So that’s where it went, Shelby thought. And that money was probably already spent on her mother’s vacation clothes, by the look of Dana’s new outfit.
“I’ll make sure we get you safe and sound to your grandmother’s,” Gus said. “I look forward to meeting Alice and seeing the lake.”
“You don’t know anything about my grandmother or the lake or what I might want.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t,” Gus said. “But I would like to.”
For a moment Shelby thought maybe this man would be nice to her mother. Maybe he would last. Maybe her mother would keep humming and being happy. But it was so unlikely, Shelby doubted their relationship would even last the whole summer. Or if Dana would show up at some point at her grandmother's and announce where they were moving next. What choice did Shelby have? Mrs. Warren’s words came floating back to her. We always have a choice. And the consequences? Shelby needed time to consider this. But her mother was leaving her precious little of that. She had to get away from them and think. Fast.
Shelby stood up. "Okay then," she said, trying to keep her voice even. "I'll go pack."
“You do that,” Dana said. “Gus is going to take me shopping for a few things for our trip. We’ll bring dinner back.”
Once in her room, Shelby shut the door and dropped down on her bed. It wouldn’t be her bed much longer. The place came furnished. The only thing that was hers was the ratty suitcase. She could hear GiGi barking downstairs. It was probably the sound of Gus’s truck pulling out that disturbed the dog. If only Shelby could just tell them to go and she would stay. She’d find a place to live, a job, maybe dog sitting on one of those online sites. She could do it. But how? The walls felt like they were closing in and sucking out all the oxygen with them.
She jumped off the bed and pulled the old suitcase out from under it. She’d packed so many times and knew exactly what could fit in the case and her backpack. She stuffed her clothes in and a few other items. Her out-of-date, donated laptop went in her backpack. She looked around the bedroom. There were very few personal belongings. From the top of her bed, Shelby took the pink and white furry blanket her grandmother had made her when she was little. Grandma Alice had always thought of her and given her little gifts. Shelby squeezed it against her heart, taking in the lingering, faint scent of her grandmother’s house. Carefully she rolled it up and placed it in her pack.
On top of her brown painted dresser was a framed picture of a rocky path winding through a garden with a rainbow at the end. She had painted it in art class. She almost tossed the picture in the trash. Mrs. Warren had inspired her the day she’d painted this, but as far as Shelby could tell, all she’d seen so far were the rocks. She held the picture in the air and felt the same hope stir in her chest that had inspired her to paint it. Before she changed her mind, she tucked it in the top of the suitcase. There was no time to say goodbye to anyone. She put on her Dollar Store sunglasses, hefted the backpack over her shoulder, picked up the suitcase by the handle, and shut the front door behind her.
Dana and Gus were nowhere in sight, so the coast was clear. She could hear GiGi barking as she hurried down the stairs. “Bye, little girl,” she said to the dog as she passed. She blew her a kiss.
A few blocks down, Shelby took the first side street heading south to get off the main road. The afternoon sun beat on her head and shoulders. She would need a hat. And food, soon. And a place to sleep. The twenty dollars she had saved from dog sitting wasn’t going to get her very far. And where was she going? But she kept walking, one foot in front of the other, for about a mile, until dizziness made her hesitate. She looked for shelter amidst the fake puddles of water she knew to be a mirage.
Shelby found a minute patch of shade under an elm tree near a curb and sat down, suitcase at her side. Her t-shirt clung to