Even Angels Fall

Chapter 25

                                      ~~~~Christina~~~~

Jodi told her mom she didn't feel well in the morning and couldn't go to school, so she could stay with me. 

I'd had a mild panic attack when I learned her mom would be home today. I just knew if Jodi left me there alone, her mom would come in and find me and then call my parents, so Jodi stayed with me. She said her mom never came in her room anyway, but if she did, by some chance, I could quickly slip under the bed since she always knocked. 

We spent the morning talking and pigging out on junk food. It was a good thing Jodi told her mom she just had a bad headache, or she might have wondered at all the food she was consuming, apparently alone.

I didn't know if it was all the stress from last night, or just another change in my ever changing body that made me absolutely ravenous today. I'd never been one of those girls who ate like a bird, but now I felt like a cow, eating everything in sight.

I had just put a spoonful of Rocky Road in my mouth, when the door opened without warning.

"Jodi, have you heard from-" Her mom stopped mid-sentence, her gaze on me.

I looked back at Jodi's mom, wide-eyed and starting to panic. 

"Oh, girls." She shook her head. Obviously she knew at least partly why I was here and that my parents didn't know about it.

"Mom, don't freak out," Jodi hedged. I just looked between the two of them stupidly, unable to move even to take the spoon out of my mouth.

"Freak out?" she asked, incredulous before focusing on me. "Christina, your parents are worried sick about you."

Now I could move. "Please, you can't say anything," I begged, dropping the spoon in the bowl. "You don't understand."

"I understand that your parents love you and that they're worried about you," she said. "Thank God you're here and not lying in the street somewhere. What ever possessed you to run away?" 

"I..." How was I supposed to have this conversation again? I felt so drained already.

"Actually." She held up her hand. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that you're safe." She shot me a warning look. "Now, stay put." She turned away, presumably to go call my parents.

I frantically looked at Jodi who looked back at me helplessly, as her mom closed the door behind her.

"Don't worry." She popped off the bed. "I'll talk to her," she said, running to follow her mom.

"Mom!" Jodi called, leaving me alone.

I worked to keep my breathing normal but it really wasn't happening. I couldn't go home! Daddy obviously did change his mind, if they called here looking for me. I was right, he must be planning on forcing me to do what he said. Why else would they want me home after kicking me out? I'd been right to run away. 

I stood up and looked around the room like a caged animal. If I tried to run out the front door, Jodi's mom would see me and probably forcibly hold me here until my parents showed up. She was probably already on the phone with them. I knew Jodi would try to stop her, but I also knew she wouldn't be able to. Her mom was usually pretty cool. She let Jodi do almost everything and didn't try to control her the way alot of parents did, like mine. But when it came to stuff like this, she was a drill sergeant.

My eyes landed on the window and I remembered the fire escape. Not thinking about what I was going to do, I quickly grabbed my jacket and the few things I'd unpacked last night and stuffed them back in my bag. I hurried over to the window with my stuff and climbed out onto the metal landing. It was only three floors up, but to me it felt like thirty. I'd always been afraid to even look down when Jodi talked me into coming out here with her before.

Not allowing myself to dwell on the height, I tossed my suitcase down, hoping it wouldn't break. I threw my back-pack on and scurried down, clinging to the ladder for dear life.

I almost fell twice as I tried to hurry, and by the time I reached the ground, my heart was practically beating out of my chest. Thankful that it didn't appear to be broken, I grabbed my suitcase from the ground before I ran down the alley and around the corner. I didn't even look back to see if Jodi saw where I went.

I ran for a few blocks, not caring how I must have looked to the people I passed. After that, it was getting hard to catch my breath though, so I had to slow down. 

As I walked, I wondered where I could go. It was only a little after noon and I couldn't go to Mike until two. I couldn't very well wander around for two hours, though. My parents might be driving around and they'd be able to see me. Not to mention, I was already pretty exhausted from my little trek from Jodi's house.

I kept walking and thinking, when the library came into view. Perfect! I could find a spot to rest somewhere in the back and no one would question why I was there. Better yet, my parents wouldn't even think to look for me there.

                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My time in the library didn't end up being all that relaxing. Every time I saw someone, I would start to panic, convinced that someone had seen me or figured out where I was. But in the end, it turned out to be safe like I originally thought. No one even thought to to look for me in the library. Which was kind of funny considering that it would normally be the first place people would look for me.

With about fifteen minutes till two, I headed out of the library for the hardware store to find Mike. After taking two different buses and walking another ten blocks or so, I found myself standing outside of the store, a little unsure of what I would find inside.

I knew Mike was supposed to be working alone right now, but he also said his boss came in and worked at all different times. What would I do if he was there now? It would look really strange for me to walk in with luggage. But I couldn't stand outside all day either. I felt like that would be just asking for someone to see me. I didn't think my parents ever came down this way, but today, who knew? And I didn't know about anyone else who might be keeping an eye out for me.

Having no other choice and anxious to get to Mike, I opened the door and went inside. I was glad when I noticed that the store seemed to be pretty dead at this hour. 

I walked in a little further and spotted Mike in one of the aisles, helping a man pick out a drill. He glanced up at me, probably feeling someone watching him. I guessed he thought it was just another customer because when he saw it was me, his expression changed from mild curiosity to worry and then understanding. He didn't know the details yet, but I could tell he knew the reason for me to just show up like this.

I stashed my suitcase next to the counter and waited for Mike to finish up with the man. After he rung him up, he quickly checked the rest of the store to make sure there was no one else shopping before he went over to lock the door and flip the closed sign around. I wondered if his boss would get mad if he came back to find his store closed in the middle of the day.

"Can you do that?" I asked, already losing the battle with my tears. 

"I just did." He came over and opened his arms to me. I fell in them and started sobbing all over again, finally feeling safe.