“You’re not listening to me,” he growled. “Get out now or I call the cops.” He drew out his phone as he spoke.
Leave without her belongings? But. . .
He tapped at his phone screen and she let out a loud squeak, racing out of the room. She was terrified of cops. She’d watched them arrest her father too often to count. She left the keys on the kitchen counter and grabbed the backpack she’d had ready to go visit Penny then she raced out of the house.
Adrenaline pumped through her. Fear had her running even though she needed to slow down and conserve her energy. She looked behind her, worried she’d see him chasing her. She didn’t know why he would when she’d done what he wanted, but panic was making her slightly irrational.
She turned, and her foot slipped into a pothole, her ankle twisting with a sharp wrench as she fell to her hands and knees, scraping both of them painfully. She let out a pained cry, tears racing down her face as she grasped hold of her foot.
Shit. This was all she needed.
Gigi sobbed as her ankle throbbed painfully. It was already starting to swell. How was she going to walk? The sun beat down on her heavily and she became aware that she was sitting in the middle of the driveway. She needed to get out of the sun. It was still a couple of hours away from midday, but it was already hot and humid. Her t-shirt and shorts were starting to stick to her uncomfortably.
She took off her backpack, glancing briefly at the scrapes on her hands and knees, both of which were encrusted with dirt.
Crap. This was all she needed. She wiped the tears off her face then drew out her wide-brimmed hat and stuck it on. Finally, she slathered on sunscreen. She took a drink from her small water bottle. She needed to get out of here. Even though she couldn’t really afford it, she was going to have to call a taxi. No way could she walk to the bus stop on this ankle. She pulled out her cheap cell phone. It was the kind you could only call or text on.
She stared back at the house, sitting up on the hill. It was a beautiful old Queenslander with a wide porch. It looked majestic against the hills behind it. Would she ever see it again? Losing her stuff would hurt financially, but losing her home, her beloved Penny. . .
That was something she wasn’t certain she could ever get over.
* * *
Penny’s house lay close to a wealthy coastal town with huge mansions and gorgeous ocean views, but that wasn’t where Gigi had the taxi driver take her. Instead, he drove her to the caravan park on the outskirts of a small, inland town, where she rented the cheapest cabin she could. It wasn’t like she had any choice. Even at the cheap weekly rate the kind woman at reception gave her, it was going to cut into her savings big time if she couldn’t get a job soon.
First things first, though, she needed to get inside and out of the sun. Already she could feel it affecting her. Or maybe it was just the stress of this last week catching up with her. Or what happened earlier today. Tears welled but she blinked them back as she limped painfully into the cabin. Both the taxi driver and the lady at reception had offered to take her to the hospital. But the last thing she needed was to sit for hours in the emergency department.
All she wanted was to lie down and rest. Although first she needed to find something to put over the cut on her leg. She’d wrapped her spare shirt from her bag around it to stop it from dripping all over the taxi drivers cab.
The fact it was still bleeding was a bad sign. She’d missed her specialist appointment two weeks ago. Penny had grown so ill and Gigi thought it was more important to stay with Penny than work out how to get to her appointment.
The cabin she’d rented was clean. It was just a small studio room with an attached bathroom and tiny kitchenette, but it was far nicer than any of the places she’d lived in growing up. She limped into the bathroom to wash her scrapes. Fatigue beat at her, her body begged her to lie down, to rest.
She glanced into th
e mirror in the bathroom at herself. Her thick, caramel-colored hair had slipped out of her simple ponytail, strands sticking to the back of her neck and face. It was pressed flat on top from where she’d had her hat on. Thank God, she’d had it packed in her bag.
Her face was pale except for the beginnings of a rash on her cheeks. No, no, no.
Having her Lupus flare up right now was the last thing she needed. She grabbed a face cloth and wet it, gently wiping her face and neck. Her cheeks were sunken. She’d lost weight, which wasn’t good. She hadn’t been eating right or resting well and it was starting to show.
“You know better, Gigi.”
With shaking hands, she washed her hands then sat on the toilet seat to clean her knees. The deepest scratch was still bleeding. Shit. What was she going to do?
A knock on the cabin door startled her. No one knew where she was. No one would care either. She limped painfully towards the door and opened it to find the lady from reception on the other side. She had to be at least ten years older than Gigi and where Gigi was thin and sallow-looking this woman radiated health and well-being. She gave Gigi a concerned look then held up a small first-aid kit and an ice-pack.
“Hi, I’m Kate,” she introduced herself. “I brought these for you. Thought they might help.”
“Oh, t-thank you.” She wasn’t used to anyone doing anything kind for her. Those pesky tears welled again but she couldn’t let them drip free. She reached for the stuff gratefully.
“You let me know if you want to go to the hospital, love,” the woman told her. “Gary can mind the reception desk for me while I pop you ‘round.”
“Thank you, that’s so nice of you,” Gigi told her. “This will be enough. I’m sure I’ll feel much better tomorrow.”
Kate gave her a skeptical look but nodded and stepped back. Gigi shut and locked the door with a sigh. She hoped like hell her words were true, but she had a bad feeling that things were destined to get worse from here on out.
* * *