You again ~Cole Sprouse

Chapter 4

Albany New York
10:30 am
Parking lot of CVS

Chelsea POV

The sun was shining through the window and in the back seat where I was laying. My neck hurt from the awkward position I was sleeping in. I desperately needed a shower.

I climbed into the front seat and turned on the car. The tank was almost empty. I finally got a map at one of the stops I took yesterday. The events that happened kept replaying in my head. They changed so much.

I brushed it off and headed to the nearest gas station. While I was filing up the tank, I looked through the map to see if there was anywhere I could take a quick shower.

Lucky for me there was a recreational center where they had a pool and a locker room with showers. After paying for the gas, I headed back to CVS to get the necessary toiletries.

The radio was on in the store. Playing soft elevator music. I walked to the aisle in the back that held the toiletries. I scanned the soaps and the hair products to find the cheapest kind.

"Hello dear can I help you?" A sweet southern voice asked. I looked to see a woman stacking shelves. She stopped and had one hand leaning against it and the other on her hip.
"No that's okay. I'm just looking." I answered turning back to the items.

"You look like my daughter" She said a little bit later. I picked up a shampoo bottle and looked for the price.
"Mm" I hummed back to her.

"She ran away two years ago. Haven't seen her since, haven't heard from her either." This time I turned to look at the southern woman. She had red hair and red lipstick.
"I'm sorry. I can tell you I'm not her. My moms in California." I said looking at the conditioners this time.

"Where's your dad?" The woman asked.
"New York City."
"Woah hunny, what're you doin in Albany then?" She asked politely. "Trying to get to uh.... Kentucky to see my family." I replied nervously.

"You ain't goin back to California to see your momma?" She asked this time turning towards me.
"What's your daughters name?" I asked looking at her.

"Rachel Briggs." She answered back. "What's yours?"
"I found what I'm looking for I should probably head back to the car I have a lot of driving" I chuckled nervously.

"If you don't mind me asking, Are you a runaway?" The lady asked quietly. I looked at her. She had worried eyes.
"No. But my family is going to get worried. Thanks for talking to me. Bye."

I paid for the items and headed out to the car. When I got there I saw I have 45 missed calls from my dad and 34 missed calls from Jodie. But no calls from Lexi or Aly.

I listened to one of the messages my dad left me.

"Chelsea Bryant I don't know where the hell you are but you better be home before 10 pm or I will call the police on you. Get your ass back here now."
I deleted the messages and decided to head to the recreation center.

There were a dozen kids with mothers heading into the building. I felt out of place but I had to take a shower. I didn't want to look homeless so I put the items in my sweatshirt and wrapped them up.

When I walked in, it was crazy. Kids were running and screaming, toys were being thrown. I walked nervously into the building trying to find any sight of a pool or locker room.

I got hit in the stomach with something hard and round. I made a "oof" and dropped the sweatshirt. The bottles rolled out and everyone's eyes were on me. I tried to put everything back into the sweatshirt frantically. When I looked up, moms and kids were staring at me.