Page 26 of Echoes From Within
I’ve thought about reaching out to him. To Travis. But I haven’t.
I can’t.
I won’t.
It’s not because he reminds me of what happened to me. Actually, it’s the opposite. He was there one minute and I was rescued the next. If anything, he’s my hero.
Travis told me that he was there under false pretenses. He wasn’t captured but was simply helping someone out.
It makes perfect sense, of course. He’s not the biggest man I’ve ever seen, but Travis isn’t small by any means. I couldn’t figure out how someone got the drop on him.
I haven’t seen him since they day he walked out of my hospital room. Maybe it’s for the best. Someone like him wouldn’t even be interested in someone like me.
Someone so dirty.
No matter how hot the water is, how much soap I use, or how hard I scrub, I can’t seem to get clean. Every time I look down at my clean body all I see is filth.
“Milly said she doesn’t mind,” Cady says, walking back into the room.
“Perfect,” I smile. “I’m going to go and see how the kitchen’s coming with dinner. How many heads to we have in the community center tonight?”
“Full Capacity,” she says. “Including the private rooms, we have a total of eight-eight people tonight.”
“How many did we have to turn away?” I ask, already hating the answer.
“Twelve,” she says softly. “One of which was a woman with an infant.”
Damnit.
“The best we can hope for is that she finds a place for the night and can make it here early enough tomorrow to get a bed. Did you give her a baby kit?”
Our baby kits include two reusable diapers, a bottle, a blanket, one can of powdered formula, and a pacifier. It’s not much, but every little bit helps.
“Yeah,” Cady answers. “I also told her to check that one church at the end of Spruce street. Sometimes they’ll open their doors for the night.”
“Good idea,” I smile at my young friend. “Alright, I’m going to go tell the cooks how many we have tonight. It’s time to lock the doors so you can head on home.”
“Aren’t you going home?” she asks, her head slightly tilted.
“Not yet. I need to go over a few things with the night shift first,” I lie.
Well, it’s not a complete lie. I do need to go over some things with the crew, but it’s only to tell them about the new mom and her baby and the change in location for Milly. It wouldn’t take but a few minutes.
But, the truth of the matter is, I don’t want to go home. I hate it there.
The best part is the memories of my parents around every corner. But it’s quiet. And at night, I can’t bring myself to turn off the lights.
I’m just too freaking scared to be there alone.
“Alright,” she says cheerfully. “I’m heading out then.”
“Tell your parents I say hi,” I tell her. “And thank your mom for that delicious lasagna the other day.”
Once Cady leaves the building, I wait until she gets in the taxi before locking up.
I will head home tonight, but most likely not for many more hours to come.
Chapter Eight