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The smell of the cheeseburger was overpowering and I gulped in the warm scent of ketchup, cheese, and processed meat.
My lips tugged upward as I tore back the wrapping around the cheeseburger and devoured such a large bite I had to mash it into my mouth to be able to chew.
I moaned as the taste hit my tongue.
Lifting the soda, I gulped down the fizzy drink. It tickled my throat bringing on a burp that made me giggle.
The uncommonly loud belch caught Joe’s attention, and he sat up halfway. He cocked an eyebrow and gave me a stern look. I threw him an apologetic smile and he shook his head.
“A young thing like you should still have manners at this stage in life.” He laughed when I stuck out my tongue at him.
His laughter turned solemn as he looked at my face, no doubt seeing the latest gift from Darryl. This time, he shuffled and moved so he was sitting upright next to me.
As he sucked in a breath, no doubt to ask what happened, I shoved my cheeseburger toward him in an effort to cut him off. “Did you want some?”
His eyes softened and he held up his hands, declining. “Cora, you need to eat. I’m just fine.”
I pursed my lips together and resumed chewing and savoring my meal.
Joe let me finish without a word. We sat in comfortable silence and I closed my eyes as I swallowed the last bite.
The soda was long gone. I leaned back and looked up at the night sky. The city lights made it impossible to see anything but black. Sometimes on nights like this I longed to see a star. Just one. Something light and untouched by darkness.
“What happened this time?” Joe’s voice broke through my wishing.
I hesitated before making eye contact with him. “Darryl didn’t think the house was dusted. Chaylene didn’t remember if it had been or not, since she was on her fifth cocktail when he rolled home.” I shrugged. “I figured taking it was better than fighting back this time.”
I lowered my eyes, disgusted with myself. The last time I tried to fight Darryl when he raised a hand to me, he threatened me with his always within-reach-handgun. Staring down the tight yet wobbly grip he held on it, I remember desperately trying not to wince as it went off and busted through the floorboards in the corner of the room, next to where I stood. His laugh still rang in my ears and I knew he’d found something that gave him a high of control again since his fists hadn’t done the trick.
Now I worried one night he might just be angry enough, drunk and drugged enough, or both, to follow through and hit me instead of the floorboards.
Joe sighed and placed his tattered coat arm around me. “Kiddo, you’re going to be all right. Don’t forget to keep looking up.” He smiled, pointing at the night sky.
I squeezed my hands together. “I don’t know if I have it in me anymore, Joe. I’m thinking about leaving for good. I can’t make it these next few days.”
Joe didn’t answer. We sat still for a few more minutes and finally, he spoke. “A few days of hell in exchange for freedom is worth it, sweetheart. I promise you.”
I looked back over to the man beside me. For five years Joe had been here, listening to my story. And I barely knew his. Just that he had no family left and was a war veteran. He’d been homeless longer than I’d been alive. If he was giving advice, it was wise to listen.
He met my gaze and gave me a small smile. “Trust me on that one. You come of age in the system and they’ll set you up and help you on your feet. You run away, you wind up like me. There’s nothing but drugs and prostitution here.” His smile faltered, but only for a moment. “You’ve managed to keep a small light around you. You are kind to others, you care about people. You have hope. Don’t let that drugged-out nobody take that from you when you’ve come this far, Cora girl.”
My chest constricted as Joe spoke. I knew he was right, but I couldn’t speak for fear of breaking down right there, so instead, I nodded.
“Now, run on back and be careful. Night time isn’t the best time out here,” Joe said. He nudged my shoulder and lay back down on the bench.
“Thank you,” I said to him and rose, giving him a small wave before I slipped away from his line of sight.
The noises of the city played like a soundtrack in the background of my movements back to the house. Not home. I’d never had anywhere I called home.
I closed my eyes, listening to car horns blaring and a distant chattering that the voices from the surrounding area made as they rose up into the sky. I checked my watch again.
It was only eight o’clock. Prime time for drinking in the great Darryl Aberdeen’s home. I shut my eyes hard, pushing the two horrendous adults from my mind.
I should have gone straight, kept walking along the edge of the park and figured out a way to sneak into the house. Instead, I looked to my right. It was a longer route, one that would buy me more time. Joe did say it wasn’t safe, but there were still so many people around. I didn’t care.
Anything was better than there. And the park called to me, offering a few more minutes of peaceful solitude.
I walked under the brightly lit lampposts lining the pathway I jumped onto. The trail was quiet, though the city noises were still close, and I basked in the fading sounds of life.
