Page 17 of Tequila & Lace
The sound of honking brought me out of my daze and I jumped. “Miss!” I turned and saw that the cabbie had yelled through the rolled down window. “You need to pay me.”
I hurried down the steps, needing to decide what to do next. “Sorry,” I breathed as I slid into the car.
“Where to now?”
I closed my eyes briefly, fighting back the tears. It wasn’t the time for them.
“Well?” he asked.
“Just… Just give me a minute.”
“Meter’s running,” he reminded me.
I opened my eyes to find he was looking at me through the rearview mirror. “Is there like a Walmart or something?” I asked. I needed clothes before I walked around in the daylight or for the third day in a row.
“You want me to take you shopping?” he asked.
“Look…” I looked at his name that was on his licenses stuck to the glass divider, but I couldn’t pronounce it. “I had a long bus ride from Miami. I left all my stuff there. Please take me to a Walmart that’s open to buy some clothes and toiletries, then take me to a motel, okay? I’ll tip you good, I promise.” Teenage hormones, lack of sleep, the last few days—everything all rolled into one was creeping up on me and I really didn’t know how much more I could take before I broke down and stayed in the back of the taxi forever. He nodded and pulled onto the street without another word. When we arrived at the store, he turned slightly and told me he was stopping the meter while I ran inside. I didn’t question him. Maybe he felt bad because I was crying. I thanked him and hurried in. I grabbed a few shirts, a pair of jeans, flip-flops, panties, a bra (damn, I’d been dying for a bra), pajamas and the toiletries I’d need to get me through the next few days in case I couldn’t find Seth.
Afterward, the cab driver drove me to the nearest motel. At first they were hesitant to rent me a room without a driver’s license or any I.D. Right away the tears started to flow, but I explained the situation; it was almost four in the morning and I only wanted it for a few hours. When I said those words, I cringed. I was still dressed in my short, strapless dress, heels and I had no doubt my makeup was long gone. I knew that damn neon sign was still flashing above my head.
Finally, they agreed to rent me a room. Once I locked myself in, I took a long shower where I cried on the base of the tub with the water spraying down on me. I didn’t cry for long, though. I was too tired.
The moment my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep.
I woke to the sound of knocking and a lady announcing she was housekeeping. Glancing at the clock, I realized that it was after noon and I was supposed to have checked out of the room by now.
“Coming!” I replied. I hurried to the door. “Sorry,” I apologized, unlocking it after I’d made sure it was housekeeping through the peephole. “I overslept. Can you give me ten minutes? I need to get dressed.”
She nodded and pushed her cart to the next room. I hurried to change. Everything was happening too fast and I still didn’t know what I was going to say to Seth when I saw him, but I knew I needed to find him. I needed to find him before nightfall because I didn’t want to be homeless. Being homeless wasn’t part of the plan. Actually none of this was. Why did my mother do this? Why did I do this?
As I gathered all my stuff, it hit me that at least back in Miami I’d have a roof over my head. Granted, I’d have to spread my legs after doing homework. A tear fell and I wiped it before I grabbed the two plastic bags that held the only belongings to my name and left the room in search of my best friend.
The police station the cab driver had taken me to only a few hours before was a few blocks away. I walked there after grabbing a bagel and coffee. It was lunch time, but to me it was breakfast time and I was starving. Everything was so fucked up and I had no idea when or if things would turn around.
When I made it to the precinct, the door opened on the first try. I wasn’t nervous until I’d taken my first step inside. Part of me had thought the station would still be closed. I expected all eyes to be on me, my neon sign flashing, but no one looked at me as I walked up to the desk that was closed off by what I assumed was a bullet proof glass. The clerk looked up after I stood there for what seemed like a full minute.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Officer McKenna,” I stated nervously, not meeting her gaze.
“We don’t have an officer by that name.”
My heart fell through the pit of my stomach and onto the white tiled floor. Of course, the first precinct wouldn’t be where he worked. I sighed.
“Do you have a crime to report?”
I did. A crime that they couldn’t help with. A crime that I couldn’t tell anyone about—ever. I shook my head. “No.”
“Then we can’t help you.”
I sighed again and swallowed back the disappointment. “Can you at least give me the address or addresses of the other stations?” She groaned, but she grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a few addresses down for me. “Would you mind calling me a cab?” I asked and gave a tight smile. I had a feeling I was walking a fine line by asking for so much help that wasn’t crime related.
“You can go outside and flag one down,” she responded sarcastically.
I had no idea and felt stupid for asking. I nodded and turned to leave. When I went outside, cars whizzed by, but I saw a yellow cab, so I raised my arm and waved for it to stop. It pulled over and I slid in.
On the way to the next station, I thought about what I would say to Seth in case I did get lucky and it was his precinct. He knew how much I hated my mother. He saw firsthand how mean she was to me on numerous occasions. I could blame one of those times and the fact that I was a teenager, but how could I explain how I got the bus money to make the trip?
