End of a road

Chapter 3: A new road

 Christine

We walked slowly to my apartment, there was a silence separating us but it felt comforting nonetheless. Perhaps I'm beginning to feel lonely. I had always thought that I was over the feeling of loneliness a long time ago but there was always a voice shouting through the mountains of thoughts I bury myself under. A voice that pierced me directly through the heart. It told me I was going to die alone with nobody else to remember my name. I would become somebody lost in the passage of time.

Making our way up the creaky steps of my apartment, I fumble for my keys which seemed to be buried deep in my purse. I pull it out with a small flourish and the door opens with a loud creek.

The girl walks in tentatively, looking at everything with an expression I just can't make out. A stone sinks to the bottom of my stomach. My apartment was a mess. My couch was old and tattered with bits of faux leather already torn off. A part of it was sunken, probably where I have been there the most. The floor was dusty and old, with some floorboards sticking out. The walls were the colour of musty yellow, with a few stains that I'm ashamed to admit were from my failed attempts at making a smoothie.

She looks at me wide-eyed. "Are you serious?"

I choke down my downheartedness. "Sorry, I know it's a mess,"

"No not that. It has so much potential! I never really had the chance to decorate something like this! I mean I have seen doll houses but my mother never bothered to get me one. Oh, I'm so excited to fix this place up! Will you let me design your house? I've always wanted to be a designer but my mother thinks it's a stupid job," she rambled, her mouth moving faster than my brain could comprehend the words coming out of her mouth.

I give sigh of relief. "I'm sure we can make some improvements. How about I first find you something to sleep on,"

I pull out a dusty mattress from my cupboard, it's old and it was probably washed back when John F. Kennedy was president but it should be fine. I set it down in the living room and retrieved a faint blue duvet and an old blanket.

"I don't have an extra pillow right now, but I can get you one tomorrow from the flea market," I say, putting the things down.

She smiled, "This is the first time I get to have a bed all to myself!" She jumped on the mattress. "Is this what kids feel like when they jump on beds?"

I was about to tell her off but kids should be kids sometimes. Her life was probably tough, with no one to consult about her problems. Kids like these don't really have a proper childhood so I will do whatever I can to help her. Maybe that's why I agreed to take her here. Maybe for once, she can enjoy her time as a kid. Where she has no burdens and gets to enjoy the full vitality of life.

"Is pasta okay for dinner?" I ask as I make my way to the kitchen.

She stops her jumping. "Really? It's been a long time since I tried homecooked food,"

"Your mom doesn't?"

She laughs, "Do you think she has the time for this? Clearly sleeping with men is way too important for her to spend time making me food. I'm at the bottom of her priority list for sure,"

"What about your father?"

She laughs again, her tone this time had a twinge of sadness. "He was just a fling my mother had. She couldn't stay still long without having more than one boyfriend. Or whatever she calls it. My mother just gave birth to me because of an accident, nothing more,"

"You are quite open to sharing information about yourself," I say, putting the pasta into the water.

She shrugged. "Well I shouldn't hide anything from my new guardian, should I?"

I sighed. "It is more complicated than you declaring me as your guardian. If your mom doesn't approve of it, there is nothing I can do,"

"It's okay, I'm going to run away then,"

"And go where?"

She shrugged again. "I don't know, I'll go where the roads lead me to,"

I place the food down on the table. "Life is more complicated than running away,"

She slurps the pasta hungrily. "I can't do anything besides that,"

Daylight slowly dims as night slowly crawls into the sky like a beast on the prowl.