She's So Gone

~chapter 6~

Past

Turns out that night Jaymee caught me was the last night I was ever going to see her. No one had known she was at the children's home. She had only stopped by to grab a few things before taking off. The rumor is she took a bus to another state to stay with a few family friends. Some of the younger ones thinks she joined the circus, but I'm pretty sure that's because Emily, a girl a few years younger then me told them that. I'm not sure however if she said it to mess with them, or if she actually believes it herself. I however know that she got caught stealing a car and ended up in juvie. I overheard Ms. Jacobs talking about it with her worker when she came by to get her stuff. The worker's name was Mandy, and from what I've heard from other kids, she usually gets the more difficult to handle kids.

I offered to help pack up Jaymees' things, and while I did , she told me about her son's. She stops part way through a story about her oldest and a stolen chicken. All of Jaymees things now in duffle or a box. "She asked me to check on you."

I look up from the stuffed bear that I was holding, it was Jaymees, I always thought it was weird that she owned it. I smile at the social worker, "you can tell her I'm okay." I then place the bear in the box. "Do you want help carrying this out?"

She nods, and I follow her out of the room, carrying the box while she takes the duffle. We're a few feet from her car when she speaks again. "She also told me to tell you that she expects you to keep your promise."  She then unlocks her car and opens the back door. After setting the duffle inside she takes the box from me.

"I'm running a bit late, can you say goodbye for ms. Jacobs for me?" I nod and she smiles before getting into her car and leaving. I stand there a moment longer thinking about Jaymee, thinking about what she said to me before she left and the promise I made.

Present

"Hi, can I help you with anything?" I hear Paul's voice say as I carry a pile of shirts out of the store room.  I'm almost to the table where the t-shirts are supposed to be when I glance in the direction of the customer that Paul was helping.

I instantly freeze, dropping the shirts all over the floor. They'll have to be refolded. "Dani, are you okay, you look like you've seen a ghost?" Leo says coming up from behind me.

The woman looks in our direction, "sunshine," she takes a step towards us and I back up, at first running into Leo but he moves out of the way and I dart for the store room. She looked almost exactly the same as I last saw her. Her hair the mousy brown it had always been, dark green eyes.  She had put on some weight, not a lot, but enough that her appearance didn't instantly scream drug addict, when you saw her. She still had the same crooked smile she had always had through out my child hood. She had had a drug related stroke at one time and as a result the muscles in the right half of her face weren't as strong as the left. Causing her smile to always seem a bit week, But then again, it was almost ironic how a woman who could no longer smile properly would have a child who's biggest defense was a smile.

Leo follows me into the store room, I had secured myself in between a wall and a few boxes but he finds me anyway. He takes my hands, "Dani it's okay, breath, here look at me," I look him in the eyes, and he places my hand on his chest and it's such an odd thing in this moment, but I think about how I can feel his heart beat. "Breath with me, in….out," he takes my other hand and places it on my own chest. "In…. Out….in…. Out." After a few seconds I feel better and he lets go of my hands.

"Thanks" I say, feeling awkward and not sure what else to say.

He shrugs, "it's no problem, but um,..." He pauses, not sure about what he wants to say. "Who was that woman, and why'd she call you sunshine?"