Page 5 of Nobody's Girl

She never thought she would be a street girl, but she found, with only a little human interaction, she didn’t need to trust anybody and that way no one could hurt her. Even the kindness of these three other humans – she didn’t know when it might end so she took every advantage of anything offered.

Sofia discovered she was more resilient that she had ever thought. She avoided the roughest districts now – she’d learned that lesson the hard way. She kept her back-pack with her at all times. If nothing else, it had her art supplies and her toothbrush. It did make her ponder how easy it was for a human to disappear so totally. After a few weeks, she had stopped thinking about the Rutland family – who had been her family for over thirteen years – as people that she knew anymore. It was only Jonas who she even let herself think about – she wondered if he missed her, if he was looking for her. Forget me, Jonas, don’t make yourself unhappy. Sofia didn’t think about Fergus and Tamara at all, if she could help it.

Now as evening set in, she decided to go find food. It was a Monday and she knew her friendly waiter wasn’t working tonight, so it was a case of grabbing what she could. She scored some bread and some left-over fries. She used her last few cents to buy a couple of water bottles and headed down towards the river to eat. She sat with her legs swinging over the side of the river wall. Stefan always gave her any spare fruit after the day was out, and tonight she had a few apples and oranges. Stave off the scurvy, she thought as she bit into the apple. At ten p.m. she would head to the pool. She had a routine now; she would swim for forty-five minutes then the last fifteen she would wash herself and her clothes if needed, tying the damp clothes to the straps of her backpack. It was August, and still warm, even at night, so her clothes dried quickly. She hadn’t yet figured out what she would do in the winter about any of it – where she would sleep…how she would stay alive.

Sofia didn’t let herself think about it. One day at a time. And for the most part, astonishingly…she was happy. Free. When she wasn’t sleeping, eating or swimming, she was sketching. She found paper everywhere, especially discarded where the artists would hang out in Montmartre, or in the Marais, or along the Left Bank. She kept it all, and when she couldn’t find blank paper, she would sketch in the margins of abandoned newspapers, or free leaflets from the tourist information office. Stefan had given her a brand-new sketchbook after she’d helped him out on the stall – he couldn’t afford to pay her a lot and the gift had really been something she treasured. Sofia swore that if she ever made it off the streets, she would never forget her three guardian angels.

Tonight, Leonie sneaked her into the pool office earlier and bought her some snacks from the vending machine. “I’ve told the security guard that you’re my cousin,” she said, piling junk food on the table. “I still think it’s safer for you to swim later on, but I thought you could paint or something in here until then. There’s a kettle, make yourself some hot drinks, or there’s soup in the vending machine. It’s free in here, just use my code, four-oh-six, okay?”

Sofia shook her head, grinning. “You are the sweetest person I have ever met. Why are you doing this for me?”

Leonie smiled. “Because two years ago, I was where you were. I was fifteen, on the streets. I got picked up by the police one night and taken into care. It was just the luck of the draw that I got fostered the next week. You’re not that much older than me. I wish I could do more for you, but my foster parents are already at full stretch, which is why I work three jobs to help them out. Hey, I could get you a job here?”

Sofia felt herself tear up again. “I can’t. I can’t work here, I’m not supposed to be here. I don’t have visas…and there’s no way they’d let me stay and I can’t go back to the States.”

Leonie nodded in sympathy. “I get it. Well, if I hear of anyone looking for someone who can draw like a dream. Have you thought of selling your work?”

Sofia chuckled. “I’m not that good.”

Leonie nodded. “You are, you just don’t realize it.”

Ivo slid the swim cap onto his head and dived into the deep end of the pool. He felt the tension in his body slide away as he began to swim, the water streaming past his limbs. Swimming had always been his method of meditation. He swam a quick ten lengths then floated on his back, looking up at the night sky. Despite the light pollution from the city, he could see the stars. Nothing else mattered really, he thought, when you looked out into the vast cosmos.

He felt a shift in the water and realized someone had dived in. He looked around and saw a figure, under the water, her long dark hair streaming behind her. She wore only her underwear and her lithe, athletic body cut through the water easily, gracefully. Ivo suddenly felt as if he were intruding on her space and looked away, concentrating on his own swimming.

After a while, it seemed as if their separate rhythms were coordinating as they began to swim side-by-side, the young woman easily keeping up with him. Ivo, never very competitive, enjoyed the weird camaraderie he was sharing with this stranger as they swam, as if by some silent agreement, they were in this together.

After a half hour, his swim companion pulled herself out of the water and Ivo felt a little bereft. He swam another couple of lengths but his heart wasn’t in it and he soon got out and headed for the showers. He stood under the hot spray, washing off the chlorine. He was tired now, the jetlag finally catching up with him.

As he left and thanked the young receptionist, he saw the swimmer outside of the pool entrance. His heart began to beat quickly as he took in her delicate features, her dusky skin. Her long black hair hung in damp ropes around her shoulders, her large dark eyes wary. Her face was exquisitely beautiful and Ivo felt a tug in his groin. He stepped out into the night, and paused a little way from her, not wanting her to feel alarmed by his presence.

“Same time tomorrow?” He said lightly, not looking directly at her until his question was asked. She started slightly and met his gaze. A shot of pure desire went through Ivo’s body. She gazed back at him, unsmiling, then gave a quick, barely perceptible nod, before turning away and disappearing into the night.

Ivo stood for a second, gazing after her. He gave a short laugh. Maybe he was jetlagged and overtired because what the hell had he been thinking, saying that to a stranger? Man, you sounded like such a creeper. There’s no way she’ll be here again tomorrow night after that. He shook his head and turned back towards the direction of his hotel.

Westchester, New York

Jonas Rutland didn’t wait to be invited into his father’s study. He opened the door in time to see his father screwing the new housekeeper and rolled his eyes.

“Gee, Dad, all class as always.”

The housekeeper, whose name Jonas hadn’t bothered to learn, jumped up and rushed past him, her face red. Fergus tidied himself up, shooting his son an annoyed glare. “How about knocking next time?”

“How about not being an asshole, next time?”

So far, the conversation had been nothing different than for the last six months. Since Sofia had been thrown out, Jonas had barely talked to his father – hadn’t talked at all to his sister who he knew had orchestrated the whole fiasco. At the start, Jonas, heartbroken and confused, had begged his father to tell him why he had done such a horrendous thing, but Fergus remained tight-lipped. Jonas had raged at him.

“You put my sister out on the streets for nothing!”

“She isn’t your sister, Jonas.”

“Sofia is my sister! More than that viper you call a daughter. Tamara is evil, Dad, twisted. She always has been but you, god, you always turned a blind eye. Mom saw it, Devika saw it, Sofia saw it. Tamara is a fucking little jealous bitch whose only goal is to screw her darling Daddy and take his money. Literally screw, probably.”