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As I walk toward the house, I force myself to keep my mind busy. Anything to not think of my past life. Not because I’m scared, but because I’m homesick. I allow myself a thought of the dogs and my godfather. I hurt him so much. I never should have done what I did. My parents should not have made me pay for their debts.
I reach the trodden down building and pale when I see the crooked sign on it.
The Juarez Women’s Shelter.
I don’t know if it was fate that led me here, but I know I have to go inside. I buzz the doorbell and someone answers - a woman.
“Hello?”
“Yes, hi,” I whisper, not knowing what to see.
“Are you alone?”
“Yes,” I say.
“Anyone following you?”
Surreptitiously, I look over my shoulder. I don’t see anyone, but I know that doesn’t mean I’m safe. But I’ll be safer in there than on the streets.
“I don’t think so,” I manage. “But it’s not impossible. There are… people after me. Can I come in?”
The pause that follows is too long, but finally the buzzer lets me through. The door opens with a creak and I walk into a dusty office. I realize the front door is glass, but it’s so shattered and dirty I thought it was wood.
The woman who answered is sitting at a reception desk, glaring at me.
“We have weapons,” she tells me in an accented voice. “Who did they send you for, Ivy?”
“No,” I shake my head. “I’m alone. I’m… hiding from someone.”
“Husband?”
My head snaps up with attention and my heart breaks again. I think of the boy and guilt wrenches my stomach. I wish I could have helped him, taken him with me.
“My… the man I was supposed to marry,” I finally stutter. “My godfather.”
“Okay.” The woman pulls her hands from under a counter and places a gun on the desk. “Can you shoot?”
“Yes,” I admit.
“Good,” she grins. “We need someone who can think fast and shoot to kill. Welcome to Juarez.”
Afewhourslater,I’m sitting in the room the woman, Dorothea, showed me to. It’s basic but nice, and there’s a bouquet of blooming poppies on the nightstand. I always thought they were beautiful.
Now that I’m settled in, my mind is wandering. But I can’t allow it to go to all those dangerous places. The moment I think about Xavier, I’ll break down. I’ll have to admit what I did to myself.
But even now, the overwhelming feeling of freedom is exciting.
I’ve never lived like this before. Yes, I was privileged my whole life, but it also meant protection at all times, and isolation more often than not. I spent most of my childhood with my parents and sister, plus the many guards who watched over us to ensure our safety.
There’s a knock on my door, and I walk over to greet Dorothea.
“We’ll be having dinner now,” she says with a smile. “Come join us. You can eat free tonight, but tomorrow we’ll find you a job.”
I smile tentatively and follow her down the hallway into a cafeteria. There are about twenty women in the room and some children, maybe five. Some of the girls are older, but the majority are my age.
“Where would you like to sit?” Dorothea asks.
My eyes scan the room. A lot of the women are sitting together, but there’s one who sits by herself. She looks disheveled but beautiful and she has very long, perfectly polished nails.
