“She’s still staring at you,” Tonya says after a minute. I don’t even have to look to know who she’s talking about.
“What’s her story?” I ask, resisting the urge to look in Nancy’s direction.
“Fuck if I know,” she replies. “She’s been in and out of this shelter for a couple of years now. The story changes every time. She definitely served time though.”
“Served time?” I echo in alarm. “For what?”
Tonya glances at me. “I dunno. There are rumors though.”
“Yeah?”
Tonya’s eyes dip down to Phoenix and then back to me. “One rumor is that she did it for killing her kid.”
My body goes cold. “Are you serious?”
“But that’s just a rumor,” Tonya says quickly. “It’s more likely that she was caught in possession of drugs or some shit. Woman’s an addict, after all.”
I take a deep breath and wrap an arm around Phoenix, securing him to my chest. “She seems a little… unhinged.”
“Yeah, well, drugs will do that to you,” Tonya says with a shrug.
“How does she even get her hands on it?” I ask.
“Fucks for money,” she says matter-of-factly. “Woman’s gotta do what she’s gotta do, I suppose.”
I shudder, trying desperately not to judge, but the fear for my son has grown. I never liked the way she looked at Phoenix.
Now, I have legitimate reason not to.
“She asked to hold Phoenix again yesterday,” I admit to Tonya.
“Did you tell her to go fuck herself?”
“I told her I needed to feed him,” I reply. “She disappeared after that.”
“Don’t worry. She’s not gonna steal your baby.”
But suddenly, I’m not so certain.
I can still feel Nancy’s eyes on my back. It’s making me increasingly uncomfortable.
“Don’t you wish you’d stayed with your man now?” Tonya asks.
I glare at her. “Shut up.”
I haven’t been idle the last few days. I’ve been planning my next move.
I have decided to head for the ocean. There’s a little beach town that I’ve looked into called Loral Beach. A bus route runs periodically from here to there.
I’m hoping I’ll be able to find work once I arrive. What I’m going to do with Phoenix, I still don’t know, but one step at a time.
The only other question is when to leave. I’ve given myself another week at the shelter because I need to heal up a little more and recuperate.
Once I get to Loral Beach, I’ll need to start working immediately. That’s the only way I’ll be able to rent out a place for Phoenix and I.
It’s not the greatest plan I’ve ever had, but it’s my only option. I don’t want to stay in this shelter any longer than I need to.
I’m already pushing my luck by staying this long.
“Hey, where’d you go?” Tonya asks, waving a hand in my face.
“Nowhere,” I say with a shake of my head.
“You’re always thinking,” she observes. “About your man?”
“About my future,” I correct.
She smirks. “Right.” She folds her arms and leans over the table. “You don’t plan on staying here long, do you, Princess Pollyanna?”
I purse my lips together and gesture to the piece of bread that’s still in her hands. “Just eat,” I sigh.