Lost Girl: Part 1 (2 page)

When we get to the bar I come to a bit of a dilemma. What am I going to do with Anna? She isn't allowed in. And even though this looks like a decent neighbourhood, I don't want to leave her out here by herself.

Then I spot Kate, a girl I went to college with, smoking a cigarette just outside the entrance.

“Hey Kate!” I call out to her.

Kate looks at me in surprise, “Summer?”

“Yeah, how are you? I didn't know you lived around here.”

“I don't, I still live with my parents, but my boyfriend has an apartment in the flat on the east side.”

“The Abbey building?”

“Mhm,” she nods.

“Nice, I live down there too. Number fourteen, you should come over some time to catch up.”

She smiles, “I definitely will. Are you going in to the bar?”

“Yes, but only to quickly speak to someone. Can you look after Anna while I go in? It'll only take a minute.”

“Anna?” she asks, looking a little confused down my arm, and at the hand I’m holding, “is she yours?” she whispers in a shocked expression.

“No, she isn’t mine,” I laugh at the thought. “Her brother’s inside and I need to speak to him.”

“Sure, leave her with me.”

“Thanks a million! I'll be right back.” I quickly turn to walk into the bar, when I hear Kate talking behind me, “hi Anna, I am Kate.”

“Hello Kate,” I hear Anna reply as I step inside and smile at the politeness in her voice.

Just inside the doorway an arm blocks my entrance, “ID please,” a large man in a black suit looks at me demanding.

I let out a little grunt. I was so far lost in my thoughts of what to do next that I didn’t notice the bouncer. I start rifling through my bag and finally find it in the front pocket. I hand it over to him and he looks pleased when he hands it back to me. I walk straight over to the bar and the first person I see standing behind it.

“Hi, I'm looking for Rick.”

“Rick who?”

“Ehm..” I stutter, “I.. I don’t know. Anna’s brother?” I try questioningly, hoping that will be enough info.

“I'm Rick,” he replies, looking at me quizzically. Wow. I may have prejudged him, coming from the trailer park and all that, but I did not expect him to be this hot. At all. His muscles are almost bursting out of his top, his dark hair a stark contrast to his pale skin and his eyes are the most piercing blue I have ever seen. It takes me a moment to collect my thoughts while I stare at all this unexpected perfection in front of me.

“I need to talk to you. It's about Anna.”

“What about Anna? What happened to her?” he asks, panic quickly washing over his face. He rushes around the bar and pulls me to a quiet corner so we can hear each other better.

“Nothing's happened to her, yet. She ran away, I found her at the park down at Mallard Road. I brought her back home, but your mother… she, well... she was in the bedroom, doing… stuff. And I just couldn't leave her there.”

“So she's not home? Where is she? Where have you left her?” He almost shouts, looking horrified.

“She’s fine, she’s outside with a friend.”

Without notice he runs outside. “Anna?” he shouts even before he is fully out of the doors.

“Rick!” Anna turns around and runs straight to him, wrapping her little arms around his legs. She starts sobbing as she is hugging him tightly.

“What's happened Annie?” he asks concerned, kneeling down to her eye level.

“Mama had friends around again, but they got really mean today. And then I heard one of them shout that he was going to take Anna away if Mama doesn't pay up. And I am the only Anna I know,” she starts shaking heavily again while she burrows her head into his shoulder, “I ran away to the park where you used to take me to play and then Summer found me.”

“Why did you go all the way to the park? You know you shouldn't go that far on your own.” I can hear he’s trying to tell her off, but there is too much concern in his voice, “why didn't you go to Tracey?”

“Because I wanted to go to a place where everyone is always happy,” she replies with a big sob.

“What are we going to do with you,” he whispers to her lovingly. He looks up at me while he is softly rocking her, trying to calm her down, but I can’t read his expression.

“I'm sorry,” I start, “I tried to bring her back home, but I really couldn't leave her there.”

“It's okay,” he sighs deeply, “I understand. If there was any other way, I wouldn't leave her there either.”

Suddenly Kate’s voice comes from behind us, “I'm going back inside.” I'd almost forgotten about her.

“Oh, Kate, I’m sorry. Yes, go ahead. It was good to see you, and thank you for looking after her.”

“No problem,” she smiles at me, “I’ll come by to catch up at some point,” and then turns to Anna, “bye Anna.”

Anna pulls her head away from Ricks shoulder, “bye Kate,” she manages to say in between sobs, and she waves as Kate walks back inside through the door.

“I could take her home with me, if that is okay with you. You could pick her up after you finish,” I suggest to Rick.

He just looks at me, then at Anna, “Annie, do you want to go home with Summer?”

“Yes please,” she smiles brightly, wiping her nose with the back of her hand, her mood changed in a mere second.

I slide my bag off my shoulder and once again dig around in it, pulling out a pack of tissues. I hand them to Rick, who takes one out and gives it to Anna to blow her nose. Then another one which he uses to dry her eyes, before handing the pack back to me.

