deeply, and released some of her stress. She turned on the shower and organized her stuff, pretending it was her own private place that no one would invade or touch. After folding her work clothes, she stepped under the weak shower pressure and let warm water rol over her body. She tried to imagine she was in a magical place under a waterfal instead of this hel hole.
She stood under the flow long after she was clean, wishing she could wash away the reality of her world. Her thoughts turned to Peter; she missed him so much. At least she didn’t cry each time she thought of him anymore. She tried to cal him from the group home phone as soon as she arrived. She needed to make sure Garrett wasn’t puling a cruel joke, but Peter’s cel number wasn’t in service. He must have changed his number to keep her away.
She even caled his record company, but couldn’t get past the operator. Peter was now a part of her past, like every other happy part of life. No knight in shining armor for Libby.
The water turned cool. She stepped out and dressed for bed.
With wet hair hanging down her back and her arms filed, she left the security of the bathroom to return to hel.
Halfway down the hal, a door opened and BJ, a teenager the size of a linebacker, stepped out and blocked her way.
Shit.
BJ was in for sexualy assaulting a teacher. His parents had money so his high priced lawyers were able to convince the judge to prosecute him as a minor, even though BJ looked more like thirty than seventeen. He scared the hel out of her.
“I thought I heard the shower going and hoped it was you.
You’re always up late working hard. You need to relax. In fact, why don’t you join me and I can help.” He winked as if she agreed he was a great catch.
Libby bit the inside of her cheek. There was no good way to answer BJ, and there was no way she was stepping inside his room.
“What’s the matter? You scared? You don’t need to be scared of me. I’l be real gentle.” BJ walked toward her, put his mammoth arms against the wal and leaned over her. He took a lock of damp hair that hung over her shoulder and sniffed. “You smel real good. I could just eat you up.”
Libby’s stomach churned as she gripped her clothes and towel. She could turn around and run back to the bathroom. Or scream and hope Scott heard and would come to her rescue. But his room was on the other end of the house and he slept to the hum of a fan.
Before she decided what to do, Darnel came strutting down the halway.
“Hey man, waz up? You guys having a party and didn’t invite me?”
BJ glared at him sending a message of cease and desist, but Darnel ignored him.
“I’d love to join ya, but I’s need my beauty sleep. Now if you’l excuse me, I be on my way.”
BJ stepped aside to let Darnel by. Darnel pushed Libby through the quick opening and toward her bedroom door before BJ
realized what happened.
“Ladies first, don’t you have some big test tomorrow or something? You shouldn’t stay up so late.” Darnel said with a pointed look at Libby.
Libby quickly entered her shadowed bedroom and mouthed the words ‘thank you’ so BJ wouldn’t hear. Tomorrow she’d bring onion rings home even if she had to pay for them herself. Inside the room the street light outside iluminated the space. Juanita slept on her back, her mouth open, as tunes from her iPod blared in her ears. Relieved, Libby put her stuff away and climbed into the lumpy bed.
Two close cals in one night; she wished she had the guts to run away, but there was nowhere to go. Darnel told her plenty of kids ran away and the authorities were too backlogged to care or go after them. She asked why kids stayed; he said most stayed either to pay their dues for their crimes or because it was a warm bed and three squares a day. For Darnel, she believed he lived a safer life here than on the streets.
She fel asleep wishing she and Peter had runaway together when he first suggested it.
# # #
“Peter?”
“Yeah, Mom,” he walked to the side of stage.
“Let’s go talk in the dressing room.” She wanted to break it to him gently, privately, but he