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“That doesn’t give you the right to scare me.”
“Kinda does, though.”
The blonde sighed, then sat up. “You’re lucky I didn’t pee myself.”
“I think you’re the lucky one in that regard.”
“These are my only pants. You’d have had to buy me a new pair.”
“I don’t think I would have, but okay. Do you need a hand?”
“I don’t accept charity.”
“I meant, do you need a hand up?”
“Oh. No, but I’ll take some charity if you have any.” She got up, rubbed her butt. “That hurt. You’re faster than you look.”
“I’d have to be.”
“So what are you gonna do? Turn me in?”
Amber frowned. “Turn you into what?”
“Turn me in to the cops, dummy.”
“Oh,” said Amber. “No, not really.”
“Right,” the blonde said, and looked around. “Then do you want to buy me dinner?”
“Uh … is this how you treat everyone you steal from?”
“Just the ones who look like they might say yes.” The blonde grinned. “Go on, say yes. I haven’t eaten all day. Just buy me a burger. A cheeseburger. And fries with ketchup. And a Sprite. And maybe some pie for dessert. And a sandwich to go. You owe me at least that.”
“I don’t owe you anything.”
“Shush now.”
“Listen, I’ve had a long day, and I’m really tired.”
“Are you hungry?”
“I … well, yeah, but—”
“Then it’s settled,” the blonde said, clapping her hands. “I won’t steal your bag and, in return, you buy me food. What a wonderful bargain we’ve struck.”
Amber said goodnight to Milo, dropped her bag in her room, and joined the blonde girl in a badly upholstered booth in the diner. They ordered, and looked at each other.
“Name’s Clarissa,” the blonde girl said.
“Amber.”
“I like your name.”
“I like yours, too.”
“Thanks,” Clarissa said. “It’s not my real name, but I picked it because I always liked it. There was a show I used to watch on reruns, and her name was called Clarissa and she had a happy family and friends and everything, so when I left I said I know, I’m gonna be like her. She always seemed to have her life in order, in a Clarissa Explains It All kinda way.”
“You ran away from home?”
“Home is a bit of a stretch. House with abusive stepdad is more accurate. What’s your story?”
“I guess I ran away, too.”
“That guy you’re with,” said Clarissa. “Boyfriend?”
Amber laughed. “No. Friend.”
Clarissa shrugged. “That’s cool. Must be nice to have someone watching your back.”
“It is. How long have you been, y’know …?”
Clarissa widened her eyes, like it was a scandalous notion. “Homeless? A year. Well, just under. It’s really everything you’d expect. You get to sleep under the stars, the world is your bathroom and the people are … peachy. Non-stop fun is what it is.”
Amber searched for the right words. “I guess you’ve met all kinds on the road.”
“That I have, Amber,” said Clarissa.
“Same here. Some of the people I’ve met have been scarier than others.”
Clarissa nodded. “I can relate.”
“You meet some real monsters out there.”
“Yep,” said Clarissa. “Some complete jerks.”
The drinks came, and Amber watched Clarissa pull the straw out of her glass and gulp the Sprite down. It had been so long since she’d spoken with someone who hadn’t been, as Glen would have put it, touched by darkness, that it now seemed weird to conduct a normal conversation.
Weird but nice.
Clarissa drained her Sprite and Amber pushed hers over. “Here. I’m not thirsty.”
Clarissa didn’t argue, but this time she kept the straw in and sucked at a more civilised pace. “Where you from?”
“Florida,” Amber said. “Orlando.”
“Disney World.”
“Yep.”
“Always wanted to go,” said Clarissa, “and my dad always said he was gonna take me. But then he got cancer, the kind they don’t cure. And, when he was gone, no one wanted to take me anywhere.”
“My parents are evil,” said Amber.
“That must suck.”
“So must losing a dad you actually love.”
“Yeah. Anyway, toilet break.”
Clarissa slid out of the booth. The moment she was gone, Amber’s demon-self slid in. Amber immediately looked at her hands.
“Think you’ve found a new friend, do you?” her demon-self asked. “I wouldn’t bother getting to know her. She’s going to abandon you. Like Kelly abandoned you, and Imelda abandoned you …”
“Milo’s still here,” Amber muttered, not raising her eyes.
