“You’re eighteen now, Claire. You’re no longer my problem.”
I laughed humorlessly. “Seriously? You’re kicking me out on my birthday?”
“Yeah, I guess I am,” he said without remorse.
“Can I at least get my clothes and stuff?”
He shrugged. “Make it quick.”
He moved out of the way, and I hurried past him toward the room that I shared with Shelly.
Shelly was a foster kid, too. She’d been here when I arrived. She was only ten, but I’d found myself gravitating toward her from the beginning. We would look out for each other. I hated to think about her being here alone. I was pretty sure I was the only person in this house who cared about her.
I passed by the boys’ bedroom on the way to my room. Besides Shelly and me, two other foster kids lived here. Kevin was thirteen, and Jerimiah was eight. I wasn’t as close to them as I was to Shelly, but I’d still miss them as well.
I opened the door to my room and flipped on the light switch. Shelly was sound asleep in the bottom bunk. I moved quietly around the room, shoving my clothes and personal items into the suitcase I’d carried around since I was first put into foster care. It didn’t take me long to pack. I had very few clothes and even less personal items.
My eyes misted as I picked up the only thing I had left of my mom—a locket. I opened it up to see the tiny photo of her and me. I was only a few months old in the picture. My mom had been killed in a car accident right before I turned three. Her parents were also dead, and no one knew who my father was. With no family to take me in, I had been thrown into the foster system.
I closed my eyes and tried to remember my mother. As always, nothing came to me, except for the way she’d smelled. All I knew about her was that she’d smelled like strawberries. I closed the locket and slipped it into my jeans pocket. Once it was safely tucked away, I closed my suitcase and glanced down at Shelly. I hated to wake her up, but I couldn’t leave without saying good-bye.
I crouched down next to her and gently poked her a few times.
Her eyes slowly opened, and she stared up at me. “Claire? What’s wrong?” she asked as she sat up.
“I have to leave, kiddo. My time’s up,” I said as I tried to smile at her.
“What? Why?” she asked, panic filling her voice.
“Rick’s giving me the boot. I gotta go.”
“He can’t do that!” she cried angrily.
“I’m eighteen, so technically, he can.”
Shelly’s eyes filled with tears as she sprang off the bed and wrapped her tiny arms around me. “I’m going to miss you so much.”
I hugged her back tightly. “I’ll miss you, too. Take care of yourself, and keep out of trouble, okay?”
“You know I will. Will I see you again?”
I pulled away and cupped her cheek. “I don’t know. Maybe someday.”
She nodded as her shoulders sagged in defeat. “Please be careful.”
“Always. I love you.”
“Love you, too,” she whispered.
I pushed her back into bed and tucked her in. I kissed her forehead before pulling away. I stood and grabbed my suitcase off the floor. I gave her one last smile before I opened the door and slipped silently into the hallway.
Rick was still standing by the front door when I walked into the living room.
“Did you get everything?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Good, because you’re not welcome back here. Got me?”
“Yeah, I got you.” I shoved past him.
I didn’t look back as I walked to my car. I tossed my suitcase into the backseat before climbing behind the wheel. I backed out of the driveway and headed toward the main part of town. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling as I realized just how screwed I was.
I had fifty bucks to my name until I would get paid next week. I just hoped that I could make decent tips until then, or I’d be living on air. There was no way I’d be able to afford an apartment, even a shitty one, for at least a few months. I had no money, no friends, no credit, nothing. I was completely alone. The only thing I did have was my car.
I gently patted the dashboard. “Looks like it’s just you and me now, ugly Christmas car.”
I drove back to work and parked behind the building. There was no way I would park on the street. With my luck, a cop would come by and notice that every sticker on my car was expired. I didn’t need a tow bill that I couldn’t pay for. I shut off the engine and reclined the seat back until I was looking up at the roof of the car.
At least it’s not cold out, I thought to myself as I closed my eyes.
My entire body was rigid as I tried to control the emotions raging inside me. I tried to find the positives, but aside from the fact that I wouldn’t have to deal with Rick anymore, there were none. I attempted to shut off my mind, so I could sleep.
I would be working the morning shift tomorrow. I needed the money too much to oversleep and miss my shift. Plus, I wouldn’t want to do that to my boss, Bob. He was a really nice guy, too nice for his own good sometimes.
I vowed to myself that I would figure things out when I woke up the next morning. I had no other choice. I had to make a plan, or I’d never survive.
Days had passed since Rick kicked me out of his house. I’d accomplished nothing unless I counted the tips I’d made. I had been living off of dollar cheeseburgers and washing myself in the restroom sink at work. A Laundromat was nearby, so I at least had clean clothes.
The first day, I’d left after my shift ended. I’d waited until the diner closed and everyone was gone before driving back and parking behind the building again. I’d made sure that I was up and gone before the diner opened the next morning since I was on night shift.
The second day had gone much the same way. Hiding at the local library all day, I’d lost myself in the pages of not one, but two books. The first one was a paranormal book about angels and demons that I’d read a million times. I would use it to escape reality. My problems would seem so small when compared to the main character’s issues. So what if I was homeless? At least I didn’t have to worry about stopping a hoard of demons from taking over the earth and enslaving mankind. The second book was a romance. It was about a girl my age starting fresh in college and falling in love with a man who was no good for her. I couldn’t help but feel sad as I’d read it. There was no fresh start at college and no love in my future.
It was the third day, and I was working the morning shift again. I was taking my daily sink bath in the restroom when one of my coworkers, Junie, walked in on me naked.
“Oh my God!” I screamed as I tried to cover myself. Apparently, I’d forgotten to lock the restroom door.
Junie looked like she wanted to die as she quickly mumbled an apology and slammed the door shut. After I dried off with paper towels, I walked back into the main part of the diner. I headed over to the coffee pots and started making both decaf and regular, praying that Junie wouldn’t mention what had happened. Naturally, she cornered me while I was dumping coffee grinds into the filter.
“Claire, why were you taking a bath in the restroom?” she asked.
I glanced up to see concern in her expression. Junie was older than me, probably in her late twenties or early thirties. With light-brown hair and brown eyes, she was pretty but plain. She’d recently gone through a nasty divorce and lost a lot of weight. I knew the stress from the divorce and trying to raise her two boys on her own had been taking a toll on her. I didn’t know much about what had happened, but I was pretty sure the bastard had cheated on her.
“I didn’t get a chance to shower at my house this morning,” I lied.
“Cut the crap, Claire. What is going on?” she asked.
I debating on lying again, but I couldn’t do it. Junie was always nice to me, and I couldn’t lie right to her face again.