Page 16 of Tequila & Lace
When I got home to my empty house, my phone buzzed with a text from Mark.
Mark:You okay with a new roommate?
Well, shit, that was fast.
Me:Yeah sure, whatever.
Mark:Cool. Andy will be there next week sometime.
Chapter Five
Joselyn
It had been twelve years since I’d been back to Miami. Since the night I fled, I hadn’t returned. When the taxi dropped me off at the bus station, I bought a one-way ticket to Washington D.C.
I’d barely made the last bus for the night, and when I asked how long it would take for me to get there, I wasn’t expecting to be told twenty-seven hours. I had no clothes other than what I was wearing. No toothbrush, no brush to comb my hair, no food—nothing. Luckily, I had the wad of cash I’d stolen from Marco and I had over thirteen hundred dollars left after my bus ticket. Who the hell carried that much cash on them? Maybe it was to pay for our date. I had a feeling it wasn’t, though. I didn’t know Tony, but the way he was dressed, the way he spoke to me, the limo he picked me up in, and his bodyguard Jose all indicated that one’s virginity was worth more than a few hundred dollars, especially if he were splitting it with my mother. The hotel room probably cost more for one night than the cash in Marco’s wallet.
The bus pulled to a stop, jolting and squeaking, causing me to wake.
“We’re here.”
I looked to my left toward Alison. She had become my friend in the short amount of time we’d traveled from Miami to D.C. She hadn’t asked why I was crying when she’d first met me. Instead, she’d started talking to me at our first rest stop about poutine fries she’d had in Canada, and she made me laugh. Gravy and cheese curds on French fries? What had the world come to? She swore up and down that it was the best thing ever and that I needed to try it. I was a chili and cheese girl myself. Granted that was only in the summer when Seth treated me.
“What time is it?” I yawned.
“Almost two in the morning.”
Where the hell was I supposed to go at two in the morning? I had no way of contacting Seth. I didn’t know what precinct he was at. Didn’t know his phone number, where he lived, or if he was even on duty.
I nodded and stood, ready to get off the bus and wander around a city I didn’t know.
“Do you need my mom to take you somewhere?” Alison asked.
“My friend should be here to pick me up,” I lied. How would I explain to her mother why I was dressed like a hooker? How would I tell her I needed to go to every police station until I found Seth? I felt as if I had a big sign above my head and it was flashing that I was just sold to the highest bidder.
“Want us to wait until they show up?”
We began walking down the aisle toward the front of the bus in a single file. “No, no, it’s late. I’m sure he’s here.”
“Give me your cell number and I’ll program mine. We should hang out sometime.”
I almost began to cry again. I wanted so badly to be normal. I was seventeen and I should have a cell phone. This day and age practically everyone had a cell phone. “I—”
Her gaze met mine. “Silly me. You probably left it with your stuff in Miami. Let me find some paper and a pen and I’ll write mine down for you.” I knew I would never call her. The less people knew who I was and knew I was in D.C., the better.
I didn’t know if she did it on purpose, but I was grateful she was quick not to question why I didn’t have a phone or any belongings. I was sure she saw it written on my imaginary neon sign that I was a hot mess. I felt as if I were one. I was broken and still sore as fuck between my legs. My feet hurt like a bitch in those god awful heels too. I couldn’t wait until I got to take a nice long bath followed by a long cry in a bed before I slept for a week.
After Alison and her mother left, I grabbed a waiting taxi and asked to be taken to the closest police station. The driver eyed me through the rearview mirror. It didn’t faze me. The last forty-eight hours had been the worst of my life and having another taxi driver wonder what was going on with me wasn’t bothering me one bit. I was finally in the same city as my best friend. Granted it was a huge city and I had no idea where he was.
I stared out the window watching the orange streetlights as the driver took me to the precinct. Theoretically, I didn’t know if it was the closest one to the bus station, but it didn’t matter. What were the odds that I’d walk in and it’d be Seth’s station? What were the odds that he’d be on duty at this hour or even at the station?
The taxi pulled up to the front of the station and I asked him to wait a few minutes while I ran inside. I took a deep breath and then walked up the concrete stairs. My heart was racing. Even though I’d had over a day to plan out what I was going to tell Seth, I hadn’t really thought about what I was going to say to him. “I ran away, you’re taking me in. The end.”
Before I reached my hand out for the door, I turned slightly to make sure the taxi was still there. He was. Of course he was. He wanted his cab fare. But I wanted this police station to be the station where my best friend was so I could cry in his arms and feel safe. Seth always made me feel safe and I really needed him. I wasn’t the adult I thought I was. I didn’t care that I had less than a year until I was legally an adult. I needed… I needed to know everything was going to be okay.
Taking another deep breath, I reached up and tugged on the door, but it didn’t budge. “What the fuck?” I murmured. I tugged on the other door, but it too didn’t open. My heart instantly dropped. I knew it was a long shot to show up, but I hadn’t expected the police station to be closed. I peered through the glass window trying to find anyone who could help me. I didn’t see anyone.
My eyes started to sting, my chest began to tighten and my head started to feel fuzzy. This wasn’t happening. How could I travel over a day and then show up at a police station only to find it closed? Weren’t they supposed to be there to help you?