“Thank you.”

I just nod and smile at him.

“Right, are you sure you want to go home with Summer?” he asks Anna again. I can see he is struggling with the fact that his little sister will leave with a stranger. I get a pen and a notepad out of my bag. After writing down my address, I rip the piece of paper out of the pad, “this is where I live. It's not too far from here, and it's in a safe neighbourhood. I get that you're anxious about leaving her with a stranger, but you've got to admit that it will be better than leaving her in a place where she's scared.”

He still seems unsure, so I take the piece of paper back from him and write my cell phone number down as well, “that's my number. If you change your mind at any point during the evening, give me a call and I will bring her back here.”

“Sure,” he says, still hesitating a little.

He stands up and brushes off his knees, “take care of her please. I finish at eleven. So I should be at your place no later than half past eleven.”

“No problem. Just hit the buzzer and I will let you in.”

He bends down to Anna and gives her a kiss on top of her head. Be safe, and if you want to come back here just tell Summer, she will bring you straight back,” he looks at me sternly while saying that last bit, and I nod at him in agreement.

“We will be fine, Rick,” she looks at him with a big smile and then grabs my hand, “we will have fun.”

I laugh, she’s gone through so many emotions tonight, but like any other child she is very worriless. And she's already tugging at my hand to leave.

“Bye Rick,” she waves and I laugh.

“Anna?” I say as she’s still pulling on me to go.

“Yes?”

“You don't know where I live, what makes you think we have to go this way?”

“You were at the park, but not because you ran away. So you must live close to it. The park is this way.”

“You're a very clever girl, Anna,” I smile at her.

She just giggles and tugs on my hand some more.

When we get to my building, I type in the code to open up the security doors. We walk up the two flights of stairs before we get to my apartment door. I pull my key out of the side pocket of my bag and open the door to let us in.

“Wow. It’s so big. Is this all yours?” Anna asks in amazement as she stands in the door opening.

I smile, “I rent it, so technically it isn’t mine. But I do live here all by myself.”

“Wow,” she breathes again and walks in, her hand trailing along the wall, “it's so clean and it smells so nice.”

I look around. There are still some dishes in the sink from breakfast and the place could really do with some vacuum cleaning, but I suppose that compared to what she is used to, this is clean.

Anna takes her shoes off, and then her socks and I look at her in surprise while I close the door behind us. She starts shuffling her toes in the carpet and bursts out in a fit of giggles, “I've always wanted to do this!”

I remember the dirty lino floor in her home and imagine it was probably the same in her bedroom.

“Are you hungry?” I ask her while taking off my coat.

“No. But I am thirsty again and I need the toilet.”

I point her to the little bathroom, which again makes her awe in wonder.

“It's as big as my bedroom! And my bedroom is four times as big as our toilet! And our toilet is very dirty,” she scrunches up her nose, “unless Rick cleans it. Sometimes I want to clean it when it smells too much and when I'm bored, but he says I'm not allowed.”

I just smile at her and close the door behind her, then walk over to the kitchen to get us some drinks. I make her a lemonade and myself a coffee.

When she comes back into the kitchen, I hand her her glass. Then she just stand there, unsure of what to do.

“Go sit on the sofa,” I encourage her.

She walks over to my living room area, places her glass on the coffee table and sits down, then bounces up and down a few times. “Our sofa is kind of hard, I can't do this at home. And it's Rick’s bed, so his stuff is always on it.”

When my coffee is ready, I pour it in a mug and walk over to her, “do you want to watch some TV? Or maybe a DVD?” I ask her as I sit down next to her.

“I have never watched a DVD!” she exclaims.

“Well, then you’re in luck. I have lots of DVD, even children's ones. I used to really like Disney films when I was little, so I bought a few,” I say, pointing towards my DVD tower.

Cautiously she walks over to the DVD tower, and then spots Herbert in his cage.

“Oh my god! It’s a bunny!” she squeals as she drops to her knees next to the cage.

I laugh at her excitement, “his name is Herbert.”

“Hello Herbert,” she coo’s at him, “did you catch him?” she asks turning to me with big eyes.

“No,” I laugh, “I bought him at a pet shop.”

Her eyes grow even bigger than they already were, “you can buy bunnies in shops? I’ve only seen them in the garden before, but they always run away when I try to come closer.”

I smile at her, “have you never been to a pet shop?”

“Nuhuh,” she shakes her head.

“I’ll take you there tomorrow if that’s okay with Rick,” I promise her.

“Oh, yes please,” she beams, and then turns back to Herbert, “will he run away if I open the door?”

“No he won’t,” I smile, “why don’t you pick out a DVD you want to watch, and I’ll get Herbert out of his cage. You can hold him while you watch the film.”

She picks out the DVD of Robin Hood. She said it’s one of her favourite stories because it was one of the first books Rick taught her to read with. I pop the DVD in to the DVD-player and hand the remote controller to her. Telling her which buttons to press, she proudly starts the film herself. While she settles down on the sofa, I take Herbert out of his cage and place him on her lap. Contently she strokes and snuggles him while watching the film. Halfway through she rests her head on a pillow and falls asleep with Herbert still on her lap.

