Homeless

Chapter 6

The following day was a blizzard of white. The cold storm outside matched my insides perfectly.

I pulled back. No more speaking to Nathaniel in the cover of the night. No more personal discussions. He stayed home during the bad weather, but I tried my best to keep to myself and kept Mark in the room, though that was easier said than done. I cooked and cleaned and did the laundry, but I limited my interactions with him to frigid one-worded replies. I felt bad about it, but I stuffed the guilt deep inside where it wouldn't hinder my decision.

A day later, the weather seemed much better. The wind no longer howled and snow stopped falling. It was time to leave, before Mark got unnecessarily attached to this place.

And me too...

That morning, Nathaniel looked like he wanted to say something over breakfast, but he thought better of it and left for work.

I cleaned the kitchen and tidied up the house, and when the doorbell rang, I ran to the door. Claire. Just in time.

"Hey, I brought some fresh cinnamon rolls from the café," she said, holding up a pale blue box. Her nose and cheeks were red. Strands of black surrounded her face, escaping the confinement of the fur-lined hood. She stomped snow off her boots while I fetched two pairs of slippers from the shoe cabinet nearby. I helped Cecile with her boots and she skipped inside with her little pink backpack.

"Thank you," she said, following me inside. "Where is Mark?"

"Reading in the library. Coffee. Tea?"

"Coffee would be great, thank you." She set the box on the island. My mouth watered at the smell of cinnamon and sugar.

Cecile plopped down on her stomach on the couch, taking out a coloring book and a set of coloring pencils. I turned on the coffee machine and drummed my fingers on the counter. Nerves fluttered in my guts. Why was I worried?

Because I knew Claire would try to convince me to stay. And I needed her help with the tickets. She put three plates on the island before her attention snapped to me. "What is it?"

I blew out a breath. Let's get this over with. "I need your help with the tickets. The weather is going to be good enough in the upcoming days, so..."

"Oh." I hardened my heart against her crestfallen expression. "I was hoping you'd stay..."

I closed my eyes, gripping the edge of the counter until my hands hurt.

"We really can't, Claire. I'm sorry."

Claire sighed. She slipped out her phone from her purse. "Okay. Let's see the trip schedules first."

Heart racing, I stood next to her while she scrolled on her phone. "Do you prefer plane or bus?"

The plane would be more expensive, and I wasn't sure how Mark would handle being up thousands of feet in the air. "Bus."

After a few minutes, we were looking at a schedule. It confused me, but Claire apparently knew what she was looking at. We picked a date, a destination. My excitement sputtered to a halt at Claire's next words.

She frowned at the phone. "Okay, we'll need your ID. And I think they'll ask for permission to travel for Mark, but if you are his legal guardian... Daphne?"

I stared at Claire with wide eyes. My heart pulsed in my ears.

"ID... Can't I travel without an ID?" I asked, my voice wobbling. "And permission for Mark...?"

Claire's frown deepened. "If you're traveling outside the state, you'll need an ID. It's required by the law, I think. They've become quite strict with the measure lately. One of my employees forgot her ID when she was traveling and they didn't let her board. She had to go all the way back home and miss her bus. And Mark is a child, he needs..."