Runaways (Orphans 5)

We fell asleep, both of us drifting off to dreamland.

Raven didn't say anything about me to Crystal and Butterfly in the morning. They had fallen asleep rather quickly the night before and never knew when I had returned. As usual, Crystal woke us.

"Is the car fixed?" she asked as I ground the dreams out of my eyes.

"Yes. It's right outside."

"We get breakfast here," she said, "so you should hurry and dress."

I poked Raven, who

groaned and mumbled to be left alone. Crystal poked her too, and she finally got up and practically sleep-walked her way through breakfast. It was a good breakfast, too, and Mrs. Slater was a very nice host, chatting about everything from the weather to the latest headlines in the newspaper- reft on her doorstep. She was curious about us, but not enough to really pry, and like everyone we met, she fell in love with Butterfly, who turned her winning smile and soft eyes on her like a searchlight for affection.

After breakfast, Crystal and I waited on the porch and went over the map, planning how far we expected to get and where we thought we would stop again.

"We have just a little more than a hundred dollars now, Brooke. I don't know what we'll do even if we get to Los Angeles in two days."

"Just go right out and look for work, waiting tables. Maybe," I thought aloud, "we could sell this car."

"Sell the car? How? It doesn't belong to us." "There are people who won't care," I said.

"We wouldn't know how or where to find those sorts of people, Brooke, and I'm not going to sell something we've borrowed," she emphasized.

As long as we continued to tell ourselves we borrowed it, we wouldn't feel as guilty or think of ourselves as thieves. She was right.

"Something will come up for us, Crystal. You'll see," I said. I had promised to stop by Todd's before we left, but I was a little hesitant about it and considered just driving right by. I knew it would hurt him as much as it would hurt me, however.

"Ready," Raven sang and spun around in the doorway. "California, here we come!"

Butterfly came out with a care package Mrs. Slater had prepared for us.

"She said she couldn't let us go without lunch," Butterfly told us as we headed to the car. Once again, we'd found people who cared about us just when we had to leave.

We got into the station wagon and I started the engine. Mrs. Slater came to the door to wave goodbye as we drove off. When the garage came into view, I slowed.

"I'm just stopping to say good-bye," I said quickly.

"Oh?" Crystal said, looking up.

I pulled in and got out slowly. Todd was under a car in the rear of the garage. I heard him grunt and then he stopped what he was doing and pushed himself out to look up at me.

"We're leaving," I said quietly.

He got to his feet and looked out the door at our car. The girls were all staring. He nodded toward the far corner, which would be out of their view, and I went there. As soon as I turned, he kissed me.

"I want you to promise me that if you should get into some difficult situation along the way, you'll call me. Will you?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I had some business cards made up last year. I've got a drawer full of them." He dug into his coverall pocket and produced one which he slipped into my jeans pocket quickly. "Look at it once in a while so you don't forget me," he said.

"I won't forget you, Todd. That's silly. I'll be thinking about you all the time."

"Will you?" He smiled. "I hope so. You'll call as soon as you get where you're going, right?" "Yes."

"You're like some sort of miracle that came sweeping into my life and rushed out."

"I'm not rushing out." We stared at each other. My heart felt empty, hollow. "I'd better get going," I said barely above a whisper. My eyes lowered. He touched my chin and I looked at him again.