Quietly I get up so I don’t disturb her and pick Herbert up from her lap, giving him a kiss on top of his head before I place him back in his cage. I don't know what time she normally goes to bed, I suppose she doesn't have a set bedtime, but today must have really taken it out of her. She's still wearing my big sweater, but I go and get a blanket from the spare room for her anyway, which I drape over her legs. I don't turn the film off, just in case it wakes her up, but I turn the volume down. Finally I can get some work done.

I take my laptop out of my bag, set it up on the coffee table and start typing.

***

Before I know it the buzzer rings, pulling me completely out of my concentration. I look up to see the TV looping at the start of DVD’s the selection screen, then I look down at the digital clock at the bottom of my laptop screen and see it’s half past eleven already, exactly when he said I would be here. As I get up I take a glance at Anna, who’s still fast asleep.

Before I get a chance to get to the door, the buzzer rings again.

“Hello?”

“Hi,” the voice on the other end hesitates, “Summer?”

“Yes, come on up,” I click the button that unlocks the security door downstairs and wait at my door to let him in, so he won't have to knock and potentially wake Anna up. Looking through my spy hole I can see him approach the door and just before he raises his hand to knock on my door and I open it for him. His face is red and looking a little flustered, he must have run here.

“Where's Anna?” he asks before he's even set a foot inside my apartment.

“She fell asleep,” I say, pointing towards the couch.

He rushes over, straight past me. “Annie?” he whispers, kneeling down next to her.

“Hmm?” she sleepily mumbles in reply.

“Let her sleep a little bit longer,” I whisper to Rick, “she looks happy where she is.”

He sighs, gets up, and then flops down on the other end of the couch.

“Do you want a drink?” I offer.

“Do you have any coffee?”

I nod and make two coffees, “do you have anything in yours?”

“No thanks.”

After handing him his coffee, I sit back down on the spot on the floor where I was sitting before he turned up.

“Oh, I'm sorry,” he apologises and starts getting up, “it's your couch, you should sit on it.”

“No, stay where you are. I don't mind sitting on the floor, and you look exhausted.”

He sighs again, “thanks, and thank you for taking care of Anna today. I'm sorry if I was a bit short with you earlier, but a lot has happened to her in her short life. I always worry about leaving her home alone, and I can't even bear to think of what might have happened to her if you hadn't found her. She doesn't trust strangers, thanks to our mom, but she seems to have taken a real shine to you.”

“That's okay,” I smile up at him, “I have a younger sister, and I would like to think that if she’d ever run away someone would've brought her home. She's sixteen now, so it's not really relevant anymore, but still…” Just then, Anna starts to stir.

“I should really take her home,” he says, looking down at her with sad, tired eyes.

“Okay,” I reply getting up from the floor, “you have my number, if you need anything, just give me a call.”

He nods at me and a small smile starts curling up the corners of his lips, “I certainly will.” Then gets up from where he's sitting, pulls the blanket back and carefully scoops Anna up in his arms. Still wearing my sweater he carries her out of the door.

Closing the door behind them, I walk over to my laptop and save all the work I have done so far this evening before turning it off. Then switch off the DVD player and TV and on my way to my bedroom I turn off all the lights.

Getting ready to go to bed I suddenly feel lonely and I wish they were both still here.

***

I twist and turn for a long time until I finally fall into a restless sleep.

I dream I’m in front of Anna’s home, watching her play with a hula-hoop, swinging it in circles around her body and giggling more and more hysterically the longer she can keep it going. Suddenly a shiny black BMW pulls up at the metal fence. I look at Anna and see her still giggling and playing as if nothing’s happening, then turn my head back to the car when I hear car doors slamming. Two men are now standing next to the car, one heavy-set and balding, the other skinny with greasy dark hair coming down to his shoulders.

The two men start making their way up the path and walk straight past me, as if I’m not there, but the skinny man stops in front of Anna, who’s now stopped playing and laughing. His eyes linger lustfully on her body, and Anna’s little face starts to crumble as if she’s about to cry.

“Leave her!” the heavy-set man shouts from the door, “business comes first, you can play later.” With his shoulders slumped the skinny guy shuffles towards the door, never taking his eyes off Anna.

As soon as they’re in the house I pick her up and run. I run away from the trailer park, towards the town centre, and onto the market. I desperately look for Rick, but his stall is the only empty one and he’s nowhere to be found. No one pays any attention to us, it’s like no one even sees us. It’s as if no one else cares.

***

With a shock I wake up, drenched in sweat, the sheets tightly wrapped around my body. My breath is panting, as if I really have been running and tears are streaming down my face. I feel like I’m going to throw up, but by moving very slowly to release myself from the tangled sheets I’m imprisoned in, and then lying completely still, I manage to compose myself.