Chapter 5
Morning came with the sound of the city waking up.
Trash trucks rumbled past,
the smell of damp pavement filled the air.
Graham woke up,
his eyes searching for mine.
"Are we still playing the game?" he asked.
I forced a smile,
even though my body ached from the hard plastic chair.
"Yes," I said.
"But now we're moving to the next level."
I knew we couldn't stay in the laundromat.
I needed to call my aunt.
I found a payphone—a relic of a bygone era—
and prayed it still worked.
It swallowed my quarter,
but the dial tone sounded clear.
I dialed the number,
my hands shaking so badly I almost dropped the receiver.
My aunt Sarah picked up on the third ring.
"Hello?"
"Aunt Sarah, it's me.
It's Nellie."
There was a pause,
then a sharp intake of breath.
"Nellie?
My god, what’s going on?
Your mother hasn't stopped calling me,
she's hysterical,
she says you ran off with Graham!"
"She’s lying," I said,
my voice tight.
"Austin hit him, Aunt Sarah.
He hit him, and Mom did nothing.
She blamed me.
I had to get him out."
There was a heavy, long silence on the other end.
I could hear her breathing.
"Is he okay?" she finally asked.
"He's scared," I said.
"But he's safe.
I'm not going back there.
Ever."
"Where are you?"
I told her.
She didn't hesitate.
"Stay where you are.
I'm driving down.
It’ll take me six hours,
but I’m coming.
Don't let anyone know where you are.
Do you hear me?"
"Yes."
"Nellie, you’re so brave," she whispered,
her voice thick with emotion.
"I am so, so sorry you had to deal with this."
I hung up the phone and slumped against the wall.
The relief was so sudden,
so overwhelming,
that I almost broke down in tears.
Six hours.
We just had to survive six hours.
I bought two sodas and another pack of crackers with the very last of my money.
We moved to the corner of the laundromat,
hidden behind a row of dryers.
I felt like a spy in my own city.
Every time the bell on the door rang,
my heart jumped.
Was it the police?
Was it my mother?
Was it Austin?
I scanned every face.
I had my hand constantly on the pepper spray in my bag.
I was done being a victim.
I was a protector now.
I was the one holding the line.
"Nellie," Graham said,
pulling on my sleeve.
"Can I see the sky?"
I stood up and walked to the window with him.
The clouds were breaking apart,
revealing a sliver of brilliant blue.
"It’s beautiful, isn't it?" I said.
"Everything is going to be okay, Graham.
I promise."
I looked out at the street.
For the first time,
I didn't see it as a place of danger.
I saw it as the road to our future.
We had lost a house,
a mother,
and a childhood.
But we had kept our integrity.
We had kept our souls.
And in the end,
that was the only thing that mattered.
I sat back down and waited for the rescue that was coming,
May you like
knowing that when we walked out of here,
we would never, ever look back.