Her demon-self grinned. “Did you really buy that bullshit? He’s waiting for payday. The moment he gets his money, he’s gone. Just like all the rest. But then they’re the lucky ones, aren’t they?”
“Shut up,” Amber mumbled.
“Unlike Glen,” her demon-self continued. “You meet this poor Irish boy in the woods, he thinks you’re going to help him, and what happens? He dies anyway, and comes back as a bloodthirsty corpse. You feel that gnawing sensation, in your belly? That’s what guilt feels like. Honestly, with a friend like you, does anyone really need enemies?”
Amber looked up to argue, but her demon-self was already gone.
Clarissa got back just in time for the burgers, and Amber ordered more Sprites.
“Something happen?” Clarissa asked.
“Sorry?”
“It feels like something happened while I was gone. You okay?”
Amber forced all thoughts of Glen to the back of her mind, and smiled. “Nothing’s wrong,” she said. “Just thinking about stuff, that’s all. So do you have plans?”
“For world domination?” Clarissa responded with a mouth full of cheeseburger.
Amber smiled – genuinely, this time. “Or just in general.”
“Dunno.” Clarissa thought as she chewed. “Wouldn’t call them plans, I guess. More like hopes. Such as, I hope I don’t spend the rest of my life homeless. I hope I don’t die on the streets. I hope I get rich somehow. The usual hopes and dreams and idle fantasies, y’know?”
“Totally.”
Clarissa’s burger started to slide out of its bun. She frowned, tried to poke it back in with a French fry, then resorted to using a finger. “What about you?” she asked. “You ran away from home, you’re with a friend who watches your back, you’re staying in motels … You seem to be keeping it together more than most. What’s your plan?”
Amber looked puzzled for a few moments before she answered. “I … guess I want my freedom back. I agreed to do a job I didn’t want to do, and now I have to figure out how to trick my way out of it.”
“And how do you manage that?” Clarissa asked.
“I don’t have a clue. It’s a whole lot of trouble.”
Clarissa peered at her. “You’re, what, sixteen?”
“Seventeen tomorrow, actually.”
“Well, happy birthday for tomorrow, then. And you’re young – you’ve got the rest of your life ahead of you. You’ll be fine.”
“And how old are you?”
“Turned seventeen three months ago,” Clarissa said, grinning. “There’s no hope for me.”
They ate, and chatted, and Clarissa used the bathroom twice because of all the Sprite. Then Amber paid and they left the diner, emerged into the night air. They looked around, a little awkwardly, before Clarissa wiggled her eyebrows.
“Hey,” she said, “thanks for the food.”
Amber gave her a thumbs up, then felt stupid. “Sure,” she replied.
Clarissa nodded to the Charger. “Don’t suppose there’d be any room in that car for one more, would there? It gets pretty lonely out here and … Naw, forget it. The look on your face says it all.”
“I’m sorry,” said Amber.
“It’s fine,” Clarissa said, waving her hand dismissively. “It was a crappy thing to ask.”
“No, it wasn’t,” said Amber, “and I wish I could say yes. But the last person to hitch a ride with us … it didn’t end too great for him. We have a habit of getting into trouble.”
“I’m used to trouble.”
“Not like this you’re not.”
Clarissa shrugged. “Hey, forget it. Thanks for the food, and I’m sorry I tried to steal your bag.” She started walking.
Amber called after her. “Where you going?”
“Moving on,” Clarissa said, turning and walking backwards. “I’m that little doggy, y’know the one? Wherever I go, I make a new friend? That’s me.”
“Where are you sleeping tonight?”
Clarissa spread her arms wide. “The world is my bedroom.”
“I thought the world was your bathroom.”
“It can get messy, I’m not gonna lie.”
“I’ll get you a room here.”
Clarissa laughed. “No, Amber, really, it’s fine.”
“Why not?” Amber said. “They’re cheap rooms, Clarissa, and I have the cash. What, you’ll take food off me, but not a bed for the night?”
Clarissa stopped walking, but shook her head. “I have principles.”
