type?”
“I don’t know.”
He turned his gaze from the window to me. “I found some bottles of water and a box of crackers.”
I rose from the couch and grabbed a bottle of water off the desk. Sam walked over and hugged me. “We’ll figure this out. I promise.”
Sam always made me feel safe. I hated that he carried the weight of the world around with him. I knew a lot of his anxiety stemmed from me. He was always bailing me out of tough situations only to get himself in trouble. He had been my guardian angel. I vowed to myself from this day on I would shoulder some of the load in our brother and sister relationship—at least, I would try.
I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed as hard as I could. Tears cascaded down my face as he squeezed back. After a few seconds, he let go. I patted my eyes with the sleeve of my sweatshirt, then grabbed a few crackers.
“I called Ben,” Sam said.
“And?” I bit into one cracker.
“His dad is out of town. He said we could crash there tonight and we can talk to Mr. Jackson when he gets home tomorrow. He went to a principals’ conference or something for the weekend.”
“How’re we getting there?”
“Taxi,” Sam said. “I’ve already called.”
We finished all the water and the box of crackers. Before leaving the room, I grabbed both books on vampires and followed Sam downstairs.
No question, we were better off at Ben’s than this funeral home, but I wasn’t sure if Mr. Jackson would be as understanding as Sam thought. By this time tomorrow, Sam and I could be on our way to yet another foster home—or jail.
Chapter 5
I rummaged around in a downstairs closet and found a pair of boots and a sweater to replace the beat up Nikes and the gorilla sweatshirt. Sam wrote Neil a note thanking him for his help and letting him know about the clothes I borrowed, and that I would return them the first chance I got. He signed the bottom, saying he would see him at school next week.
The cab was parked in the driveway when I walked out the front door.
The cold air stung my cheeks as I descended the front porch. I scanned the neighborhood and my gaze drifted towards the park. A few cars sat in the parking lot now. A handful of kids were ice-skating while their parents lingered nearby wrapped in blankets, watching them. At the far end of the parking lot, my gaze landed on a black SUV. I stopped midstride, trying to get a better view, but I slipped off the last step, landing face first in the soft snow. Shit! I planted my palms on the wet, cold ground, pushed off and got up. I spit out a mouthful of ice crystals when Sam touched my shoulder.
“Did you forget how to walk?”
I glared at him as we made our way to the cab that was idling in the driveway. I focused on the park, searching for the SUV, but as we slid into the cab, I couldn’t see it anymore. It probably wasn’t worth telling Sam. He was already paranoid and he would just think I was crazy. After all, anyone can drive a black SUV.
The cabby looked at me through the rearview mirror. “Where to, folks?”
“Riverside,” Sam replied. “Twenty-two Ash Street.”
The driver pressed a button on his meter that was bolted to the dashboard. The cab hadn’t moved an inch and the meter had already charged us two dollars and fifty cents. He put the car in reverse and the tires crunched over the snow as he backed out. He talked into a two-way radio, sending the dispatcher the address of our final destination.
As the cab accelerated down the street, I surveyed the neighborhood. Several homes were boarded up with a For Sale sign staked to the ground in every yard.A homeless man slept on the porch of one of the empty dwellings with his shopping cart full of trash bags parked at the foot of the steps. Another residence had a car in the driveway sitting on its rims while two young men leaned against it, sharing a paper bag of who knew what. The entire neighborhood looked as if the world had died in this part of
“I don’t know.”
He turned his gaze from the window to me. “I found some bottles of water and a box of crackers.”
I rose from the couch and grabbed a bottle of water off the desk. Sam walked over and hugged me. “We’ll figure this out. I promise.”
Sam always made me feel safe. I hated that he carried the weight of the world around with him. I knew a lot of his anxiety stemmed from me. He was always bailing me out of tough situations only to get himself in trouble. He had been my guardian angel. I vowed to myself from this day on I would shoulder some of the load in our brother and sister relationship—at least, I would try.
I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed as hard as I could. Tears cascaded down my face as he squeezed back. After a few seconds, he let go. I patted my eyes with the sleeve of my sweatshirt, then grabbed a few crackers.
“I called Ben,” Sam said.
“And?” I bit into one cracker.
“His dad is out of town. He said we could crash there tonight and we can talk to Mr. Jackson when he gets home tomorrow. He went to a principals’ conference or something for the weekend.”
“How’re we getting there?”
“Taxi,” Sam said. “I’ve already called.”
We finished all the water and the box of crackers. Before leaving the room, I grabbed both books on vampires and followed Sam downstairs.
No question, we were better off at Ben’s than this funeral home, but I wasn’t sure if Mr. Jackson would be as understanding as Sam thought. By this time tomorrow, Sam and I could be on our way to yet another foster home—or jail.
Chapter 5
I rummaged around in a downstairs closet and found a pair of boots and a sweater to replace the beat up Nikes and the gorilla sweatshirt. Sam wrote Neil a note thanking him for his help and letting him know about the clothes I borrowed, and that I would return them the first chance I got. He signed the bottom, saying he would see him at school next week.
The cab was parked in the driveway when I walked out the front door.
The cold air stung my cheeks as I descended the front porch. I scanned the neighborhood and my gaze drifted towards the park. A few cars sat in the parking lot now. A handful of kids were ice-skating while their parents lingered nearby wrapped in blankets, watching them. At the far end of the parking lot, my gaze landed on a black SUV. I stopped midstride, trying to get a better view, but I slipped off the last step, landing face first in the soft snow. Shit! I planted my palms on the wet, cold ground, pushed off and got up. I spit out a mouthful of ice crystals when Sam touched my shoulder.
“Did you forget how to walk?”
I glared at him as we made our way to the cab that was idling in the driveway. I focused on the park, searching for the SUV, but as we slid into the cab, I couldn’t see it anymore. It probably wasn’t worth telling Sam. He was already paranoid and he would just think I was crazy. After all, anyone can drive a black SUV.
The cabby looked at me through the rearview mirror. “Where to, folks?”
“Riverside,” Sam replied. “Twenty-two Ash Street.”
The driver pressed a button on his meter that was bolted to the dashboard. The cab hadn’t moved an inch and the meter had already charged us two dollars and fifty cents. He put the car in reverse and the tires crunched over the snow as he backed out. He talked into a two-way radio, sending the dispatcher the address of our final destination.
As the cab accelerated down the street, I surveyed the neighborhood. Several homes were boarded up with a For Sale sign staked to the ground in every yard.A homeless man slept on the porch of one of the empty dwellings with his shopping cart full of trash bags parked at the foot of the steps. Another residence had a car in the driveway sitting on its rims while two young men leaned against it, sharing a paper bag of who knew what. The entire neighborhood looked as if the world had died in this part of
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