15
“S
o where are you going?” Nicole asked as soon as they left through Panera Bread's side exit. She was walking fast, shifting her eyes and anxiously looking around. She'd stopped twice and surveyed the parking lot, and froze every time a car pulled in.
The Charlie guy Nicole had been waiting for must've been very important to her, Charly believed. “A hotel or motel,” Charly told her, thinking the girl had to have a short memory.
“We're over here,” Nicole said, pointing and then pressing a button on a car key. Lights on a new Jaguar flashed on and off, and the trunk rose.
Charly raised her brows in appreciation of the fine car, and thought it fantastic that someone as young as Nicole drove one. “This is yours? It's nice.”
Nicole smiled, then made her way toward the driver's door. She stopped by the rear. “Thanks. Let me take your luggage. I'll just put it in the trunk with the rest of the things.” She pointed at Charly's bags.
Charly shook her head. The least she could do was handle her own luggage. The girl was doing her a big enough favor by giving her a ride. She didn't have to play valet too. “That's okay. I got 'em.” She wheeled the bags toward the trunk.
Nicole had rounded the car and was in front of Charly, blocking her before she knew it. Charly had no idea the girl could move so fast. “It's no problem really. In fact, I insist.... I kinda need to do something mechanical to help get this frustration off my shoulders. I use my mind too much,” she explained, reaching for Charly's luggage.
Charly didn't budge. She'd been clipped once already by Grandma Anna, and she wasn't giving someone else the opportunity to steal from her again. She tightened her grip on the extended handle when Nicole put her hands on it. “That's okay. I got it.”
Nicole laughed knowingly, her hand still on the handle of Charly's luggage. “I'm not going to steal your stuff, if that's what you're worried about,” she told Charly, then extended her left hand to Charly. “You can take the keys if that makes you feel better. I just kinda have something back there I don't want anyone to see. I've had too many people steal from me. You know what I'm saying,” she said.
Charly cocked her head sideways. “You don't have drugs or guns or anything like that back there, do you? I mean, you are driving an expensive car for someone your age.”
Now it was Nicole's turn to laugh. “I get that all the time. I'm older than I look too,” she deadpanned, staring into Charly's eyes. “But no. I don't have drugs or guns in the trunk. And it's kind of crappy that you'd say that. What, people who look like us can't have nice things? I work hard for my money, Charly.”
Charly nodded. She'd been out of order for assuming the worst, and was sure she sounded just like the cops and people who judged others by stereotypes. “Sorry. I just can never be too careful. I've been stolen from a lot too,” she explained, taking the car key.
“I can tell,” Charly heard Nicole say as she opened the passenger door and got in. Her phone vibrated before she strapped her seat belt around her. Stormy's name popped up on the cell screen.
“Hey!” Charly greeted. “Can you believe Lola's cousin stood me up? I've been here waiting forever. Wait, you do know what I'm talking about, right?” she decided to ask because she wasn't sure her sister knew what was going on. “At this point, Stormy, I'm really considering just coming back home. This whole trip has been terrible.”
“Charly. Charly! Stop talking and listen,” Stormy demanded.
The trunk closed, and Nicole was on her way to the driver's door. “What is it?” she whispered, not wanting Nicole to know her business. It was bad enough she had just about accused the girl of dealing drugs and transporting guns, she didn't want Nicole to know she was giving a ride to someone who would've been considered a runaway.
“You can't come home, Charly. You didn't pay the cable bill, and Brigette is on a rampage. She said if you ever walk through that door, she's turning you over to juvenile, and I believe her, Charly. The cops were just here and she told them you stole from her. Filed a report and everything.”
Charly's heart stopped. Her mother was terrible. “What did you say, Stormy? Did you tell them she's a liar?” She could hear Stormy crying from the other end of the phone. “Don't cry. Please don't.” Nicole got in the car and slammed shut the door. Charly held up a finger, signaling that she'd be off the phone in a second.
“I couldn't, Charly,” Stormy said, sniffling. “She told me if I said one word, she'd tell the cops that I was in on it, and they'd take me too. She's crazy, Charly. Crazy and coldhearted. I'm leaving too.”
Charly exhaled. So she couldn't go back home, but, in her heart, she'd already known that. Deep inside she'd always known she'd never had a home to begin with. “Yes, you are leaving. You are. But I need you to wait. Okay? As soon as I get to New York and get settled, I'm sending for you. I promise.”
Stormy was still sniffling. “Are you sure? Because I can't take it here without you.”
Charly nodded as if Stormy could see her. “I'm sure. Just let me make and save some money, and I'm sending for you.”
