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. 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39JvpQgbwO
“What's wrong?” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydxNpANKxC
She gasps and looks around. A figure steps from behind the tree. Zeniqua squints, “Contrelle?”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJ7IA6eL4Y
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?” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMrdxj7RKz
She nods. He helps her up. “What are you doing out here?” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQNB6helj0
“Ah,” they begin walking, “we are supposed to be talking about you and your crying.” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMVyO5Q7j5
She blinks, “yes, but what are you doing out here at night?” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ87VC0GdiDO
“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.”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfL7jGrzfV3
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.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzV5qkQp7K
“That sounds awful. Is he at your aunt's house still?” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6AE2ham57C
“I don't know. I don't want to go back there tonight. I can’t.” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiL8ng6LD85
“I can talk to my mom and see if she will let you stay in the guest room for tonight.” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xvlP77qav
“I can’t let you do that.” Her eyes widen. 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAEtXrNTg7S
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.” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkRuiQdjZ0E
She nods understanding what he is saying, “Alright.” They continue walking. “But what if she says ‘no’ then what am I going to do?”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWei2c5Xbn
“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.” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3PcLdUo44
“O-okay.” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYeJMM23YX6
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. 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0hXM6Cx7N
“Great. I started to get worried.” A middle aged lady comes around the corner and stops when she sees Zeniqua. “Who is this?”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTiZk1m8TE
“This is Zeniqua. She is a friend of mine. Well, she is Gracine’s cousin.” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PdLrbF0Z8
“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?”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADtpQP9BFW
“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.”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbScRRGuoep
“Thank you, mama.”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zWQ6BP3fV
She nods. 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdug9Ii2qNH
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“You can help me in the kitchen.” She nods to Zeniqua. Zeniqua follows her into the kitchen. Trell goes upstairs.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0M4qgaDI9
“Can you cook?” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BYPf0UxsI
“Yes. But, what are you making?” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfENJlRpQBa
“Wonton soup and peking duck.”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6rvswtQwl
“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. 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZjIP73lfC
They begin cooking even though Mrs. Townsend already had majority of the cooking done, Zeniqua still pitches in. “So, when did you move here?”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26q7avdWVu
“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. 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKWRs4jlG8
“Oh. Where are you from?” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9jEa29bfo
“Illinois.”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡobiizkQysS
“And you came here by yourself?”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkY0ATPrCM9
“Alright, mama. That’s enough.” Trell says coming up behind them. 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYJtq5gLkM
“What? I was just asking her some questions. I have to make sure she isn’t some kind of killer.” Mrs. Townsend assures. 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡodenTh7vzf
“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.” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcJdCEtXhP
“No, it’s okay.” Zeniqua yawns and sits at the kitchen table. 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuICWBhA9B5
“The room is ready when you are ready to lay down.” Trell says to Zeniqua. 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Tq1s2waAf
She nods, “I don’t think I will be able to eat.”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHX5EdGlgD
“Oh, Trell make her a snack or something. This won’t be ready for a while.” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbSYzrgAEJ
Trell makes a sandwich for her and pours sweet tea in a small cup. Zeniqua eats the sandwich and drinks the sweet tea.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCL5rYqA5X
“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. 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZqedXMUfLt
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. 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2xNuR1A03
Zeniqua chuckles tiredly, her eyes hood, “I hope I can go to school or something. That way I won’t be home as much.”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrc5JWXK6k
“Yeah, maybe. But, for now, get some sleep.” He puts the sheets up to her neck and her eyes close. 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2QL8h9teox
“What’s wrong?” Trell asks her.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWGsAhtp7M
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. 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGVfaPDgtn
Twinkling without a care in the world. No stress or disappointments. Just being their brightest. Zeniqua thinks to herself. 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJcHfaSyg5
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?”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDPSebNIxx
He scratches his cheek, “Where else would you go?” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7f3YgJ4Gj
“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.” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYoSgb8G3cG
“Illinois.” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKE9ukMng8k
“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. 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2JtyU1c3ym
He pats her hand for her to stop, she does. “I can help you find them.” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjeqrOCn5en
“How? You don’t know me or them.”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUoyK1Dm5iM
“You’re right. But, I am sure Gracine knows where some of them are.”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3gD4HPIu3E
Zeniqua perks up a little, “You think so?”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtTkQl44xh2
“Yeah, she mentions a few cousins and where they live.” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdiCbuzNV3
Zeniqua hugs Trell, “That would be so great.”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYXhVDqo4R
Trell hugs her back, “Yeah, but if you have to run, I will run with you.”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytSuXrvsfH
She lets go, “Wh..what?”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJK8xRlkgE
“You are unlike any girl I have ever met and I don't want to lose this.” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpl5fDrUPp
“Trell, you hardly know me. I mean we met like a day ago or so.”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTtFREDPdI
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.”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfu7x6mdhO
This boy is completely out of his mind. “I don’t know, Trell. I don’t want you to be in danger as well.”565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIgo0e51glw
“Look, just sleep on it. We can talk more about this in the morning.” He stands up and stretches with a yawn.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTIzKWNdyZ
“Okay. Good night, Trell.” 565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDGIyhOREa
“Night.” He leaves the room closing the door behind him.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1yLzUBURJ
