AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 5
I awoke with a start when I felt the bus come to a stop. Keeping my hood up, I cautiously peeked over my seat to see what was going on. We had pulled into a bus station, but I wasn’t sure where we were since I had been sleeping. People were filing off the bus, and I decided it would be a good time to get off and use the restroom. I had stolen a jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread from the Anderson’s pantry but I was terribly thirsty. After everyone who seemed to be getting off had left, I walked to the front of the bus, keeping my head down. The air felt sticky when I got off after having gotten used to the air conditioning on the bus. I must have been sleeping for awhile since the sign said we were in Indianapolis and I had gotten on the bus in Springfield, Illinois. I used the restroom and went to the snack shop to get a bottle of water. I would refill it at water fountains for the rest of the trip to save money.
As I stood in line I peeked around. It felt like eyes were watching me. There was a homeless man wearing tattered, decaying clothes that looked like he hadn’t eaten in a month sleeping on the ground on the opposite corner of the train station. A few other people were milling around but no one seemed to be staring at me. I still felt eyes though. I shivered before stepping up to the window and getting my bottle of water. The attendant looked to be around my age and he stared at me intently as I placed my order. He was around my height with side swept brown hair the color of mud and a pale complexion like he too had been kept in an attic for months on end.
He stared at me even after I placed my order. I shifted uncomfortably, “My bus is going to leave soon, do you think I could have my water?” I asked him quietly after a moment.
He shook his head as if he had been in a daze and walked backwards to the cooler to get the water, still staring at me. When he came back to the counter he handed me the water and a candy bar. “I didn’t order the candy bar,” I told him.
“It’s on me,” he said with that same dazed grin he had worn our entire conversation.
“I can pay,” I said, sliding my money through the window.
“Take it gorgeous,” he said, grinning.
I awkwardly thanked him and backed away from the counter. As I turned to leave he yelled out, “Any way I can have your number?”
I looked over my shoulder thinking he surely couldn’t be talking to me. As I looked back I saw him again staring at me with an expectant look. I smiled softly and rushed away, I would try not to get off the bus very often. The last thing I wanted was to call attention to myself just in case the Andersons came looking for me.
I kept my head down as I got back in the bus and rushed to my row in the back. I curled up and leaned my head against the window, daydreaming about Rothmore College. Occasionally, or more often than I would ever admit, Damon Pierce’s face would cross my mind. I wondered if I would get to meet him. I fell asleep again and dreamed about the new life waiting for me in New York City.
