After running barefoot for three miles, she stops at a huge oak tree for rest. She pants and sits at the base of the tree despite the grass being wet. She covers her face with her wet hands and starts to sob. 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYLnSbf63W
“What's wrong?” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsq7tlqXZ3R
She gasps and looks around. A figure steps from behind the tree. Zeniqua squints, “Contrelle?”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnQcOBwXQ5
He shudders, “Please, call me Phoenix. Why are you crying?”
Her lips part but nothing comes out. He smiles a devious smile, “do you want to talk about it?” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2jJYKgxD3
She nods. He helps her up. “What are you doing out here?” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzAgMgufuT
“Ah,” they begin walking, “we are supposed to be talking about you and your crying.” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbuR4etNmR5
She blinks, “yes, but what are you doing out here at night?” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lNT1ARdA4
“The night time has always been soothing to me. The stars and the moon, twinkle so bright.” he looks up at the sky causing Zeniqua to look up at the sky. She'd never thought of it that way. “It's like everything is so still and it's quite serene.” He then looks at her and she eyes him. “Your turn.”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9soc1gOhZ
She sighs, “My father. He had found me. I was trying to escape the life he wanted me to live by coming all the way here. But, I'm not sure how he found me. I was so careful.” She hangs her head and shakes it. She looks up at the stars in the sky, twinkling without a care in the world.530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPRn4iNgrkT
“That sounds awful. Is he at your aunt's house still?” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zBNSWTh4P
“I don't know. I don't want to go back there tonight. I can’t.” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKmL312hum
“I can talk to my mom and see if she will let you stay in the guest room for tonight.” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2WRiDfgmRs
“I can’t let you do that.” Her eyes widen. 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOaGXeik0ca
He stops and folds his arms, “Why not? You need a place to stay for the night. And trust me, just because this is a nice neighborhood doesn’t mean there aren’t crazies out here.” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHIEzCixeT
She nods understanding what he is saying, “Alright.” They continue walking. “But what if she says ‘no’ then what am I going to do?”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4RF5Ns0ua
“She doesn’t really say no unless she doesn’t like the person. We are known as the family that takes people in need in.” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRxq0v956D
“O-okay.” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5C1VMtIInr
They end up at a two-story brick house and Trell opens the door. “Mama, I am home.” Zeniqua stands in the doorway until Trell gently pulls Zeniqua in the house and closes the door. 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk56cdUFtu4
“Great. I started to get worried.” A middle aged lady comes around the corner and stops when she sees Zeniqua. “Who is this?”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZ3qescJVs
“This is Zeniqua. She is a friend of mine. Well, she is Gracine’s cousin.” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KLk3iXaDa
“Oh,” she perks up a little bit. “I am Mrs. Townsend. So, what’s this about son?”
“She needs a place to stay for the night. She is going through something and...she can’t go back to her house tonight.”
Mrs. Townsend looks over at Zeniqua, “Are you hungry?”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsnsDiEF4F
“No...a little bit.”
Mrs. Townsend looks at her son, “she can stay for the night. Go get the guest room ready while I fix you two something to eat.”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyChVivsDDy
“Thank you, mama.”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdvdxeYyMx9
She nods. 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0DkPjEPGrt
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“You can help me in the kitchen.” She nods to Zeniqua. Zeniqua follows her into the kitchen. Trell goes upstairs.530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgzoN7tSIlt
“Can you cook?” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN7S0GbPT2Y
“Yes. But, what are you making?” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxdS36UK0L
“Wonton soup and peking duck.”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItoleUuVGj
“I can do that.” She nods confidently. But, she wasn’t so sure if she could do that. They both sound so foreign to her. 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1AQQGSRts
They begin cooking even though Mrs. Townsend already had majority of the cooking done, Zeniqua still pitches in. “So, when did you move here?”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPdiU6EpXe
“A few days ago. I needed a change of scenery.” Zeniqua shrugs her shoulders as she cuts the carrots up and places them in the roast beef stew pot. 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFioq8Zw2mg
“Oh. Where are you from?” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFtER6r9aSb
“Illinois.”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShZba7gE1w
“And you came here by yourself?”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJkBne7Cofu
“Alright, mama. That’s enough.” Trell says coming up behind them. 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdsDMFu53A
“What? I was just asking her some questions. I have to make sure she isn’t some kind of killer.” Mrs. Townsend assures. 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHb9yWyXhl
“It’s okay. I know my mom would have done the same thing.” Zeniqua says.
