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A panic instantly sets over me when I hear how worried my sister sounds.
“Shan… What happened?”
“I need you to come to my cabin right now,” she tells me, all the softness is missing from her tone and I can feel my heart starting to beat real fuckin’ fast.
“Is Troj okay? Has someone hurt ya?” I go through every scenario in my head in about two awful seconds.
“Just get here and come alone,” she tells me, hanging up the phone. I toss my apple into the bush and start up my engine, pulling back my throttle and making it there as fast as I can.
I’ve barely knocked on the door before she answers it and when I see the panic in her eyes, I instantly barge past her to get inside and see what danger she’s in. I don’t see anything that looks like a threat, the place is spotlessly clean as it always is, but there is something here that gets my attention. A tiny kid, that I’d guess to be around Gabriel’s age, sitting in the center of the couch and staring at me like I’m some kinda boogeyman.
“Shan?” I look over my shoulder as she moves to stand beside me.
“It’s a kid.” I point out the fuckin’ obvious, realizing now what a state this kid is actually in. The clothes he’s wearing are dirty and worn through like he ain’t got no others, his hair is matted and he hasn’t got an ounce of meat on his bones.
“Yeah, it’s a kid.” My sister smiles at him warmly, before tugging me toward the bedroom where he won’t be able to hear us.
“So what's he doin’ here? You lookin’ after him for a friend?” I ask, though if she is, she’s gonna have to have a serious talk with whoever’s responsible for him.
“Not exactly.” Her eyes avoid mine like she knows what she’s about to tell me won’t go down too well.
“So what's he doin’ here, Shan?”
She huffs out a breath before she explains.
“Lydia has been helping me at the drop-in center while Grace’s been preparing for the baby, and today Lydia had to leave early to watch the twins for Alex so, just for a little while, I was on my own.”
“What have me and Troj told you bout bein’ on your own?” I shake my head at her.
“Anyway, I saw the woman come in with him, she sat him in the kids' play area and walked over to the stand to start flicking through some of the pamphlets. I did what I always do when we get somebody new stop-by, I gave her some space, allowed her some time to get comfortable before I approached. I thought maybe if I amused the little boy it might give her some more time to read the pamphlet. So I tried to play with him for a while. It was hard, he didn’t talk or interact, and then when I got back up to go over and introduce myself, she was gone.”
“Holy shit.” I scrub my hand over my face and peer back out the door toward the abandoned kid that's sitting on Troj and Shaniya’s couch.
“Did you not think to chase after her?”
“Of course I did. As soon as I realized she was gone I ran for the door, but there was no sign of her, and like I said I was on my own. I couldn’t leave him.”
“Well, his mother fuckin’ did,” I point out, forcing a hand through my hair and trying to see a solution to all this.
“You need to call the police.”
“No,” she answers me back sternly.
“Wh…?” I do a double-take. “What do you mean fuckin’ no, Shaniya? This is someone's kid. You can’t just go around leavin’ ‘em in libraries.”
“I’m not calling the police. He’s clearly scared. Having the police show up will terrify him.”
“Okay then, call child services.”
“And have him taken into some overcrowded foster home? No, Jessie.” She folds her arms over her chest and looks at me definitely.
“So what? You're just gonna keep him here?” I throw my arms out and laugh at her and when she doesn’t start laughing too, I really start to worry.
“Would that be so crazy?” She shrugs as if the thought has more than just crossed her mind.
“Yeah, Shan, it would be fuckin’ crazy,” I tell her straight.
“Listen to me.” She drags me deeper into the room, showing a side of herself that I ain’t ever seen before.
