Page 12 of Raven
“Porter met a new girl,” I said to distract my own thoughts.
Rueben snorted, shaking his head. “Two days,” he said, turning to meet my eyes.
“I’ll take that bet.” I grinned. As much as I wanted Porter to keep his romantic spirit, I wouldn’t miss out on the chance to win a bet on when he’d fall out of love with her.
“Any news?” he asked, finishing with the last piece of equipment. He picked them up, placing them into their bags one by one in a precise order.
My attempt to discover Little Bird’s whereabouts hadn’t been as clever as I’d imagined. The twins didn’t know I kept looking for her, but Rueben did. Mainly because the twins had had too many people leave them, and I didn’t want to give them false hope. And Rueben had figured it out, his uncanny ability to suss out secrets.
Rubbing the back of my neck, those tiny hairs tingled my hand again. “No. I’m beginning to wonder if I dreamed her,” I admitted.
“You didn’t,” Rueben said, his faith in me unwavering. He looked up, his dark eyes meeting mine. “She’s…” His voice waned a little, and he swallowed, taking a second to collect himself. He typically spoke in two-word sentences, anything more caused him harm so he limited his full sentences. “She’s real. Your imagination isn’t that good.”
Snorting, I nodded, agreeing with him. “Yeah, you’re not wrong there.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I let myself drift back to the day I’d first met her. The day she’d changed my life forever.
“Get the carton, boy. Don’t skimp on me. If you’re not back with it soon, I’m taking your dinner,” my stepdad bellowed, pushing me out the door. Stumbling down the broken steps, I pulled my coat tighter around me. I was sick of my stepdad pushing me around like he was the boss of me. I wish my mom would wise up and leave him, but she wouldn’t. She never did.
I trudged up the sidewalk, the wind whipping around me from all directions. It was no wonder he didn’t want to come out in this weather, and I hated that he’d sent me instead. By the time I entered the corner market, my whole body shivered, the cold seeping into my body through my thin jacket. It was too small, but it was all I had, so I dealt with it.
The teen at the counter barely looked up from their phone when I entered. I slapped the money on the counter, used to this song and dance. The store wasn’t legally allowed to sell to me, but my stepfather had set something up with the owner to allow me to get his cigarettes so he wouldn’t have to leave the house.
“Red ones,” I said, my teeth chattering.
The teen rolled his eyes but reached down and handed over the carton, putting the money into the till. Shoving the box into my coat, I hurried back out, wanting to make it home before the storm worsened. My foot caught on a bike as I turned the corner, my body falling forward as I braced my hands out in front of me.
In my fall, I kicked a box, revealing what was hidden beneath it. A small girl with dark hair stared back at me, her blue eyes wide. Her tiny body shook in the few layers of clothes she had on.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, something about her called to me.
“Just leave,” she said, putting her head on her knees. She wrapped her arms around them, probably attempting to keep her body heat in. Her sadness overwhelmed me, and the need to do something to make her smile felt important.
Without a thought, I removed my jacket and placed it around her shoulders. She gasped, looking up, her blue eyes watering as she stared at me.
“I live at the third house down. If you come to the back window at dark, I’ll sneak you in. It’s going to be too cold out here tonight.”
I didn’t wait for an answer, placing the box back so she was covered, and ran the rest of the way home with the cigarettes.
For the next week, she snuck into my house at night, eating whatever I could scavenge throughout the day, and slept next to me on the mound of covers that acted as my bed.
“What’s your name?” I asked one night.
She shook her head. “I don’t have one anymore.” Her eyes closed, and I knew something terrible had happened.
“Then I’ll give you one,” I whispered. “How about… Petunia?”
She giggled, covering her mouth, but shook her head.
“Hmm, what about…” I trailed off, looking her over. Her small features were so delicate, her voice as pretty as the songbirds. She’d run away from home, escaping her cage, something I wish I could do. “Your name should be Birdie, but I’ll call you Little Bird.”
“Okay,” she said, smiling. “And I’ll call you Otto.”
“Deal.” I grinned, feeling happier than I’d ever been.
Of course, that hadn’t lasted long. The next night, we’d held one another while my stepfather went on a rampage, breaking things and hitting my mother. I knew then I couldn’t stay there any longer. It wasn’t safe for her.
Throwing some stuff into a bag, I pulled out the bag of coins I’d collected over the past year, hiding it away from my stepdad. Throwing on clothes, I shoved some into her bag as well, placing a few more layers on her so she’d be warmer.
“You sure?” she asked, her lip quivering.