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“Can you be there in an hour?”
Lord, give me strength. I check the time- 6:30 am.
“That … should be ok. I’ll text you when I’m on my way.”
“Oh Sienna, I can’t wait to see your face.”
It best be good.
An hour later, Enzo is pulling up outside a unit towards the outskirts of Manhattan. Safe to say he was less than impressed with my early wake up call. He looks as tired as me, with his hair disheveled and eyes still a slight tinge of red.
The best I could muster was a pair of black leggings with a knitted dark gray dress and I quickly threw on my Doc Martens and a black puffer. New York still hasn’t let up on the freezing weather, so I’m glad I grabbed my chunky scarf and gloves before I left.
“Well, this is the address,” Enzo dryly announces as he pulls into a derelict industrial unit, housing two large metal structures. The one on the left has a large lilac sign with ‘The Hideaway’ written in white lettering. Zipping my coat up, I make my way over to the brightly lit entrance. I’m guessing Paula’s in here.
As I step over the entrance, I stop dead in my tracks. In front of me stands a completely renovated unit, sectioned into different areas. Scanning the room, there’s a foam-floored play area brimming with brightly colored toys, a collection of chairs huddled in the corner around a floor to ceiling bookcase, filled with book collections. The back corner is a mini boxing gym, complete with black padded flooring with a red canvas punch bag hanging from the ceiling. I can hear rustling from behind the double doors. “Paula, are you in here? It’s me, Sienna.” I call out.
Paula appears from the doorway, her shiny white hair curled and that red lipstick painted on her lips. How she looks this good at the crack of dawn I’ll never know. Excitement radiates from her as she spots me.
“Oh Sienna, Darling. Isn’t this just wonderful!” she announces, flinging her hands in the air.
“I mean, yeah, this looks great, but am I missing something?”
God, have I forgotten some crucial information here? The place is great, but I have no idea what it has to do with me being here at 7:30 AM on my day off.
“Well Sienna, this is the Hideout. A safe space for our kids should they need it. Complete with a new office for us to work from.”
“Wow, that’s-that’s great Paula. Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner? I could have helped? Do we have the funding for this?” I blurt out without even thinking.
I’ve seen our accounts. We are nowhere near ready to have this kind of setup yet.
“You’ll have to thank Mr. Russo himself. He’s funded and designed this whole place. He’s spent weeks perfecting it, working closely with the kids to build their ideal hideaway.”
A smile creeps up my face.
This place is perfect. My thoughts immediately go to Max; he would love this space.
“Wow, I don’t know what to say. This is absolutely perfect. I can’t wait to see the kids’ faces. This is going to be game-changing for us, Paula.” Excitement is bubbling through me as I speak, the first genuine emotion I’ve felt in a long time and I have Keller to thank for that.
“Mr. Russo has a kind heart beneath that hard exterior. He tells me he was a product of the state’s foster system. He had a tough time, he knows how important this is for them. Speaking of…” Her eyes twinkle as she speaks of him.
I nod along as she speaks, a knot forming in my stomach as Enzo’s words replay over and over in my head.
“Maybe it’s not too late.”
Muffled sobbing catches my attention from behind the stud wall in front of me. I shoot Paula a questioning look.
She drops her head slightly, letting out a small sigh.
“It’s Max.”
Dread fills my stomach.
“What’s happened? Is he okay?”
That poor kid never catches a break. He’s only seven, for Christ’s sake.
“His mom’s missing. I found him living at home on his own. He’s been there for the last two days. I couldn’t get hold of her to sign off on his boxing training next week, so I popped around. Found him crying his heart out on a striped bed, shouting out for his mom.”
