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. 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3hJWRNhe1f
“What's wrong?” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQOTOJPKE9
She gasps and looks around. A figure steps from behind the tree. Zeniqua squints, “Contrelle?”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxisLsKyCpN
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?” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ocPanftC0
She nods. He helps her up. “What are you doing out here?” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqALMyQedM
“Ah,” they begin walking, “we are supposed to be talking about you and your crying.” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4UJ7u9jeO
She blinks, “yes, but what are you doing out here at night?” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDQxj4Jks5
“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.”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWs5V8oboAl
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.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMKucJ2avs
“That sounds awful. Is he at your aunt's house still?” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxB7VQ7fnDq
“I don't know. I don't want to go back there tonight. I can’t.” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZEl5zqSyu
“I can talk to my mom and see if she will let you stay in the guest room for tonight.” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmgaZdDpUR7
“I can’t let you do that.” Her eyes widen. 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrclGN63s9T
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.” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlenX6BsGdO
She nods understanding what he is saying, “Alright.” They continue walking. “But what if she says ‘no’ then what am I going to do?”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6A4Y6v02K
“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.” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd643npcZru
“O-okay.” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbJiEHTdm5
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. 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSErCLxUVH
“Great. I started to get worried.” A middle aged lady comes around the corner and stops when she sees Zeniqua. “Who is this?”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdzS5LooPq
“This is Zeniqua. She is a friend of mine. Well, she is Gracine’s cousin.” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmKhoq3ViY
“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?”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2HBkZPI6S
“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.”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlz0FLNXqGb
“Thank you, mama.”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDwrrva0VRt
She nods. 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWMJdP8giN
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“You can help me in the kitchen.” She nods to Zeniqua. Zeniqua follows her into the kitchen. Trell goes upstairs.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRxewAx0bz
“Can you cook?” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdsbogHfAN
“Yes. But, what are you making?” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaWoIdSufl2
“Wonton soup and peking duck.”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkIUZQMDUy
“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. 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfECjx3KcQ
They begin cooking even though Mrs. Townsend already had majority of the cooking done, Zeniqua still pitches in. “So, when did you move here?”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFjqdZ1XQI
“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. 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5KJFUfpX9
“Oh. Where are you from?” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡop7XhuWNGq
“Illinois.”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPElsAJr0r2
“And you came here by yourself?”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTa4LhV9nV
“Alright, mama. That’s enough.” Trell says coming up behind them. 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLb8nzMtFEc
“What? I was just asking her some questions. I have to make sure she isn’t some kind of killer.” Mrs. Townsend assures. 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41p1UhYrn9
“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.” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFkn4j1YBs
“No, it’s okay.” Zeniqua yawns and sits at the kitchen table. 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbrdJu9JVz
“The room is ready when you are ready to lay down.” Trell says to Zeniqua. 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIs9aMyqqur
She nods, “I don’t think I will be able to eat.”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwsHOHxiRCI
“Oh, Trell make her a snack or something. This won’t be ready for a while.” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYnqb89GWHs
Trell makes a sandwich for her and pours sweet tea in a small cup. Zeniqua eats the sandwich and drinks the sweet tea.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmViaWzzsF
“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. 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKx7p4YFZCn
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. 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvTjEKp8Kn
Zeniqua chuckles tiredly, her eyes hood, “I hope I can go to school or something. That way I won’t be home as much.”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBVn6Xx1rh
“Yeah, maybe. But, for now, get some sleep.” He puts the sheets up to her neck and her eyes close. 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTykD1ji8Qr
“What’s wrong?” Trell asks her.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKekbYsRTXW
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. 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5EKtOwSsB5
Twinkling without a care in the world. No stress or disappointments. Just being their brightest. Zeniqua thinks to herself. 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5bMmYutR6J
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?”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Wf2hsjJr4
He scratches his cheek, “Where else would you go?” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5yIE0HK5tu
“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.” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8kLyCQplk
“Illinois.” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDCkK033xC
“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. 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecmTrcbXQU
He pats her hand for her to stop, she does. “I can help you find them.” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8OMdi7PeL
“How? You don’t know me or them.”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovxVEC80a8
“You’re right. But, I am sure Gracine knows where some of them are.”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLh8chl2vpZ
Zeniqua perks up a little, “You think so?”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPMtabA6DC
“Yeah, she mentions a few cousins and where they live.” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdk5CmpnNlZ
Zeniqua hugs Trell, “That would be so great.”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZsBYyHf9Y
Trell hugs her back, “Yeah, but if you have to run, I will run with you.”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9OE84Gv4kY
She lets go, “Wh..what?”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDj6Id2VXm
“You are unlike any girl I have ever met and I don't want to lose this.” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAaK9CmkGXM
“Trell, you hardly know me. I mean we met like a day ago or so.”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTN8GyNfsfa
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.”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LPvHL6maE
This boy is completely out of his mind. “I don’t know, Trell. I don’t want you to be in danger as well.”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTy1z1zShRu
“Look, just sleep on it. We can talk more about this in the morning.” He stands up and stretches with a yawn.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxiLGhBF7t
“Okay. Good night, Trell.” 519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnl9gXlFeQ5
“Night.” He leaves the room closing the door behind him.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVrZ8GPPVNc
