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One
The soundof Christmas music playing from speakers above my head melded with the unfortunate melody produced by the wheels of my rolling trash cans. Cleaning the strip-style outlet mall was never a blast, but it was much worse at this time of year.
A cold gust of wind blew past, making me shiver and tug the hem of my beanie further down my face. It cut off my vision a bit and awkwardly smooshed my long, dirty blonde hair against my neck, but it was better than being cold.
The lights on the carousel a ways ahead of me had been left on, and the ride was still spinning slowly. The stragglers at the movie theater to my left were finally leaving, but my crew had at least another three hours of cleaning to do.
Yay.
I picked up trash as I walked past the wishing fountain that everyone and their dog tossed coins into. I wasn’t one of them—didn’t have a penny to spare, anyway. Living in my car didn’t exactly leave me with much spending money.
“Hey, Ari,” my closest work-friend called out.
I didn’t bother to turn around, waving at her over my shoulder.
We couldn’t have been less alike if we tried. Linsey was a rich girl, whose daddy was forcing her to work this job for a few months so she could learn how the “lower class” lived. She’d only be there one more day; it was December 21st, and she would be done on the 22nd.
And me?
This was the only job I could get.
Turns out a few years in juvie for killing the foster dad who assaulted you doesn’t exactly make you look like a golden candidate for a job. Or an apartment. Or anything else, really.
“Ooh, the fountain.” Linsey sighed happily as she caught up to me, not even bothering to reach out for the trash can she was supposed to be pushing. That was why we were friends—because I didn’t give a shit whether she helped or not.
And she never did.
“My wish came true yesterday,” she announced, brushing a strand of her thick, dark hair behind her ear. Her skin was light brown, her eyes a stunning blue, and her clothes clearly expensive.
I bit my lip to stop myself from rolling my eyes.
“Jake called me back, and we totally hooked up. It was fucking awesome.” She dug into the pocket of her fancy red coat and came up with a couple of pennies. “Come on, you need to make a wish too.”
She grabbed one of my trash cans and used it to drag me toward the fountain.
“It’s a waste of money,” I said with a sigh, accepting the penny she handed me.
I knew from experience that she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Usually, I just tossed the coin in without a second glance. The only thing wishes would do was give me false hope, which was the last thing I needed.
“It’s a penny. You’ll survive. Actuallytryto wish for something, and maybe it will even work.” She tossed me a dirty look that said she knew exactly what I had been doing every time she handed me a penny.
Then she stepped up to the fountain and lifted the coin to her lips, murmuring her wish to the damn thing. Sometimes she really seemed her age, and sometimes, I wondered why the hell I’d been forced to grow up so fast. We were both twenty, but experience-wise, we might as well have been from different planets.
She delicately tossed her penny in delicately, then turned and watched me expectantly.
I sighed again.
“Come on, it’s not going to kill you,” she teased.
Damn, I hated her positive attitude sometimes.
I dragged my thumb over the head of the penny, my gaze lingering on the fountain. It was nothing fancy, but then again, neither was I.
I didn’t want to make a wish—to let myself hope.
But Linsey wasn’t going to let me walk away without making at least a fraction of an effort.
So, as I tossed the penny, I murmured almost silently, “I wish for a way out.”