Noise could be heard on the opposite end of the line. Brigette's voice blared in the back. “Gotta go. Love you.” The line went dead.
Â
Music pumped out of the car speakers, and they hadn't spoken for miles. Charly's thoughts were on saving Stormy from Brigette. Her mother setting her up to fall over a utility bill didn't surprise her, but her threatening to have Stormy locked up had totally taken her off guard. She didn't want to be rude to Nicole, but she had to get her thoughts together, then her life.
“So . . . New York, huh?” Nicole asked, turning down the volume and hanging a right onto a country road. Rain began pouring from the sky. “I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it was kinda hard.” She turned on the windshield wipers.
Charly glanced at Nicole. “It's okay. It's your car.” She shrugged. “I don't know. . . . I gotta make some money.”
“Impossible,” Nicole said, turning into a shopping center parking lot. She zoomed up and down lanes of cars, looking for a parking spot and swerving around the many potholes.
Charly drew her brows together, thinking about Nicole's comment and wondering why they hadn't parked yet. They'd passed at least a dozen or so empty parking spaces. “There's a spot right there,” she said, pointing out the window. “And what do you mean by 'impossible'?”
Nicole shook her head, bypassing the space Charly had pointed to, then drove toward the back of the shopping center and turned onto the alley-looking drive behind the stores. Water splashed as high as an ocean wave on the uneven concrete. “Forgot about the condition of this place when it rains,” she said, then mumbled numbers with her mouth, obviously counting. “Eleven,” she said to herself, then turned to Charly. “We're here,” she said, pulling next to a Dumpster, and putting the car in park. She killed the engine, took off her seat belt, and faced Charly. “Impossible, meaning you can't make money, you have to earn it. And watch out for all the water. It's like miniature rivers around here when it rains.”
Now Charly was confused. She reached into her pocket, pulled out the five-dollar bill she was paying Nicole for giving her a ride to the motel, then handed it to her. “Well, I guess you just earned this. Right?”
Nicole snatched the five-dollar bill and laughed. She removed a stack of large bills from her purse and unfolded it. She placed the five inside. “Thanks. I almost forgot about this. But what I said is true. Unless you're a counterfeiter, you can't make it.” She pursed her lips, then smacked. “So you need to earn some money, right? Well, if you help me, I may be able to help you.”
Charly perked. “I'm listening.”
16
A
small desk with a time clock over it was situated a few feet from the back entrance. Nicole smiled at Charly. “You can get to the shopping floor from there,” she said, pointing down an aisle with hundreds of boxes on either side. “I'm punching in, then I'll meet you out front. Look around. We won't be here that long, but, still, it may be awhile because I have some employees I gotta check on,” she forewarned, making her way toward the desk.
Charly took her time walking down the aisle, wondering what electronic wonders all the boxes held. She was certain that they contained just about everything a gadget junkieânamely herselfâwould love. Pushing through the swing door that led to the main shopping area, she half wondered what Nicole was up to, and if she was going to have to fire any of the employees she had to check on. The girl had said she'd worked hard to earn her money, and now Charly knew she hadn't been lying. They'd only left Panera a short time ago, and now Nicole was working again.
A manager
, Charly nodded, impressed.
The mega electronics store was bigger than Charly had imagined, and it was filled with shoppers. Charly perused the aisles, looking at things she couldn't afford. Videos. Music CDs. Televisions. Appliances. The store had everything. Her eyes looked up and to the left. A huge blue sign had the word STEREOS printed in bold yellow. To the right, another display read COMPUTERS. She nodded, deciding to go check out the PCs and Macs she knew would resurrect old angry feelings. She'd almost had a computer just like she'd almost had the new Android. But her mother's stealing had assured she wouldn't have either.
“Can I help you with something?” a young guy asked, as Charly played with a new PowerBook laptop.
“Does this have Wi-Fi?” Charly asked.
The guy reared back his head. “Does it? What computer doesn't nowadays. But this doesn't have just normal Wi-Fi,” he began selling, obviously mistaking Charly for a paying customer.
Charly stood and listened and played with the laptop as if she was going to purchase it. She took a quick glance at her watch, and saw that she'd been in the store for over an hour and still hadn't met up with Nicole. She excused herself, telling the guy she'd be right back, then went to look for Nicole. Aisle after aisle, she roamed, and hadn't spotted Nicole anywhere. She was just about to leave out and go look for the Jaguar when the mobile section caught her attention.
“No,” she told herself, knowing that if she saw the phone she'd been saving for, she'd really become angry. But she couldn't help herself. She had to at least touch it.
She'd just picked it up when another employee made his way to her. “I'm just looking,” Charly told him before he started trying to sell.
