Chapter Three
About fifteen minutes had passed until I finally had to stop. The soles of my red Converse had become much warn down and holes had already begun to emerge. My legs had officially burned out. I must’ve already run six miles today and it wasn’t even 7:30. Christ. But I needed to go. It was finally time for me to leave my father. I was only a mere fifteen years old but not one more day could be tolerated. I had to go.
But now, I needed a plan. I could not just wander aimlessly, a strategy would be needed. How was I to feed myself? Where would I sleep? Would I ever return? I really should have considered this all previously but my decision to run was in the heat of the moment. I saw a nearby park bench under a gorgeous Cherry Blossom tree, shielding the wooden seat from the morning sun, and decided to sit down to rest my fatigued legs.
Though I wanted to make wise decisions about my departing, I knew my father would soon be after me. He would be practically disowned by all of his family and loathed by the townspeople from them learning he was the cause of my abrupt “fleeing”, which would surely be disguised as me being lost. I needed a plan.
All right, first things first, where am I to sleep? Suddenly I remembered. Paul told me he was leaving for Paris this afternoon! Surely he would allow me to reside in his home for the few weeks he was gone. Perhaps I could make enough money busking to help pay for rent. Paul was leaving in order mooch off his brother for some more dough. Poor Paul, he will soon be evicted out of his small dwelling if he doesn’t come up with enough cash by August. But I could help with that.
So I turned around and started walking back towards Oxford Avenue, where Paul’s house lived. I took as many back streets as possible making sure to avoid eye contact with anyone. My pace was kept rather quick because I knew Paul would soon be leaving his home. As I approached Oxford Avenue, the front of his house began to appear closer and closer. Paul’s house had dusty slate-grey overlapping shingles, splintery wooden outside walls with its green paint slowly chipping and a welcoming daisy-yellow front door. Though the odd coloring did not exactly match together, it described Paul perfectly. Unmatched, a bit disoriented, not caring what others thought but very welcoming, bright and happy.
Because I was in not too much of a rush, I took the time to open Paul’s front door with the key he always left hidden by his potted dahlias. “Paul?” I inquired.
“Who’s there?” he hollered back from his bedroom. “It’s just me Peter!” I replied.
“Oh, why come on in! What is it boy?” Paul chimed. “Alright, Paul. There isn’t much time to explain considering your train leaves at noon, but I need a huge favor.”
“Try me,” he grinned, “I’m game for pretty much anything.” “Well, you know how my relationship with my father is. I just can’t do this anymore. So I ran away this morning. And I need some place to live for a short time. I figured since you’d be gone maybe I could…”
I stopped my sentence there because I knew Paul was intelligent enough to fill in the rest. He sat down with yet another cup tea in hand with the look on his face telling he was most definitely in deep thought. “Look lad, I don’t want you to be in any trouble. But I know how smart you are and I know that you are able to make wise decisions. You’re fifteen now, almost sixteen then you’re out of school,” Paul slowly jabbered.
A few slow deeply thought over minutes passed as I watched Moonshine saunter nearby the windowsill. Moonshine was one ravishing domesticated feline. Her thick black fur coated her thin resilient frame, which was constantly jumping from ledge to ledge of the house. Her emerald eyes had a certain glistening sparkle that gave you a feeling she was much more than an average housecat. She was not just glamorous in beauty but also personality. She sensed when you had a bad day and somehow her gentle purrs were able to comfort you in any situation. As I thought about moonshine the ticking noise of the hazel intricately carved grandfather clock located at the left corner of the living room distracted me and I noticed a vast five minutes had past.
“Peter?” Paul dictated. The look in his hazel green eyes already told what was about to be spoken. “You may stay. But only on one condition.”
“And what is that?” I beamed. “I need a huge favor in return.” He stared straight into my eyes. I knew what this meant. My life was about to take one Hell of a dramatic turn.
