Run

Chapter 2

Jane dropped me off at a hospital, trying to convince me to go inside, I relented that I would, but told her that I was ok without her going in with me, she looked skeptical, and rightfully so, because I was yet again lying to her, but she drove away, realizing that she couldn't convince me. The sign near the hospital said we were in long island Manhattan, that was something.  I now had a location. 

I was surprised they had built a hospital here, it was kinda a shitty part of town. there were abandoned buildings all over, the ground littered with needles and trash. its a good place to put one if you actually care about homeless people, and would help them without making them pay, but when has that ever been true? 

I saw a trash can fire in an alley between two run down buildings. there three people surrounding it. a family that lost their home i bet. that seemed like the safest place to ask for help. looking down upon myself, I guess I did look pretty pathetic, i'm guessing that's why they helped me, even though they didn't have much to give. I was wearing flimsy black clothes, (made that there was nowhere for me to hide weapons) the clothes were ripped, and so was my flesh.

when I walked up to the fire, most didn't spare me a glance, but a cute little girl ran up to me, she looked around 6 or 7. a man, I assumed to be her dad gave me a wary look, but I tried to convey with my eyes that I meant no harm.

"are you ok? you have a lot of ouchies" the little girl said

I couldn't help the smile it brought to my face, she was so pure and cute. even though her cheeks were sunken, her body thin from lack of food, her eyes were still bright. 

"i'm ok, I just fell down a hill" I looked up to the man who I had assumed was her father "excuse me sir, I swear I don't mean any harm, I just don't have anywhere to go, and was wondering if you could spare some food or water, or even just a safe space to sleep? I don't have anything to give you in return though" 

the man looked at me warily, I didn't blame him. considering where he was, he had no reason to trust people, why would he, they had left him and his family alone and let them starve with no roof over their head. the only kindness they got was the backhanded gifts people had given them when they didn't need it, thrown at them like zoo animals. but before he could say anything, another man spoke up.

"come here, we have a little bit of bread and some water, and you can sleep over there" he pointed to an area a little far away from the fire, as the other spots were already taken. 

"thank you so much" I couldn't help the sigh of relief that broke from my mouth.

the little girl seemed to get exited at this. "my name is Hannah, this is my daddy" so the man i saw first was her dad. "and that's my papa" the man who had invited me over "whats your name?"

don't use the same fake name you told the woman earlier, make no connection between the two. "Jude"

The man she called daddy spoke up for the first time "like the Beatles song?"

ooooh, that's where i got the name from, the song had been playing on the radio in Jane's car. 

"uh, yeah. i guess it is"

he shrugged "i'm John, that's Levi" he pointed to his partner. he was scanning my face for any ounce of judgment, any reason he would need to be wary of me, but found none.

The girl, Hannah, pulled me next to the fire, handing me a big chunk of bread, I heard the sharp intake of air from one of her dads, and smiled. they didn't have much, and the girl had given me too much, not realizing it. I broke off a piece, about the size of a roll, and handed the rest to Levi. giving him a soft smile. he sighed in relief and gave me a small cup of water.