Strip

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

I buried my head into my pillow, breathing in the musty air. I lay on the top bunk in my room, the bottom bunk empty. My window was open, the smell of the workers' cigarettes wafting in. I sighed, and rolled back onto my back. My eyes darted to the small alarm clock on the other side of the room- 2:35. Almost 3 AM. Almost 7 hours after lights out. Almost 7 hours laying in my bed, staring at the ceiling, barely a foot away from my face.

My mind was swirling, thoughts of James, and Mom, and the couple with the perfect hair drowning me. I could barley keep track of them all, but there was one, shining rule, that I couldn't shake.

What ever I was going to do, it was going to be with James.

I was about to roll back onto my stomach, when I heard something- a single, small knock on the door.

I stared at the doorknob, my heart racing. Everyone else in the house was asleep, and even if they weren't, we were everything short of locked into our rooms at night. I shook my head slightly, telling myself I must have imagined it.

I rested my head back on the pillow, when I heard it again, louder this time. I slid out of bed, the ground rattling slightly as I landed. I prayed no one had heard it, and I slowly turned the doorknob.

Behind the door stood two girls, crouching slightly in the dim light. The straightened up when they saw me, as if they were trying to appear taller.

It wasn't working. The tallest one only came up to my nose.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed.

"We need to talk to you," One whispered.

"No!" I said, starting to close the door.

One of them slipped through it before I could.

"Hey!" I said, a bit louder than I should have. As I whipped around to catch her, the other one took the chance to follow her inside.

"No! I-" I sighed, and looked at the two of them, now standing in the center of my room. I closed my door, and turned to them.

"What do you want?" I asked, flicking on a lamp in the corner.

In the yellow light, I could see them more clearly. They were two girls I recognized, the two oldest girls at the orphanage, other than me. The shorter one had short mousy hair, and a pale round face. The second had dark hair, with thick teal streaks, and a thin frame. Her arms dangled awkwardly at her sides. They both wore dark t-shirts and jeans.

"I'm Emma," The shorter one said, sitting on the bottom bunk. "This is Abby."

"I didn't ask who you are," I said through my clenched teeth. "What do you want? I don't have any cash, or drugs, or whatever."

"We don't want any of that," Abby said.

I arched an eyebrow at her. "Oh really?"

"Really," Emma said, her voice deeper, and more intimidating than before.

I felt my glare falter slightly, but didn't step back. "Then what is it you want?

Abby glanced at Emma, her face fearful. 

Emma didn't look at her. "You need to get out of here right?" 

I felt a sudden jolt in my chest. "What?" 

"You need to get out of here? You sure seem like you want to, anyways." 

"Uh, yeah, I do," I said, trying to regain my sense of superiority. "Why?" 

"We do too," Abby said, stepping forwards slightly. 

"And we're going to," Emma added. 

I crossed my arms. "And you want me to come with you?" 

Abby nodded eagerly, biting her bottom lip. 

"Why?" 

"You're almost 18, right?" 

"Yeah..." 

"And you pass as at least 19." 

"Uh... I guess." 

"That's good. We need someone who can do all the legal stuff." 

"Legal stuff?" 

"Signing for things." 

My eyes narrowed. "What things?"

"We might get an apartment," Abby explained. 

"And it would be helpful to have someone who can drive." Emma's eyes narrowed.

"You can drive, right?" 

"Yeah," I said. "I mean, it's been a while... but yeah, I can." 

"And it's always good to have more people to rely on," Abby said.

"Of course," I said under my breath. 

"So you're in?" Emma asked, her voice rising slightly with excitement. 

"Yes. I mean, no. Uh..." I looked from Emma to Abby. "I need to bring my brother with

me." 

Emma and Abby shared a look, Emma looking more annoyed, while Abby's face was

full of panic. 

"Who's your brother?" "His name is James. He's here too, he's one of the 6 year olds. He's a great kid, I promise he won't get in the way at all." 

Emma and Abby looked at each other again.  

"I think it's ok," Abby whispered after a minute. 

"Abby," Emma hissed.

"You won't even know he's there. He's quiet, and he's really sweet."

Emma looked skeptical, but the pleading look in Abby's eyes seemed to mean more to her.

She huffed, blowing a short lock of hair out of her face. "Fine."

I felt my heart swell up. "Really?"

"Yeah. Really. We're leaving in two days- my cousin lives in Arizona. We're going to stay with him for a while."

The swelling in my chest was replaced with fear. "Arizona?"

"Yeah."

"Isn't that kinda... far?"

"It's only 2 hours away," Abby said.

"Not to mention," Emma said. "That this is the best chance you'll get."

I bit my tongue. "Fine. Arizona."

"2 days," Emma repeated, heading for the door. "Be ready."

—-

Hey ho, bubblibo.

THANK you for reading! If you liked it, please vote, comment, all that shit.

You are all magical little balls of joy who I love.

Shout out to Iris (hope Italy is fun)

Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes.

KISSES.

XOX.