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. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOKVWwDZO0
“What's wrong?” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QQIPUwd3Y
She gasps and looks around. A figure steps from behind the tree. Zeniqua squints, “Contrelle?”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnefhPPKnx
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?” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaSDREPEcX
She nods. He helps her up. “What are you doing out here?” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3lorwZGJVc
“Ah,” they begin walking, “we are supposed to be talking about you and your crying.” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEP6TP2NAtK
She blinks, “yes, but what are you doing out here at night?” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOFxpPhY1P
“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.”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWffYmeBZhv
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.583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydy2xSoWgQ
“That sounds awful. Is he at your aunt's house still?” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFz4rIz9yDO
“I don't know. I don't want to go back there tonight. I can’t.” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLLWm0PFM70
“I can talk to my mom and see if she will let you stay in the guest room for tonight.” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1RnljKoWB
“I can’t let you do that.” Her eyes widen. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaOgfsQksbr
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.” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqTac17PbS2
She nods understanding what he is saying, “Alright.” They continue walking. “But what if she says ‘no’ then what am I going to do?”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjHop21IWst
“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.” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMLEH771eI
“O-okay.” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllmkVOKmYG
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. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnitXs7u3bZ
“Great. I started to get worried.” A middle aged lady comes around the corner and stops when she sees Zeniqua. “Who is this?”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5IQZOFuyLD
“This is Zeniqua. She is a friend of mine. Well, she is Gracine’s cousin.” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuNABvl3vX
“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?”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFdTs3rKZfA
“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.”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFwGopwbWG
“Thank you, mama.”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWyoGwSfahm
She nods. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSIZ8RYlx1
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“You can help me in the kitchen.” She nods to Zeniqua. Zeniqua follows her into the kitchen. Trell goes upstairs.583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt0cVM870SU
“Can you cook?” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzViITHE34b
“Yes. But, what are you making?” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYExfuWsgcX
“Wonton soup and peking duck.”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRTCrYV60s
“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. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH79Kh59vsK
They begin cooking even though Mrs. Townsend already had majority of the cooking done, Zeniqua still pitches in. “So, when did you move here?”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9faX6EwUnn
“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. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkI3Hxz3SuE
“Oh. Where are you from?” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpxVCHj71o
“Illinois.”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6Z2sN2URG
“And you came here by yourself?”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ370fKrrDB8
“Alright, mama. That’s enough.” Trell says coming up behind them. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjBEOfIK26
“What? I was just asking her some questions. I have to make sure she isn’t some kind of killer.” Mrs. Townsend assures. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiB6xuSYtA7
“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.” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtudeeXILS
“No, it’s okay.” Zeniqua yawns and sits at the kitchen table. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPG555wRMZ
“The room is ready when you are ready to lay down.” Trell says to Zeniqua. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDny3l4FsK
She nods, “I don’t think I will be able to eat.”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxNha0nQowG
“Oh, Trell make her a snack or something. This won’t be ready for a while.” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsXoudNPMq
Trell makes a sandwich for her and pours sweet tea in a small cup. Zeniqua eats the sandwich and drinks the sweet tea.583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB80ebsSRV3
“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. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlhzNxCvHjF
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. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDtvy4PCHs
Zeniqua chuckles tiredly, her eyes hood, “I hope I can go to school or something. That way I won’t be home as much.”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6PZdVQGSh
“Yeah, maybe. But, for now, get some sleep.” He puts the sheets up to her neck and her eyes close. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOB2KC5GFl
“What’s wrong?” Trell asks her.583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3MVTmyGct
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. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHQqqxKDgF
Twinkling without a care in the world. No stress or disappointments. Just being their brightest. Zeniqua thinks to herself. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlE1A5U16kZ
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?”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAru19inMie
He scratches his cheek, “Where else would you go?” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1uVwjbyeP
“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.” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBockcEbCX
“Illinois.” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7foYx9UhK
“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. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfIWQv48fTk
He pats her hand for her to stop, she does. “I can help you find them.” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLccrVRy5lO
“How? You don’t know me or them.”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfrjLawRvEI
“You’re right. But, I am sure Gracine knows where some of them are.”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlfKSFMNUY
Zeniqua perks up a little, “You think so?”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakBCB1SyiF
“Yeah, she mentions a few cousins and where they live.” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOREXSnaUyB
Zeniqua hugs Trell, “That would be so great.”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXEmqF3I0G
Trell hugs her back, “Yeah, but if you have to run, I will run with you.”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHZ7E6RKxl
She lets go, “Wh..what?”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXJFH5gDEn
“You are unlike any girl I have ever met and I don't want to lose this.” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ41sQEwo1X
“Trell, you hardly know me. I mean we met like a day ago or so.”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8CbRdw8Ce
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.”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBL0QG5VRp9
This boy is completely out of his mind. “I don’t know, Trell. I don’t want you to be in danger as well.”583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8gWcHeWnj
“Look, just sleep on it. We can talk more about this in the morning.” He stands up and stretches with a yawn.583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJoLVS9GB9S
“Okay. Good night, Trell.” 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr5izNuQMLR
“Night.” He leaves the room closing the door behind him.583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MiqwqDeyN
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