Deep Down

The Right Direction

We all walked together, taking alleyways to stay hidden just in case anyone happened to pass by. Aiden was currently carrying a snoozing Dakota on his back, while Devina still led us. I could see a sign with a string of lightbulbs outlining it, yet only two of them shone. Is this the apartment that she was talking about?

My heart quickened at the thought of an actual shelter, not a tree or car, but a place with a roof over our heads. But with that came the danger of getting revealed. Devina guaranteed that we would be able to afford to stay there, so that wasn't something that I had to worry about. Our pace quickened, with our goal in sight.

Within minutes, we were standing in front of the two-story building, it was much smaller than the other one. Few cars were parked in the lot, but they looked as if they hadn't been used or cleaned in quite some time. My eyes traveled around the building, it was indeed in terrible shape; bearing almost no signs of anyone even attempting to keep it looking nice.

Small rails outlined the second story balconies, where a man sat in a rotting wooden chair with a cigar hanging from his mouth. From the doors I could see on the lower level, most of them didn't have numbers, and one apartment had shattered windows that were replaced with thin plastic and tape.

"Aiden, Vale," She looked towards them, "Hailey and I are going in to try and get a room and see how long we can get it for. Stay out here and yell if anything goes on." She told them as she started to walk towards the entrance, I was right behind her.

"Wait, take me instead." Aiden offered, but careful enough not to wake the boy that was resting on his back.

"Aiden." Devina harshly said as looked back at him with a look that told him to shut his mouth. He did.

She continued to walk, and I followed as we approached the building. When she opened the door, a small ring came after it. Immediately, the overwhelming scent of smoke filled my lungs, almost causing me to cough, Devina seemed to be completely unaffected by it as she approached the counter with a stone face.

At the beige counter sat a wrinkled woman whose eyes seemed to sink in her face, her feet were propped up onto the counter and a lit cigarette hung from her lips. Her thin bleached blonde hair seemed to want to fall out of her ponytail, then her eye's landed on us and she curtly removed it from her mouth and tapped it on the ashtray that sat beside her.

"Whadda want?" Her voice cracked through thin lips, sounding as if she hadn't spoken in years.

Calmly, Devina spoke up, "How much is an apartment here?" Her voice didn't seem to be nervous at all, but she didn't look at the woman in the eyes. "And for how long?" She asked another question.

"Hm," the female grunted. "For one room?" Devina nodded in response. Before the woman spoke again, she took a puff from the cigarette and coughed afterward. "For how many people?"

"Five, five people." The younger female answered quickly.

The woman paused for a moment in thought, I could hear the clock ticking slowly on the smoke-stained walls. "I gotta room that's got one bed, and ya plan on holdin' five people?" She looked at Devina up and down, and I felt her gaze land on me for a moment. "If ya'll are runaways, then the police betta not find out, ya 'ear me? Now, for how long?"

Devina bit the inside of her cheek for a moment before answering, "One month."

"Aight, we ain't doin too well 'ere so I'll take... three hundred for the extra guests." She decided, Devina quickly bit her cheek and swiftly took out a small wad of money from her pocket, flipping it through her fingers counting it. She slid it onto the table, where the woman placed her cigarette on her lips and counted it, making sure she got the right amount.