I have a boyfriend who loves me, and he said he didn’t cheat on me. His family has kindly taken me in because he loves me. I have a job to come back to. Clothes, food, and shelter. I really don’t have anything to complain about at all.
“Have you eaten tonight?” I ask him as he sits still looking at the stars.
“I haven’t eaten since yesterday,” his gruff voice says as he continues his star watching.
“Stay here, please.” I get up and walk back to the restaurant.
I’ve been fed by the ladies at the thrift shop when I was hungry, so I can’t see why I shouldn’t feed a man in need. I order some food to go, and wait for ten minutes until it’s ready to go. The maître’d asks me why I’m still here. When I tell him I’m not sure how I’m going to get back to the Hackly’s house, he offers for me to use the phone.
When I take the homeless man food, he looks at me. I can tell he’s almost too proud to accept it. “Please, take it,” I say as I force it into his hands. “I was once hungry, and I had kindness shown to me, now I’d like to offer you the same.”
“Thank you. Thank you,” he repeats as he looks down at his holey shoes. “I’ll be on my way now. You stay safe. And just remember…” I look at him and he points up to the sky, “It may seem like He’s not listening, but the messages always find their way to His desk.” He smiles again, and walks away.
I watch as he walks toward the park he pointed out, and I walk back to the restaurant.
I dial Shayne’s number. “Hello,” she says sounding quite cheery.
“Shayne, it’s Lily.”
“Hey, girl. Where are you?”
“I’ve got to be quick. Can you come pick me up please? I’m at The White Swan restaurant.”
“What? Why are you there?”
“I’ll explain when you get here. And there’s one more thing, can I stay with you tonight too, please?” My voice cracks, and I’m about to break down in tears.
“Of course you can. Liam’s here, we’ll come and get you right away. We’ll get there as soon as we can.”
“Thank you,” I say. She hangs up and I thank the maître’d.
“You may want to wait at the bar, just so you are not sitting outside on your own.” He smiles and goes to the dining room. Although he’s kind enough to allow me to stay in here, I don’t want the eyes and whispers associated with people feeling sorry for me. I go outside and walk down the road to the bench.
Sitting alone, I come to realize that’s exactly what I am. Alone. I’m not sure why Trent is with me, because clearly he doesn’t care for me or he would not have let Audrey get away with what she said. He would have believed me. Instead he left me, and stuck me with the check to go and hang out with someone who’s happy to cause me problems.
“Hey, need a lift?” I look up to see Shayne in the passenger side, smiling at me.
I go and get in the back and Liam says, “You’re looking really pretty tonight, Lily.”
Shayne adds, “Yeah, you look hot, girl.”
“Thank you,” I say and take a deep breath.
“What happened?” Shayne asks, and the mood instantly sinks under the heaviness I feel inside me.
“Trent said he was taking me to dinner to celebrate, and Audrey and Jason were there. Anyway, when I went to the bathroom, Audrey followed me in and told me she’d had sex with Trent. When I asked Trent, he got angry and basically the three of them up and left. Stuck me with their food bill and left me there with no way to get home.”
“What a prick,” Liam says under his breath, though still loud enough for me to hear him.
“I don’t know why you put up with him,” Shayne says. “After he attacked Liam for no reason, I knew something was off about him.”
“I’m leaving him,” I say with so much confidence.
“What?” Shayne swings around in her seat to look at me. “You can stay with me. I know you leave for college next week, but stay with me until then and in the meantime you can try and get a dorm room on campus. Stay with me.”
I smile at her, and know I really have nowhere else to go. “Do you have anything to pick up from their house? I can take you now if you want?” Liam asks.
“There’s only one thing I want, and I can buy it again. Just take me back to your place. Can I borrow a t-shirt to wear to bed, please? Although, I’m way fatter than you are, so I hope it’ll fit.”
“Do you hear what you’re saying, Lily? You are not fat. And while I’m on the subject, just so we’re clear, you’re attractive and super smart. So wherever you heard that bullshit, you can just ignore it. You. Are. Gorgeous,” Shayne tells me.