The Week at Danny's

     The apartment over Danny's garage was fairly small, but comfortable. it was sort of laid out like a motel room, with a small kitchen and a bathroom off the main room, which had a king-sized bed, a TV, and a couple chairs. i had brought my two duffel bags, but didn't unpack. i flopped onto the bed and was asleep immediately until Danny's wife Melanie woke me up for dinner.

 

     Artyem texted or called me every five minutes the first night, until i finally turned my phone off. in the morning, i took pity on him. Mostly because i had a hundred unread text messages, ten missed calls, and five voicemail messages when i turned it back on in the morning. i called him back and talked for about five minutes. i told him i was getting rid of this phone and getting a different one, which i did that afternoon. i stopped by a dollar store and bought a TracFone that had built-in double minutes for life. it came with 50 minutes, which doubled into 100, so i figured i'd save my money for later. i had 300 dollars and fifty cents left.

 

     The first three days at Danny's i was really nervous. i jumped at everything, and my heart would race if someone looked at me for longer than two seconds. i was on edge. Uncle Mike called the morning of the third day. He talked to Danny first and then me. We talked about Dawn some and he said he'd take care of everything and not to worry. He called back later that night to tell us that the cops had visited and asked questions. He told them that i'd been there, but he lied about when he saw me and where i was going. He said i'd shown up the day before and said i was going on a trip with some friends down to Viewpointe, and that i'd said nothing about Dawn. He'd bought me some time, for which i was grateful. Uncle Mike made me promise to call him after i left Danny's and every other day so he'd know i was alright.

 

     The fourth day was pretty quiet. Danny had been working on the van as much as possible, so he said he might finish it early, but he wasn't sure. i hadn't given Artyem my new number, just in case. i had given it to Uncle Mike, though. i still had my old cell phone, but i'd taken out the battery and everything and put it in Kimber's glove compartment, so it couldn't be traced. My new phone was for emergencies only, and if i couldn't get to a payphone to call Uncle Mike or Artyem. i highly doubted i'd need to buy any more minutes, since

 

     The fifth day, i had snuck out and went to the library.  i was using one of the computers to check my email when she walked in. She wore an ALice in Wonderland t-shirt and black skinny jeans. She was tall and beautiful. She had long, super-curly black hair with long straight bangs and a blue streak. Her grey eyes looked me up and down as she sat in front of the computer beside me. She looked my age.

     "Hey," she said.

     "Hey."

     "i'm Antoinette. Who're you???"

     "Willow."

     "Nice name. New around here???"

     "Yeah. Just passin' through."

 

     She nodded. i left about half an hour later and said bye.

     "Later, Willow." it struck me that i probably shouldn't have told her my name, but i could do aything about it then. i left the library and headed back to the apartment. i called Artyem from my number, but made sure to push *67 first so it would show up as a private number. We talked for a little bit, not long, just so i could quiz him on what was going on back home. He asked me why i had run. i reminded him about my dad. he asked how long i thought i could run.

     "i only have to ellude them for a month and a half. Then i turn eighteen, and i'll legally be an adult," i explained. He pointed out that a month and a half was a long time. i playfully told him to shut up.

 

      The sixth day, Danny told me at lunch that Kimber was now finished, and the paint was dry, so i could leave that night or tomorrow, or i could stay as long as i liked. i told him thanks and decided to leave the next morning.

Reviews

I wonder if Antoinette is still going to be in the story.
I wonder if you introduced her for a reason?

[Mr. Revan]

can't wait to read the next chapter... got a feeling that girl at the library might screw something up...

[John Stussy]

Your story is developing quite nicely. I'm eager to see what happens next as Willow moves on into unfamiliar territory. Seems like she has a good sense of survival and a good head on her shoulders.