String of Fate

Chapter Thirty Two

I startled awake, sitting up in surprise. I had had that dream again. It was strange how it cropped up every so often. I could always remember it like it was yesterday, even though it was nearly two years ago now. I had just turned fourteen when the events had happened. Now, I was going to turn sixteen tomorrow and I was still dreaming about it. I collapsed back onto my pillows and wondered what time it was. It was still very dark outside. I went back to sleep, and I ended up going back to the dream.

It had been cold for a July evening as I was walking home from a movie night at a friend's house – and it had gotten very late. I'd stayed there a lot longer than I had meant to and now it was coming close to midnight. I had been so glad that it had been the weekend so I didn't have school the next day. It had meant that I could have had a lovely lie in.

I had been walking down the street in the direction of my house when I had seen a guy sitting under the lamp post. He had been hunched over and he did not look comfortable, so, he could have been dead for all I knew. I probably should have left him, but I also felt like that would have been too mean. I walked over to him and crouched down at him. He was awake, but it seemed like he wasn't focusing on anything. "Um, excuse me, are you okay?"

"Yesh. I'm fibe." He answered, clearly very drunk. He must have been drinking a lot this evening. He obviously wasn't 'fibe'. He must have just had some bad news. That was the only excuse I could think of for getting in this state of blind drunk. I felt a little bit sorry for him. I put a hand on his shoulder and he lifted his head rather quickly to look at me even though he was having trouble concentrating. "What am I supposed to do? I've finished college with no job and no strib!"

"You're really feeling sorry for yourself, aren't you? Let's get you home." I spoke, helping him up. It was probably the best idea to get him home and in bed so at least he was safe. I remembered that he had been heavier than he had looked. It didn't really matter if he didn't have a job when he left college. He had time to get a job. The world wasn't going to end for him because he couldn't get a job straight out of college. He seemed to think that it was the end of the world, though. Also, he didn't need a string to survive. That would come when it was due. I slung one of his arms around my shoulder, and realised that I had no idea where I was going. "Where do you live?"

"I dubbo." He replied, shrugging. Wow, he was helpful. I thought about what I could do. I couldn't leave him here, but I didn't know where he lived. I didn't even know his name. There was really only one thing I could do now. I started heading in the direction of my house. There was nothing else I could do.

"I hope my parents don't complain about this." I blurted as I practically dragged him the rest of the distance to my home. I didn't know if it was a good or a bad sign that the lights were still on in the living room – my parents were probably staying up late just to wait for me. I had never really stayed out that late.

I unlocked the door and headed inside, and my parents didn't seem happy when they spotted the drunk guy strewn across my shoulders. I tried to explain the situation as quickly as I could. "He was starting to fall asleep under the lamp post down the street. His quite drunk and I felt bad leaving him there. I was hoping that I could just leave him on the settee overnight."

Neither of my parents were impressed. My dad glanced at my mother, who was looking between me and the drunk guy. They decided that they were going to be very lenient with me – they knew my nature since I had brought the two dogs and three cats home from cardboard boxes.

"He can stay until the morning. We are not keeping this stray." My mum joked. I dumped the drunk on the settee and he grabbed me around the waist, making me sit down on the end seat of the settee. My mum giggled at what he did. I guess he had become a little attached to me already, it was common for the animals that we had adopted from the streets to become attached to me. "I'll grab a couple of blankets. You'll probably be there all night."