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There he is again….waiting. He sits out there and stares at my window, longing for my company. I kinda feel sorry for him, all alone in the world with only me the comfort him. I sigh in disappointment at what I’m about to do but my grieving heart can’t stand it any longer. I walk out of my room quietly, trying not to wake anyone, and I enter the kitchen. I grab some leftovers and head outside. He comes to me quickly and I drop the food and the homeless dog quickly devours them. No that’s not a metaphor, he is an actual dog. I had you fooled didn’t I? Again I sigh in sadness realizing I wished it were something more than a sniveling dog. The dog finished his meal and pawed at the empty Tupperware. I smile grimly, realizing the poor thing was still starved. I couldn’t give him anymore to eat. I picked up the Tupperware and returned inside the house. I washed the dish, went upstairs, and back to bed. Hopefully tomorrow would be better, or at least a little faster.
I awoke to Gina’s voice assaulting my eardrums. She was performing her usual routine of waking me up with her teeth rattling, sing-song voice of hers. I sigh, I’ve been doing that a lot lately, and get up. Just to please her. I go to the bathroom to shower and brush my teeth, dress, and follow Gina down stairs. Mrs. Allen is making breakfast. It smells horrible.
“Good morning Gina, Leah.”
“Morning,” we reply in unison.
She scoops some burnt toast and runny eggs onto each of our plates.
“Thanks Mom!” Gina chirps
“Thanks Mrs. Allen.” I reply quietly.
“Why do you call her that! She said you can call her Mom, just like I do! Just because your Mom is a dr--”
“Gina!” That’s one of the first times I hear Mrs. Allen snap at her own daughter. Gina must have been revealing something I’m not supposed to hear about. Interesting.
Just incase your wondering I’m a foster kid and my name is Leah Ross. Yeah I know, Leah Ross can dress for less! I hear it all the damn time. Well since I’m paid for by the state I don’t shop at the best places so that doesn’t help my cheap department store reputation. I’m not homely looking if that’s what your thinking. I have short, auburn hair and am skinny as a bean pole and I wear glasses. Whoop-Dee flippin doo! You know I wear jeans and T-shirts a lot but that doesn’t mean I’m poor or have bad taste. It just means I don’t take four hours in front of a mirror every morning just to look acceptable! Not that anyone cares. I’ll always be Dress For Less Leah.
I finish my breakfast nearly forgetting what Gina had started to say, I probably would have to if it weren’t for Mrs. Allen bringing it up again.
“Leah, Gina brought something up that I’ve been meaning to tell you about your mother.” I nearly scoffed at the irony. The annoying 9 year old finds out about the messed up teens mother before the messed up teen does. Brilliant. I rinse off my plate and sit myself back at the table and she begins.
“Well your mother hasn’t been doing well since she lost you to the state and has been falling into some bad crowds. She’s been buying drugs and overdosing and was sent to the hospital several times. She is unfit to protect herself from, well, herself and has been placed into a rehab care unit. That’s where they monitor her from committing suicide. She might not be out before your 18th birthday and you will have to stay in my home until then. I thought I should tell you before someone else did.”
I scrolled over the information. Shocked to hear about the drugs, since that’s what sent my Dad away. But despite hearing all this I only asked one question, “Can I have a dog?”
Mrs. Allen was startled be the question and said, “Well I shouldn’t really decide that. Maybe you can ask Mr. Allen when he gets back from his trip?”
No dog.
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I don’t even like dogs! I don’t know why even asked! I thought about how life was when I lived with Mom in Kendal. It was nice, even though we lived in an apartment. I went to a crappy school in a bad neighborhood but I had some good friends. Well, the police didn’t think so. But I missed someone more than anyone else. Jay.
Before you go jumping to conclusions he wasn’t my boyfriend. He was a guy that tutored me at the community center. I know tutoring. I must be stupid right? Wrong! I’m just not very good at math. Well, he was like my father when mine got off his lazy a** only to leave me and my mom. I haven’t seen Jay in a long while….
