, who was pouring beef stew onto plates in the kitchen area. I described the girl I’d seen, but the woman shrugged.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about, sorry. I only started here last month,” Missy answered.
There was only one other volunteer here tonight: an elderly man who was playing chess with Alec, one of the younger kids. “Sounds familiar,” he said. “But we have so many kids that come in and out of here—I can’t keep up with all their names. If anyone would know, it’d be Adam. His memory is sharper than mine.” He looked at Alec. “You know her?”
Alec placed his hands in the air, palms up.