Mrs. Townsend puts the duck in the oven. “Sorry, if I seemed like I was pestering you.” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMh3BCDPmKg
“No, it’s okay.” Zeniqua yawns and sits at the kitchen table. 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0VxfROo9t
“The room is ready when you are ready to lay down.” Trell says to Zeniqua. 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWEll6ee3j
She nods, “I don’t think I will be able to eat.”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ShTryCEg6
“Oh, Trell make her a snack or something. This won’t be ready for a while.” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9eeEZgiAvQ
Trell makes a sandwich for her and pours sweet tea in a small cup. Zeniqua eats the sandwich and drinks the sweet tea.530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxO0gGGSwC
“Thank you.” She stands up, yawns, and stretches. She then follows Trell to the guest room, once there she gets in the bed and snuggles down. 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPuaYIdQLs
Trell sits on the edge of the bed, “There. He won’t find you here and if he does then mama has something for him.” He winks. 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG0tXm20ixa
Zeniqua chuckles tiredly, her eyes hood, “I hope I can go to school or something. That way I won’t be home as much.”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqqFuVGAjD
“Yeah, maybe. But, for now, get some sleep.” He puts the sheets up to her neck and her eyes close. 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmmKhcshTL
“What’s wrong?” Trell asks her.530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡotR8AGqvLO
She rubs her face and turn on her side to look out the window. She gets out of bed and goes to the window and looks at the stars. 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGddwfcI1O
Twinkling without a care in the world. No stress or disappointments. Just being their brightest. Zeniqua thinks to herself. 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2UbSEsvZw
She sighs, “Would it be a good idea to go back to my Aunt’s house at all knowing that my father now knows where I am?”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsIZA8azBF
He scratches his cheek, “Where else would you go?” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPejxKnNT6A
“I don’t know. I know that I have some family members in California, but I don't know where. They are all spread out unlike my father’s family who are in one state.” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtTzYn2Qihw
“Illinois.” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDL354RG9S9
“Right.” She sits on the window seat and draws her knees to her chest. “I want to be with my mom’s side because I know my father doesn’t know where they all live. But, neither do I.” She begins to nibble on her finger nails. 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15v1eVFtvE
He pats her hand for her to stop, she does. “I can help you find them.” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡteFsNjHHV7
“How? You don’t know me or them.”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrordXWAgdm
“You’re right. But, I am sure Gracine knows where some of them are.”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgW2ei2LFa
Zeniqua perks up a little, “You think so?”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQajxrKokI
“Yeah, she mentions a few cousins and where they live.” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhOJvP9CeE
Zeniqua hugs Trell, “That would be so great.”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tkZl6Vm0Z
Trell hugs her back, “Yeah, but if you have to run, I will run with you.”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxmXWmucA3
She lets go, “Wh..what?”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1E5yVwEChY
“You are unlike any girl I have ever met and I don't want to lose this.” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNbgshtaFq
“Trell, you hardly know me. I mean we met like a day ago or so.”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxyNOOgYij
He shrugs his shoulders, “I know that. But, you are a smart girl who wants better for herself. I have no reason to turn you into your father or to rat you out. If you have to run, then I will go with you.”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0SdMV1prX
This boy is completely out of his mind. “I don’t know, Trell. I don’t want you to be in danger as well.”530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡknf1jbYFg1
“Look, just sleep on it. We can talk more about this in the morning.” He stands up and stretches with a yawn.530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGuNYnPRZiV
“Okay. Good night, Trell.” 530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbutlgpdGRb
“Night.” He leaves the room closing the door behind him.530Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCb0qeCPH3R
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