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chapter one: New Years party.
Melanie Porter didn't have it good, she grew up in a pretty shitty household that made her closed off. Her parents got evicted from their apartment when she was only ten, so after being kicked out, they were living in a sketchy alley way in a tent. She hated everything about it, because when they lived in the apartment she was able to escape her parents fights and arguments by going to her room, but she had no room anymore. So the small girl would run over to a near by store just to hang around. She'd sometimes even went there to get herself some snacks if a stranger gave her money when she asked for it. Her parents weren't great, they yelled at her over little things, called her names, got high off heroine anytime they could afford it, meaning they barely noticed that the ten year old was gone. So while they were high on drugs, she was off eating snacks and drinking water or just getting as much food as she could afford at the store. The store was her only escape from her parents, and she loved having an escape.
Now, your parents usually teach you the "stranger danger" rule, but in Melanie's case, her parents made her go up to strangers to ask for money all the time, so it wasn't a problem when this kid with a face full of freckles asked her if she wanted to stay with him and his little brother. Melanie wasn't stupid, she had been to the store over fifty times when the boy had asked the question, besides, she felt comfortable around him and had gotten to know him enough by visiting the store almost everyday. Of course she didn't go back to the tent with her food because her parents would've taken it to eat it for themselves, so Melanie would stay at the store, and eat her snacks while talking to the boy who sat behind the counter with a baby by his side. He'd questioned her about her life and why she was always at his store, and she'd questioned him about random things. It was like that for almost every day of the week. Melanie thought it was cool to see a twelve year old run a store by himself.
So when he offered a spot in his home, she trusted him enough to say yes. And in her state, she definitely wanted to be under a roof so she took her chances. Besides, her parents never realized when she'd leave, so what was the harm in living with someone who offered to help?
What can be harmful? Nothing, really.
Is what she thought before nodding her head, finally answering the question after a couple of minutes of silence. She had thought about the possibility of never seeing daylight again, or how this could be a set up, but that was better than sleeping in a tent with your parents who couldn't even tell you that they loved you. She was a smart ten year old and she could tell that her parents didn't love her—they didn't even want her.
"Yeah, I'd love to stay with you and your brother—I-I just don't have clothes—or anything to bring in that case." She stammered awkwardly, playing with her fingers. "You good. I can do something about that." He nodded. This made the girl furrow her eyebrows as she placed both of her hands on the edge of the counter. "Why are you being nice to me?" She questioned as she looked down at her beat up shoes, her curls wild and puffy. "Because you seem like a good kid. You don't need to be out on the street."He answered honestly, looking over at his baby brother, he was going to care of her the way he did for his baby brother.
