Abandoned

chapter one.

I bit back a sigh as I pulled into the all too familiar truck stop and yanked the keys out of the ignition. I turned and started to poke my little sister in the arm.

"Rose." I said, earning a groan from the grumpy six year old. "We need to get ready."

Finally, she sat up and grabbed her little pink bag, slamming the door and stomping through the parking lot. I slouched my backpack around my shoulder and hurried to catch up with her.

We walked into the large bathroom, equipped with shower stalls and blow dryers convenient for road-trippers, or truckers, or homeless kids.

It's been three months since my mother decided we weren't even important enough to put a roof over. I never considered her my mother, really, since I rarely saw her and I grew up taking care of myself, and later Rose once she was born. Technically, she's my half sister, but she is the only family I have and the most important thing in my life. The only thing that's keeping me here.

Growing up, I stayed in my mom's little two room apartment she managed to keep a hold of, scraping what food I could out of the kitchen and from school, working any way I could to get some cash. Neither Rose nor I ever knew our fathers, so all we had was each other.

Three months ago the apartment was taken and my mom took off, probably crashing on other low-life alcoholic's couches. One day we came home from school to an eviction notice and no mom.

I turned the lukewarm shower on and stepped under it, quickly scrubbing myself down and washing my hair, Rose doing the same in the next stall. Once I was done I slipped into my favorite ripped skinny jeans, a nirvana t-shirt, and my converse that I've been wearing since the 9th grade.

Rose was already waiting for me as I rushed to layer some mascara on and dry my hair enough so that it wouldn't drip all over the place.

"You ready, little one?"

"Can you braid my hair?" She asked hopefully. I looked at my watch. 7:10. We had a few minutes to spare.

After we were both ready I drove to the public elementary school about ten minutes away, pulling up in the drop-off lane.

"Be good, I'll see you in a bit."

"Okay," she smiled and leaned over the console to kiss my cheek. "Love you."

"I love you, have a good day." I said and she jumped out.

I hate my mother for what she did. What she does everyday by letting her two children go without a place to live. Rose is the greatest kid, and she deserves so much better.

I've considered that maybe out mother had died, but that would have led social services on to us, and we've been able to stay under the radar. But she's been dead on the inside for a long time now, always in a trance of not knowing what's going on her around her.

I try not to think about her a lot. I focus on making it to my eighteenth birthday and saving my money so I can buy an apartment and figure out how I'm going to go about getting custody of Rose.

I pulled into my high school and parked in the very back row, practically running inside so that I wouldn't be late for the fifth time this year.

My classes dragged by and I could hardly stay awake, let alone take notes and listen. I typically sat somewhere in the back and never really talked to anyone. I eat lunch outside everyday by myself under this big tree.

No one knows about my mom or the fact that I raise a child on my own and live out of my car, occasionally a hotel if I get lucky and have some money left over from my paycheck. I've made it a priority to make sure no one knows much of anything about me, which isn't difficult since no one cares. I don't need fake friends or an asshole boyfriend, anyway.