Well, I have no school, no friends, no dog…why can’t I see him this summer! Hell, why can’t I see him today!
I walked downstairs and asked, well more like demanded, to be allowed to take the bus to my hometown.
“Well Leah I don’t see why you can’t go. The day is young! You have fun!” I was surprised.
Since she heard the news of having a foster kid from a druggie mom I thought she would be a little more apprehensive about letting the kid go back to the source of all the problems. Oh well! I’m not gonna bring it to her attention!
I went upstairs to grab a bag for my phone, ipod and money and left the house. I waved goodbye to Mrs. Allen and walked to the bus stop about two blocks away. I sat on the bench, waiting, while others arrived. An old woman, a middle aged man, a kid from my school……God damnit! Not just any kid, Brian Simms. God!
“Hey its Dress For Less! What’s up?” I ignored him and simply looked for the bus. He sat next to me and once again, I sighed.
“What do you want?” He held up his hands in surrender.
“Hey, I’m just here for the bus! No need to get snippy!” Thankfully the bus arrived and everyone piled on. The bus was already pretty packed so I sat in the back with one open seat next to me. And woe and behold Brian just had to sit next to me.
“Did you have to sit here?” I asked.
“Hey! It was either next to you or the old man with the dentures! It was a hard choice but I managed to pick you.” We were quiet and I put my ipod buds in and day dreamed a bit. It would take about 30 minutes for my stop to come and the city was just outside of my town so I would get off before Brian did. Good! I don’t need some annoying guy to bother me on my vacation! Well not really vacation….maybe just an extended visit. Yeah, that sounds about right. Before I knew it my bus stop was next and I began to gather my things.
“Ummm….Please don’t tell me your getting off here.” I heard Brian murmur next to me. I was tired of everyone presuming this was the horrid town of Florida but I just had to have a little fun with him.
“Yep! This is the only place that has the purest cocaine.” He looked at me seriously and I laughed out loud before the bus stopped and I left. I walked down the sidewalk and the bus continued on its route when I heard the worse sound in the world. Footsteps hurrying to catch up with me. And for some reason I had a feeling I knew who it was.
“Leah, wait!” He caught up to me and smiled wide and all I wanted to do was punch him square in the jaw.
“What the heck!? I didn’t invite you to come with me you freak!” He lost his smile and put on a defiant face.
“I can go where ever I want! I don’t need to be invited!” He crossed his arms like a girl and continued walking beside me.
“Well don’t follow me then!” I began walking a bit faster and just like I presumed he was following, like the stray dog I never had! I groaned in frustration and broke out in a run, trying to lose the guy. I knew the town like the bag of my hand and once I turned the corner I ran straight into an alley and crouched behind a dumpster. He ran past me and I smiled triumphantly. At least I did until I heard someone else speaking.
“So what are you doing here girlie.” I turned and saw a bum with a syringe in his hand, eyeing me like a piece of meat. I stood to walk away but surprisingly he was fast and leapt like a cat to grab my arm. I tried to tug it away but the facts are he was a 40something year old man and I was a 16 year old girl. I screamed at him and dug the nails from my other hand into his arm. I would have bitten him to but he was filthy. I know in a time of panic I shouldn’t have been worrying about that but I’m not gonna bite a gross looking arm!
He pushed me down onto the ground and I tried to get back up but he pounced and just before he landed on me I saw Brian running towards us. Brian rammed into the guy and he was sent flying. Brian then pounced on him and began punching the guy in the face brutally. I stood, recovering from the shock, and grabbed Brian’s shoulders.
“Brian that’s enough! I think he gets it!” Brian swiveled around, looking angry and upset at the same time and stood up grabbing my arm and dragging me along. We got back to the sidewalk and walked about a block, him still holding my hand, when he finally let go and turned towards me.
