Athena's POV
My eyes fly open as I hear the sound of people making their way towards my hiding place. I silently stand and pick up my backpack filled with belongings. I turn around and try to leave the alley behind the casino that has been my home for the past 5 days. All of a sudden, a flashlight beam lands on me. Shit.
"Hey, you there! Freeze!" I hear an officer shout. I take off in a sprint, practically flying over the fence separating the alley from the street. I turn back, seeing the fat old police man trying desperately to climb the fence. Smirking, I turn back around, only to be met by a hard, warm object. I go crashing to the ground, a chorus of swears spilling out of my mouth. I sigh, sitting up. Looking at what I crashed into, I blush, seeing a boy with brown hair and coffee brown eyes. Then, I realize how we landed. He's on the ground, all splayed out and stunned, while I'm straddling his waist. I scramble off of him, blushing.
"Uh... sorry... I'm sorry..." I say, standing up and brushing myself off. I take his hand, pulling him up.
"It-it's fine. I wasn't looking where I was going anyway." He says, wiping his hands on his pants. We start walking again, joining the crowd of people.
"I'm Zander." He says, smiling down at me.
"Athena." I say, looking behind me, the cop nowhere in sight.
"So who were you running from?" Zander asks, taking in my appearance. I have a pair of loose ripped denim jeans on, the ankles rolled up. A pair of worn blue suede shoes that used to be my dad's church shoes when he was 12 tied hastily on my feet. A pair of too big grey socks that are scrunched down on my ankles. An old AC/DC shirt that's a size too big and has a rip on the right shoulder under an old almost threadbare red flannel. My hair is a matted and greasy mess, no longer short and cute. My face is empty, no longer holding delicate makeup. The only things left are my stretched ears, my conch piercing on my left ear, and my snakebites.
"A cop." I say, deciding to tell him the truth.
"Why?" He asks, a smirk painting his face.
"I've been living behind the casino for about a week now. And I've stolen some things." I say, shrugging. He chuckles.
"Well, I'm sure my mum wouldn't mind if you stayed at our house for a little while." He says, smiling down at me sympathetically. I look up at him with wide eyes.
"Wait, really? You'd really let me stay in your house? Ev-even though you know I'm on the run from the law and that I'm a thief?" I say, stuttering. He nods.
"Yeah, sure! It's only the polite thing to do. If I were in your situation I'd want someone to help me too." He says, slinging his arm over my shoulders.
I thank him silently and he leads me to a car down a few blocks. I get in and look in the backseat, seeing books and baby clothes with several bags of groceries strewn amongst them. Zander notices me curiously analyzing his backseat and quickly explains.
"Today was my shopping day. Every Friday is. I decided to get a few books from my favorite old book store and my sister Melanie is having a baby, so those are some clothes for the baby when she's born." he says, starting the car and starting to drive out of the big apple. We stay silent for the rest of the ride, the radio filling the tranquil silence that encompassed the car. We enter a town; Stone Ridge after about an hour and a half. After another twenty minutes, he pulls into the driveway of a stone house, noticeably old (A/N: the link to the house is in the external). He gets out of the car and grabs the clothes and groceries.
"Hey, could you get the books?" he asks as he starts making his way towards the front door, his arms almost overflowing with shopping items. I take the box of books and follow him, my bag on my shoulders. I look into the box, seeing titles ranging from The Odyssey and The Grapes of Wrath to Brave New World and The Bell Jar to Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban. I follow him inside the house, and into what I'm assuming is the kitchen.
"You can just put the books on the counter." he says offhandedly, putting the bags filled with food and clothing on the counter as well. I do as I'm told, looking around curiously.
"Oh, hey Alex, you're back." a woman says, waddling into the kitchen. This must be Melanie. She turns her head, seeing me. Her eyes turn to slits as she scrutinizes my appearance.
"Who's this Alex?" she asks, caution evident in her voice, a protective hand on her swollen abdomen.
"This is Athena. She's going to be staying with us for a little while." He answers, smiling at her. Her face screws up in a disgusted frown.
"You're kidding right? First you started eith taking in stray cats, now you're taking in stray girls? She's a homeless person! I don't want my baby around her!" She shouts, making overexagerated hand gestures. I look down, shrinking into myself.
"That's all the more reason to take her in! She didn't have anywhere to go, so I thought that it would be a kind thing to do! You don't even have any say towards this!" He argues back, face flushing red.
"Oh, I don't. But mom does." She says, turning around and stomping out of the room.
"Oh, real mature Melanie. Your 23 fucking years old!" He yells, his strong hands curling into fists and hitting the counter, causing the entire thing to rattle.
I look down, fiddling with the frayed sleeve of my flannel. I hear a sigh and look up to see Zander looking at me.
"I'm sorry about that. She's hesitant to trust people." He says, his palms flat against the counter, his weight on his arms.
"It's okay. I'm used to it." I say, clutching the oval locket holding the picture of me and my dad 10 years ago. I hear arguing and whining as Melanie and who I assume is her mother enter the kitchen.
"-she's just a hobo! I don't want her living her around me and the baby mom I won't-" she complains, taking full advantage of the 'I'm-trying-to-be-a-good-mother' situation. The woman in her early 40's sighs, rubbing her temples, an exhausted sheen on her face.
"Melanie, that's enough. You are only staying here until the baby is born and then I want you to get your own apartment and you are being very rude to our guest." she says, her statement causing Melanie's mouth to snap shut, stunned by her mothers words. She turns to me, smiling.
"Hello dear, I'm Sarah Armstrong, but you can just call me Sarah. Now, would you like something to eat or maybe some clean clothes or a shower?" she asks, a kind smile spreading across her pink lips. I stand there, my mouth opening and closing, floundering like a freaking fish.
"How about you go upstairs and take a shower. I will have Al- I mean Zander leave some clothes in the guest room. There is a bathroom attached to it, so you won't have to put of with the humiliation of running through the halls in a towel. Then, when you come down we'll have something ready for you. Is coconut curry chicken with beans ad rice okay?" she asks, placing her hand on my shoulder. I nod.
"Zander, could you show Athena to her room?" Ms. Armstrong says, smiling up at her son. He nods, taking my bag and showing me to the guest bedroom.
"I'll leave this here and bring back a change of clothes once you're in the bathroom." He says, smiling gently and leaving me in the grey room, alone. I sigh, going into the bathroom and taking my clothes off, starting the water, my locket on the counter.
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Hey, so this is a new story I thought up. I hope you like it! I'm going to have it tie into one of my more well known stories in either the next chapter or the one after that. Look forward to surprises and lots of drama having to do with Melanie. If you liked this, please feel free to comment, like, and share!
Photo is a basic profile of Athena and Zander. Song is You Are Loved by Set It Off (I have a not so slight obsession with them currently)
Thankyou for reading
Signing off,
The Author
YOU ARE READING
Desperate Times
General FictionAthena was always seen as a problem, a mistake. But when she meets a family will she be seen as a hopeless case, or as a gift?
