Dance In The Rain

~10~ Slow To Trust

I get a pit in my stomach as my brothers stop to look at me and the cranky man.

"W-what?" I stutter, praying that the ground will open up right now and take me away.

"I need to check your bag before you leave..."

"Like hell you do!" Tate snaps as he puts his bags on the ground and comes over to stand next to me.

"You have no legal right to touch her property, so back up, dickhead!"

The man nods as his eyes tighten. "If you will not open your bag, then I will be forced to call the authorities."

Holden blows out a breath as he takes the strap off of me and brings it to him, unzipping it and staring inside for several seconds. Once he finally registers what he's seeing, he nods quickly and zips the bag back up.

"Tate, take these bags and you two go wait in the car for me," he says calmly as he puts my crossbody across his shoulder and hands the plastic sacks to me.

"What the hell is going on?" Tate snaps, looking between me, the old man, and Holden like a really confusing ping-pong game.

"What's going on is you're going to listen to the words coming out of my mouth for once. Get in the car!"

Tate stares at Holden for a minute before he finally nods and we walk quickly out.

Once we're in the car and we roll the windows down, the hot space somehow feels even stuffier as I try and calm the humiliation radiating through me.

"What did ya steal?" He finally asks, looking at me as if he's proud.

"Tampons," I whisper, my cheeks hotter than this dang Buick.

To my surprise, he doesn't laugh or make fun of me. He simply nods as he looks out the window. "Well, that's boring as shit. I was hoping you'd at least say a movie or something...."

~*~

When Holden comes back he not only has my purse, but an additional bag. He sets it in the front seat and stays completely silent as we drive back to the smallest town known to man.

When we get inside the little house, he takes my hand and pulls me into his room, bending so he's eye level with me. He hands me the bag he brought with him and when I look inside, I see that not only are the tampons I stole in there, but a package of pads too.

When I finally get the nerve to look at him again, his eyes are sad and his face gentle.

"I'm so sorry I didn't think about that, Annie. I'm devastated that you didn't feel like you could come to me, but I get it—You don't know me, or trust me yet. Hopefully soon we can get to a place where you can."

"Am I in trouble?" I ask in no more than a whisper, feeling my cheeks heat up again. I've never been in trouble in my whole life. Dad was never ever home and aside from this, I'm obviously perfect....

"You should be, huh?.......No, this was my fault. I talked the store out of calling the cops, even though I think it's shit that they were being so stupid. I think they were actually bluffing though, cause it was only....it doesn't matter....Please don't steal again. If you need something, ask me. I can't always give you all of your wants, but I PROMISE that all of your needs will be taken care of."

All I can do is nod, and I think he knows that I'm mortified. He simply plants a kiss on my forehead and walks out of his room, leaving me to take care of what I need to.

~*~

Monday morning comes quicker that I could have hoped, and when Holden wakes us up, Tate throws a pillow at him.

"We literally got our whole lives taken from us, and you wanna force us into school? Give us a grace period!"

Holden sighs as he opens the curtains, allowing the sun to shine through and stab at our eyes.

"I hear you, Tate... I get what you're saying and I understand, but what would you be doing all day? Watch TV? I have no one that can sit with you during the day."

"We're not children! We literally lived on our own for years!!! You think we can't handle eight hours?"

Holden nods as he walks back to the door and leans on the frame.

"I'm sorry he made you stay home alone all the time...that never should have happened. It won't happen any longer. Are you old enough to stay on your own? Yes. Am I going to allow you to miss school so you can watch TV? No. Please get dressed so we can meet Mr. Lee before school."

"And if I don't?" Tate snaps as he sits up in bed and glares at Holden.

Holden shrugs. "I'm not going to threaten you, brother. I'm new to the parenting crap and I don't want to be all authoritative. Please be ready to leave in thirty minutes...You never know, you might have a good day."

"Doubtful," Tate groans as he lays back down and covers his face with the blanket.

Holden turns to me and gives me a small smile. "Thirty minutes, Annie."

When he leaves, I get off the bed and walk over to Tate, sitting down and leaning my head against his shoulder. "Please don't make me do this on my own."

Tate pulls back the covers and looks at me, rolling his eyes. "You don't have to go either. We could sneak out and spend the day on the beach."

"...And you don't think he'd find us?"

"And what's he going to do?" Tate sneers as he sits up in bed and stares hard at me. "The guy is a man-child who's bullshitting his way through this."

"Please?" I whisper as I feel my eyes filling with tears

I'm so nervous for school

Tate's eyes soften slightly as he nods once and goes out of the room to jump in the shower. Since I showered last night, I get myself ready and meet Holden in the tiny kitchen.

"Hungry?" He asks as he goes to pour me a bowl of cereal.

"Too nervous to eat."

He nods as he rubs his hand along my arm. "This town is nice, Julianne. Most of the kids are friendly. You'll do great."

Tate comes in then and makes a rude noise under his breath. "Nah, she's lame around people......"

Holden glares at Tate and takes a big breath. "Ready?"

"No"

~*~

The drive to school is quiet as I try to focus on my breathing. When Holden pulls into the parking lot, Tate and I exchange looks of horror.

This tiny building is the school?

"This is it!" Holden smiles proudly as he shuts off his car and looks at us in the back seat.

"Where's the rest of it?" Tate says darkly.

"Huh?"

"This is seriously the high school?!?"

Holden shakes his head. "Well, it's K-12, so it's not just the high school"

"YOU'RE TELLING ME THIS TINY ASS BUILDING IS THE ONLY SCHOOL?!?!"

"Why are you mad?" Holden asks as he grabs his bag and slings it over his shoulder. "You have 40 kids in your Sophomore class!"

Tate's jaw drops open and he blinks several times as he looks at me.

"40 kids?!?! Holden......What kind of a podunk town do you live in? I'm literally in hell right now!"

Holden rolls his eyes as he gets out and waits for us to follow. When we do, I take a deep breath.

If I couldn't find any friends in a school with over 2,000 kids in my freshman class, what kind of a chance do I have finding one with 40?