her life. Sink or swim, she’d do it on her own. She knew she could.
The decision made, Libby moved through her room with purpose. She dumped the schoolbooks and papers out of her backpack and kicked them under the bed. She went to the dresser and surveyed the contents. She grabbed a pair of jeans, three warm tops, a couple pair of socks and underwear, an extra bra. Then she puled a thick sweatshirt over the one she already wore. She dropped her makeup bag into the backpack, then puled it back out. It took up too much space. She opened the bag, grabbed blush and mascara, dropped them into the pack and left the rest on the dresser.
She cushioned the picture of her family by wrapping it inside a t-shirt and then placed it in the middle of the pack. She moved around the room, scanning each item for something she might need in her future life. Nothing.
Her eyes settled on her narrow bed. Without pause, she went to the far side and reached deep between the mattress and box spring. She puled out a bank envelope ful of money she stashed from her job. She counted one hundred and fifty-three dolars, not nearly enough. She stuffed the cash in her back pocket. She opened the closet and examined the contents, a few shirts, several pair of shoes and the dress from homecoming that Miss Orman refused to take back. She left it al. She needed nothing from this place.
She looked at Juanita’s side of the room. Clothes littered the floor and the bed was unmade. She hesitated only a moment, then moved to the dresser and worked her way, drawer by drawer.
Bingo!
Inside the second drawer, lay her Jamieson CD in its cracked case; she tucked it in her bag. In the next drawer she found an empty cigarette container, inside of which she discovered a thick wad of bils and a couple of joints. She dumped the filthy drugs into the drawer and scanned the bils, a couple hundred dolars. She thought twice about taking the loot, but figured Juanita probably stole it to begin with, or earned it seling drugs. It made sense that dirty money would help her now.
Satisfied, she checked the hal. She heard Scott on the phone in the kitchen. Libby stepped quietly to the front door and grabbed his warm gloves off the table. She needed these more than he did.
She exited the front door, puling it quietly shut. She stood on the front porch and took one long deep breath. Libby Sawyer was finished, dead to her. She walked away from the house and never looked back.
My life begins, today.
Chapter 20
The spectacular view of Paris from the Eiffel Tower was wasted on Peter. The opportunities the band enjoyed were unheard of. They were far from their Pennsylvania childhood. He wandered the world-class restaurant, surrounded by affluent people and checked his phone again.
One message.
He punched in his password, hoping this time to hear Libby on the other end. Each message became pure agony as he failed to find her cheery voice.
“Hi Peter, this is Julie Orman from Rockvile High School.
Please cal me immediately.”
He held his breath, hopeful. Perhaps this was the cal he’d been waiting for, that she’d found Libby. Finaly, he felt hope. He checked his watch, calculated the time difference and dialed the number. He moved to the bank of windows on the side of the elegant room, away from the crowd. “Pick up, pick up,” he said to himself as he gazed out at the stunning skyline.
“Helo, Julie Orman speaking.”
“Hi Miss Orman, this is Peter Jamieson, I just got your message. Did you find her?”
He heard her sigh. “Hi Peter, I’m afraid I have some bad news. I wanted to get a hold of you right away.”
“Tel me, please.” His chest tightened as he braced himself, praying she was wrong and that it was good news. That Libby returned to school and waited for him.
“Child Welfare Services contacted me this afternoon. They placed Libby in a group home and not with a foster family as we thought.” Her voice sounded sad. “I’m sorry to tel you this, but she ran away ten days ago, and there’s been no sign of her since.”
“Why would she do that? Are you sure?”
Miss Orman paused a moment and cleared her throat. “There was an altercation with another girl and Libby got hurt.” A silent void occupied the phone line. Peter raised his eyes to