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I was immediately uncomfortable, but oddly enough, it wasn’t because I was alone in this room with a man I didn’t know. I wasn’t fearful of him, but I was worried about what he knew and how he was going to react.
Because I had to tell him the truth.
“Um, Mr.…” I trailed off, because I didn’t know what to call him.
“Saul, Hanna. Just Saul.”
I nodded. “Right. Uh, I have a confession to make. I’m really, really sorry, but I think you need to know why I was here in your front yard when you got home.”
“I already know.”
I jerked back in the seat. “You… you do?” I stammered.
“Yes.”
After swallowing hard, I promised, “I’m going to get your things back. I know it was wrong. I’ve been trying to convince my friends that we need to stop, because this has gotten out of control, but it’s… well, it’s been really tough for us.”
“How long have you been on your own, Hanna?” he asked me.
I didn’t know how he knew that I was on my own. Technically, I had Archie and Garrett, but I knew that wasn’t what he was talking about. Realizing I probably wouldn’t get anywhere by lying, I confessed, “Just over two years. I ran away when I was fourteen.”
“You’re sixteen, now?” he pressed.
I nodded.
“What about your friends?”
“They’ve been on their own longer than that, and they’ve been with me since the day I left my mom’s house,” I told him. “I swear, we aren’t bad people, but circumstances in our home lives led us all to this place.”
For several long moments, Saul assessed me. If I had the full use of my foot, this would have likely been the point at which I got up and took off. Since that wasn’t an option, I had no choice but to wait for him to speak.
When he did, I certainly hadn’t been expecting him to say what he did.
“Xavier and Whitney have been with me since they were just three and four,” he started. “They aren’t my biological children, but they are mine. Their mothers, who were friends with each other, couldn’t provide for them and were spending what little money they did have on alcohol, drugs, and a whole slew of other things I won’t get into. They have the same father, and he split when both women ended up pregnant. I did what I could to help these kids. I’m willing to do the same for you, and if they’re interested, your friends as well. You don’t need to call me Dad. I just want to give you a safe place to stay, where you can go to school, have a normal life, and not have to worry about how you’re going to survive the next day.”
I was completely dumbfounded. “Are you serious?”
He nodded.
“Why would you do that for me? For us?” I asked.
His features softened, and his expression warmed. “I was once in your shoes, and someone gave me a chance to make something of myself. I did, and now I can do the same for others. If I can help, I’ll help.”
I was going to burst into tears.
I didn’t know this man from the next one, but I’d seen enough to know he was the best example of what a father figure should have been in a child’s life. So, I was going to take him up on his offer. I’d been wanting to get out of doing what I’d been doing with Archie and Garrett for so long, so if Saul was willing to help me get out of that lifestyle, I couldn’t turn him down.
“If you are sure that it’s no trouble, Saul, I’d be so grateful,” I said.
“It’s no trouble, Hanna. We’d be happy to have you with us. Even Xavier,” he promised with a twitch of his lips.
I smiled back at him.
“Let’s get you settled tonight, and we’ll see how that foot is doing in the morning. If we need to get you to a doctor, we’ll get it done tomorrow. And then we can go and talk to your friends, okay?”
With tears of joy and relief in my eyes, I nodded.
But much to my dismay, when I finally caught up with Archie and Garrett three days later, I couldn’t convince them to join me at Saul’s. Archie seemed like he might have been willing to come, but Garrett was angry. He was pissed at me, insisting that I’d ditched them after all they’d done for me.
