Page 21 of Gone for You

“Um, a homeless camp?”

She’s leaning forward, looking out the windshield, taking it all in.

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

That’s the second time today she’s told me she trusts me and I still don’t know why I deserve it. But I’ll take it. I reach for my handle and push the door open. I grab the leftovers out of the backseat of my pickup and meet her by the tailgate.

With the boxes in one hand, I take her mitten-covered hand in my other. I wish there was no barrier between us but it’s freezing out here so I’m glad she’s warm. Her eyes meet mine, those gorgeous golden browns are shimmering with interest.

“Oh! I almost forgot.” I hand her the food and open my tailgate, lift out the heavy tank and drag the storage container to the end. I’ll come back for the tote later. She watches me and follows when I walk toward the camp.

“Conner?”

“Ethan? That you?”

“Who else would it be?”

Conner comes into view and Liv gasps. With certainty, I know she wasn’t expecting Conner. As soon as he spots Liv, he stops in his tracks and eyes her warily.

“Ethan,” she whispers, hand covering her mouth.

“Conner, this is Liv. Liv, this is my bud, Conner.”

She looks at me and stretches out the hand not holding the food to Conner who gives her a half-hearted hand shake. “Hi Conner. It’s nice to meet you.”

He mumbles something under his breath, looks to the ground and kicks at the dirt. I set down the propane tank next to us and step in close, lean down to look him in the eye, place my hand gently on his shoulder to gain his attention. “Conner, speak up. She’s a friend of mine and nice. I wouldn’t bring someone here I didn’t trust, you know this.”

He looks up at me, his large green eyes, freckle covered face, and wild, messy mop of red hair making him look just as young as he really is, even if life has given him experiences that makes him older than his age. “It’s nice to meet you, too,” he says more clearly this time.

“How about you call me Livvy Loo?” She smiles at him and it makes me want to hug her.

“I brought some stuff. Help me carry it over, will ya? We’ll grab the rest in a bit.” I hand him the small storage container off the tailgate and pick the propane tank back up.

“Okay.”

There’s a bright blue tarp hanging from two trees separating the tent and camper from the roadside but it’s not lost on Liv what she’s going to find once we pass through the tarp. She just doesn’t know the extent of it. Conner pulls the corner of the tarp back and steps through, holding it back for Liv and me.

Conner is the oldest of the kids at only thirteen. His parents lost their home to a fire but didn’t have rental insurance, no family to speak of, no friends to step in and offer support and the community they were in didn’t offer up help, either. They packed up their meager belongings they were able to salvage in their car that has definitely seen better days – in the early 90’s – and ended up here about a month ago.

“Mom? Dad? Ethan’s here.”

“Ethan?” Conner’s mom Samantha comes out of the old camper I let them use. I had bought it a few years ago with the plan to live in it myself while I build a house. It’s definitely not big enough for a family of six but it’s better than nothing. Plus, this way they at least have the use of a small kitchen and a bathroom. We have to take it to fill with water and empty the tanks, and I’m constantly worried the generators that keep everything running will run out of gas, but so far, they’ve managed well. As soon as she sees me, her face lights up but when she notices Liv next to me, they widen with curiosity. I’ve never brought a single person here. No one but me knows about the family living on my property.

“Hi Samantha. I hope it’s okay I brought my friend Liv here to meet you.”

“Of course! Austin! Ethan’s here and he brought a friend!” The way she saysfriendwhen she’s calling for her husband to join us makes me chuckle. She shakes Liv’s hand as she greets her. I watch Liv closely, wondering what’s going through her mind. I probably should have warned her but I didn’t want her meeting this family with any preconceived notions. They were judged enough before they came here by everyone else as it was. I turn her to face me, needing the reassurance that I made the right choice to bring her here. Relief fills my veins when I don’t see any sort of judgment or pity in her eyes. Curiosity, yes. I probably should have given her a little more credit.

Austin appears, baby Hillary on his hip and Liv gasps, not realizing there would be a toddler in the mix.

Hillary’s chubby cheeks are pink and it makes me nervous but Austin and Samantha, they’re good parents. These four kids couldn’t ask for any better and the fact that they’re homeless doesn’t change that. They do the best they can with the life that’s been handed to them.

He sets her down and she toddles over to me, lifts her little arms in the air and I bend down to pick her up. She nestles into my chest, resting her head on my shoulder. “Where’s your brothers?”

She babbles and points to the camper. There’s a smaller tent they keep their belongings in as well. It was their only shelter when they arrived, but it was the end of February and there was no way in hell I would take no for an answer when it came to providing them a better place to lay their heads at night.

After they got settled in, they went to a local thrift store to get some basic needs. They’re doing their best to make the most out of the situation they are living in. There’s nothing wrong with the camper, the quarters are tight and they obviously know they’re essentially homeless.

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