"And how much is this?" I ask, standing patiently as I wait for his answer.
"$500. It don't run good- I mean, it's good for in town 'n such, but I wouldn't be taking it 'round too far," the man answers. He rubs his hand through his grissly beard, his eyes squinting from the sun overhead.
I was at a junkyard, hoping to get a cheap car that I could use just for a while. It was dirty, rusty, and smelt of old metal and gas.
I stuff my hand in my pocket and pull out money that I had stolen from inside Jenna's house. It was in her mom's bedroom, and I really needed it.
"Ok, uh, I have," I flip through the stacks anxiously. "450? Cash?" I hand it to him, basically begging him to give it to me for just a little less. My eyes were solid on his.
He wiggles his mouth around and scratches his chin before grumbling and pulling it out of my hand. "I suppose this could work."
I smile and shout "yes" in my head. He counts it and nods.
"Alright, just wait 'ere," he says, his back turned to me as he trailed off to his small office building. "I'll go get the keys."
Perfect.
●
"Oh my God, really?"
Jacey nods ecstatically. Her eyes were wide and full of shine.
Finally, after what felt like forever, she was able to visit with me. My mom came before her after driving then both here. I was so grateful to know nothing bad happened to either of them.
I was holding hands with her while she sat on a chair to my left side next to the viewing window for the nurses. She gripped hard and in a caring way, a way I can't explain. I couldn't grasp very hard due to all the things i was hooked up to. Even at night I still needed an oxygen mask.
"I just have to say, you look so much better than I expected, Emma," she says, coming in closer to me for a small hug. I smile and my heart bloomed with appreciation. "I looked a lot worse than this when I came here, trust me." I say with a pitiful giggle.
She pulls away and at that moment, I remembered what I wanted to talk about.
"Jacey, I have a secret. Like seriously, you cannot tell anyone," I whisper softly and looked her in the eyes in a way to let her know this wasn't a joke. We both sit up and move closer together.
I take a deep breath before turning to my right and leaning down to grab the pancake batter that had been given to me by a "stranger".
Jacey perks up and her eyes widen. "You-" I interupt her.
"I got this sent to me! From in here!" I yell as I whisper. I desperately needed to tell someone, and out of anyone, she would understand it the most.
She moves her eyes back and forth from me to the "gift". "What do we do? I mean, I thought you were safe here." She brings her nails to her teeth and begins to bite them. Now I felt awful.
I tuck it back in its hiding spot and grunt in slight pain as I turn to face her. "Jace, it's ok. We're so protected here." I hold her hand once again and tilt my eyes down, kind of begging for her to forgive me for even mentioning this.
She looks around anxiously.
"Hey, you saw all those security guards, right? When you got in?" I tilt my head reassuringly. "And I'm sure it wasn't easy at all to get in here."
She looks back at me and takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry. It's just... it's traumatic, Emma. I didn't expect that at all and now I feel like, I don't know. Like it's going to happen again and I can't go through-" I interrupt her again.
