Golden POV – Thinking About How Her Mom Kicked Her Out and She Was Living in an Abandoned House, Then Maddox Came to Talk to Her
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYAKYCtUtY7
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlTgeGuVY2u
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9qWgDDdXH
I didn’t eat lunch that day. Couldn’t.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5g1HFF0nz
The tray in front of me sat untouched as I sat by myself at the back of the school near the rusted gate—where nobody ever came unless they were trying to skip class or hide. I wasn’t hiding though. Not really. I just needed somewhere I could breathe without pretending.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RHMLqDQNh
My hands were freezing, even though it was warm out. I guess cold floors and cracked windows’ll do that to you after a few nights.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxqXYdJDVm
Mom kicked me out again.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzpX9ibQz6
It wasn’t the first time. Probably wouldn’t be the last.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmmXRN0z9h
All because I had something to say about that man she was with. Another no-good dude who talked down to her, and tried it with me. When I stood up for myself, she chose him. Again. Like always. Like I was the extra in her life and not her daughter.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3Dm1MhdKV
So I grabbed my backpack and didn’t look back. Found my way into one of those old, boarded-up houses two streets down. Nobody bothered me there. Just dust, old memories, and the sound of silence.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4bY2wEA8s
I blinked hard, swallowing the lump in my throat. I didn’t cry. Not anymore.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVzPbGPhda
“Yo, Golden.”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ32sSPJBmg
His voice broke through the wall I’d built around my thoughts.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbh0ISasJk
Maddox.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5b0V7YAbzE
I didn’t even look up at first. Just rolled my eyes to myself. The last thing I needed was some boy with a pretty face and hood fame coming over to make me feel seen when I was trying not to be.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrqoXf4xEI
But he didn’t leave.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4YP8cPzBF
“You been ghost lately,” he said, his tone lower now. Like he wasn’t just making conversation—like he noticed. “What’s up with you?”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzptKrQdZy
I finally looked up at him, my jaw tight. “Nothing. I’m good.”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkz7XQUU4Ws
He didn’t believe me. I could see it in the way his eyes didn’t move. Just locked on me like he could hear everything I wasn’t saying.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkJpPjIzlF
“You don’t look good,” he said honestly, but not unkind. “You look like you sleepin’ somewhere you ain’t supposed to.”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHN8CfXbdE
That made my stomach twist.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEMrYcxQiwb
I shifted on the concrete step, hugging my arms around myself. “Why you care, Maddox? I’m not your problem.”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0D3TZosQE
He leaned against the fence next to me, quiet for a second. “I care ‘cause I see you. Even when you think nobody does.”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvDETDf7TYy
I stared down at my scuffed-up shoes, heart thudding way too loud in my chest.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCMWhatQKL
“You ever need anything,” he added, voice low like a secret, “you say the word. For real.”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLC7R1AbNk
I didn’t respond.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGW2QPmkhh7
But something about the way he said it—steady, no pressure—settled in my chest. Like maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t completely alone out here.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmDExOx0bpq
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUiUnM9Vpy
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvETyBIE6Z2
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvDqo1MNfj