He held up his hands in surrender and wiggled his eyebrows. “I was only going to warn you not to buy this one. A new one's being announced in a couple of days, then released the week after. Some new marketing scheme the company's trying.” He winked. “But you know, I'm not supposed to tell you that though.”
Charly smiled. The thing the employee had done with his brows reminded her so much of Mason, and made her miss him. She'd only been away from him for a couple of days, but it felt like forever. Now she wondered what he was up to, and thought about Brooklyn.
“So this one's good, but the new one is great. Trust me. It's faster. Has a better camera. And I can't even begin to tell you how fantastic the display is. The images are crystal clear,” he rattled.
“And the video camera?” Charly inquired.
“Amazing.”
She shook her head and
tsk
ed him. “I guess you're doing presales, huh? What, you're supposed to pretend to give me confidential information about this one, tell me not to buy it because the new one's coming out, and then you're supposed to convince me to prepay for the new one or something? Is that how it goes?” Charly asked, smiling.
The guy shook his head. “We don't do presales. And I could get fired for the information I just gave you. Plus, I don't work off of commission. I just think you're fine and wanted to talk to you,” he admitted.
Charly bit her lip, then played with her hair. She tilted her head sideways. “Really? All this because you think I'm fine?”
He nodded. “All this . . . and . . .” He grabbed her hand. “Come with me. I got something to show you.”
She only went with him because he was a cutie, she told herself, allowing him to lead her through the mobile section to the counter. He was cute and nice and polite and his brow wiggling reminded her so much of Mason, that's why she'd gone with him. That, and she had nothing else to do while waiting on Nicole.
“Back here,” he said, taking her behind the counter. “Look down there. Slide open the drawer, and you'll see.” He sidestepped, allowing Charly room. “But don't get up. I can get in trouble if my manager sees you back here.”
Charly squatted, then opened the drawer. Her mouth fell open. Sure enough, a newer model of the phone she'd saved for was there. It was sleeker, and lighter, and so, so pretty. “Can I?”
The guy looked around the store, then, without looking down, said, “Go ahead. We're all clear.”
Her hands were opening the box, and the phone was in her hand. She powered it on, then scrolled, changing screens with just a swipe of her fingers. Reluctantly, she put it back in the box and set it in the drawer. It made no sense for her to torment herself by playing with a phone she knew she couldn't have, and wouldn't for a long time. All her money and energy would be spent on New York, getting Stormy there, and making a career for herself. As if saving her from herself, her cell vibrated in her pocket.
LOLA: Where r u? My cuzn's been waiting for you @ Panera!!!
Charly stood, jetted from behind the counter, and was on her way to the doors marked EMPLOYEES ONLY without a second thought.
“Hey! You can't go back there,” the cute sales guy with brows like Mason's said, hustling behind her.
Charly veered, looking for the main doors. “I gotta go.”
“That way,” he said, pointing. “But wait! Here. Take my card. My cell's on the back. Call me.”
Charly nodded, taking his card. “Okay,” she said, not really thinking. Then she caught herself. She couldn't leave without Nicole. “Can you please page the manager Nicole for me?”
Sales boy reared back his head. “We don't have a manager named Nicole.”
“Are you sure? I just came in with her. She's about my size, a bit darker-complected, with red hair,” she informed him.
Again he said no. “All of our managers are men.”
Her heart was in her shoes, and her lungs were on fire from running full speed around the shopping center to what she thought was the back entrance to the electronics store. Charly looked around, wondering if she'd counted wrong. She'd passed eleven doors, counting them along the way as Nicole had done. But she must've miscounted, she told herself. There was no way she could've been right because Nicole's Jaguar was nowhere in sight.
Charly backtracked, then retraced her steps, counting the back entrances to the stores along the way and avoiding the water-filled puddles. She'd walked the pavement two times, starting on one end, then ending on the other. Eleven doors or twelve wouldn't really have mattered, she told herself. The only vehicles behind the shopping center were delivery trucks and semis. A rising heat pushed up and balled in her throat, forming a knot. Her eyes stung from holding back tears. She wanted to cry, to break down, but it wouldn't help. No matter how strong her feelings, nothing could change what she now knew. Nicole had been just like the rest of the thieves in her life.
But why?
she wondered, stepping out of the way of a huge truck speeding toward her. Nicole had a brand-new Jaguar and a lot of money, so Charly couldn't understand the need for her to steal her luggage and leave her stranded.
Whoosh.
The truck blew by, its tires spitting buckets of water on Charly.
She closed her eyes and stiffened, then let her dam of tears break. She couldn't have been wetter if she were a fish living in the ocean.