Scarlett's Will by Nicole Jardine (primary phonics books TXT) 📕

me. I saw tears in her eyes. Finally, she's opening up, she's dropping her mask and showing me her pain and her fears.

“I can't go home Scarlett because I don't have one. My mother made that perfectly clear when she packed my bags for me. I don't even know where my stuff is anymore. I guess Johnny has it,” she cried.

“We'll get it back Cas. I'm sorry,” I said, hugging her. She sobbed as I held her in my arms. I just rubbed her back and waited patiently as she finally let it all out.

After a few days at the shelter, Debbie, the woman who signed us in came over to talk to us just as we finished lunch. “I have your results. Both of you have shown up clean, a little iron deficient and malnourished but that’s to be expected and not pregnant, congratulations. You’ll have to meet with a counselor while you’re here. They’ll need to know why you are living on the streets. They’ll be contacting your parents to verify your stories,” she informed us. I couldn’t help but laugh at her.

“What parent would verify any story a runaway kid tells you,” I shouted at her. I’m angry now. What kind of system is this? I just met Melody, a girl that opened up to me about why she ended up here. She told me that she ran away from home because her step dad was raping her repeatedly and her mother refused to believe her. Are these counselors going to verify her story with her mother and her step daddy?

Melody's the girl I sat beside on our first evening here. She finally began talking to me after a few meals eaten side by side. We sat alone in the dining room when she turned to me with tears in her eyes.

“I'll have to go to another shelter when they decide not to help me anymore. This is the fourth one I've been to since I first ran away over a year ago,” she confessed to me.

“How old are you?” I asked.

“Sixteen,” she said proudly. She certainly didn't look it. Her delicate features and her long blond hair made me think of her as a child. I wrapped my arms around her, wishing there was something I could do.

“They always allow you to stay for awhile. They try to sober you up, feed you, get you checked out for pregnancy or disease. Wash your clothes and of course counsel you back home. Sometimes that’s just not an option though,” she told me. I released her as she stood up.

“Thanks for the chat Scarlett. Sometimes it feels good just to talk about it. I’m not looking for answers anymore. It’s just about survival. Maybe someday I’ll figure it all out,” she smirked. I watched as her slender fingers pulled out a cigarette, lighting it as she walked outside.

Debbie ignored my outburst and walked back into her office, shutting the door behind her. I sighed as I stood up and joined the others in the lounge. There were some guys here that wanted to get with me, I could tell by the way they watched me. I didn’t want to be near them though. I wasn’t interested in any of them. I was focused on cleaning up my life now. I didn’t want to be used and besides they had nothing to offer me. Cas and I did our best to avoid them. We would leave the common areas when they would come around. I know that one of them took the hint. He wasn’t pleased by it though. His stupid male ego was hurt. He tried to intimidate me. He would purposely step in front of me when I tried to pass him. He would come outside and stare at me when I would have my smoke.

I even overheard Calvin on the phone with someone talking about getting a gun. I had a feeling that he purposely wanted me to overhear him. He had left a few photos of guns on the counter when I went in for dishwashing duty. If he was trying to scare me it was working. I didn’t feel safe when he was around. I tried not to look at him, even though I knew he was staring at me. Cas didn’t seem to notice the tension between us, she told me I was paranoid. I had to get away from him before it was too late. I just had a feeling I was in danger. He would snap if I didn’t leave soon.

Cas and I were caught off guard one morning as one of the guys came running out of the girls shower, wearing just a towel. He was whistling as he ran towards us. Just as we glanced up at him he dropped his towel and screamed. We were so shocked, we just burst out laughing, running into our bedroom and shutting the door. My ribs hurt so bad by the time we caught our breath.

“Oh my God, did you see him?” Cas laughed. “He’s so big,” she squealed and we both just started laughing again.

He was dressed when he knocked on our door moments later.

“Hey, I’m Carl, pleasure to meet you,” he said, sounding professional as he held out his hand when Cas opened it against my protests. Cas shook it. I think she was in love again. He actually turned out to be the funniest guy I have ever met. He was constantly making us laugh. I loved the big red comb he stuck in his afro and his baggy jeans that hung off his skinny hips.

Carl called me Cleopatra. Cas had just finished cutting my bangs the day he flashed us. Carl, Cas, Melody and I became inseparable. We ate all our meals together and hung out in the common room for hours afterward, telling stories and laughing every night. Boys and