“See! This is why I tagged along! This place isn’t a town where girls can just walk freely! They at least need someone else there to look a little intimidating.” Okay I know the guy just saved my a** but this was a little ridiculous!
“What?! That wouldn’t of even happened if you weren’t here hovering over me like a mother ship!” He looked angry but sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Look. You’re not gonna get rid of me so we might as well do what you came to do and then just get out of here.” I was gonna tell him I couldn’t get my cocaine with him hanging around but he was already mad.
“Well I need to visit someone at the community center so follow me.” We walked along the sidewalk side by side but we were silent. I looked around at the remains of my hometown. It was rundown, basketball nets were missing, cars on cement blocks in front of the houses and no kids out riding bike or playing hopscotch. It was kind of sad.
“So, you used to live here?” I stared at him with a sarcastic, ‘No, you think?’ look and continued walking. We arrived in front of the community center and I was appalled and shocked at what I saw. Graffiti on the front, broken windows and no one around. I nearly cried. It was done, the community center was dead. All the excitement of seeing everyone was ripped out of me and all I wanted to do was go back to my foster home and sleep away the disappointment. I swiftly turned on my heel and returned to the bus stop, silent and brooding. Brian followed suit.
We arrived at the bench and I flopped down and he sat down calmly. I placed my hands on my knees and placed my chin on my hands. He straightened up and I turned my head.
“You know what? There must be more to your hometown then just the community center. Where else did you go when you lived here?” He looked at me with the longing for an answer and I sighed.
“The park. But that’s probably more run down then the center.” He grabbed my arm and told me to tell him where the park was. He dragged me there and to my not surprise it was horrid. The only things intact were a metal slide and a couple of swings. The monkey bars were rusted, the merry go round had trash scattered all around it and there was caution tape around the jungle gym. I turned at Brian angrily.
“See! This place is just as horrible as the center! Did you just want to rub in my face how bad of a neighborhood I lived in and how yours is so superior! Well, are you happy!” He looked shocked.
“What? No, you just looked sad and I thought the memories of your old neighborhood would bring you out of it.” He looked genuine but I was too furious to come back from my rage now.
“Well this didn’t do it! Thanks a whole bunch!” I stomped over towards the swings and sat there, allowing my feet to swing me back and forth. Brian followed but wasn’t quiet for long.
“May 2nd.” I stared at him.
“What?”
“That’s when you arrived in Palm Springs. May 2nd.” I was shocked that he would remember something like that but he continued talking before I could comment.
“Right when you came you were quiet but refused to take s**t from anyone and I really admired that in you. I was just the clown of the school and could get talked into anything but you were strong. And beautiful. Man, you just stuck out from all the others. And I couldn’t stop thinking about you. When you left the house this morning I saw you and followed you. I had nothing to do this summer anyways.” He looked at me and I could only say one thing.
“You know, its pretty cliché to announce your love on the swings.” He smiled.
“We can go to the slide and I could repeat it all for you.” I laughed.
“No this will do just fine.” He leaned forward and kissed me and I kissed him back, relishing in the feeling of his warn lips against mine and just before we parted his swing broke and he fell on the ground. I wouldn’t of had it any other way.
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We returned to Palm Springs on the bus and we kissed goodbye as he walked to his house and I walked to mine. I entered the house and announced my arrival as I walked into the kitchen. Mr. Allen was back from his business trip early.
“Hi there Leah! I was just talking to Alex about your question.” Mrs. Allen greeted.
“Well you know when I asked I wasn-”
“Yes.” I looked up.
“What?”
“You can have the dog that you feed at night.” I was surprised to see he knew abut that. I could have sworn that I was quiet every time I snuck out to feed him.
“Are you a serious?” I know I said I didn’t like dogs but it was still great news.
“Absolutely. So what are you gonna call him?” I smiled and answered full heartedly,
“Summer.”
 Navysteel · Tue Jun 30, 2009 @ 10:30pm · 0 Comments |
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