Chapter Three

Meeting her brother did not go as smoothly as I thought.
   "What you mean she can't stay? Why can't she stay?" Anger rolled off Jenny in waves. Her whole frame treble as she glared her twin brother down. 
  "I found someone else to fill out vacancy. Brandon has been kicked to the streets again and needs a place to stay. I can't have you bring in every stray you find. The rent has to be paid before next week. We need the help." Every stray she finds? I'm not the first?
  Jenny's voice went deathly quiet. "Either you let Étoile stay with us, or I'll go with her. After everything I've been through, after everything I've told you, you are going to let HIM stay here in the last safe place I have left? And to think that your my brother."
   Jeremiah's face hardened. "I work hard to provide what I can for you, for you to go to school. You can stand sharing a roof with Brandon for a few days." 
"Don't throw those pitiful excuses at my feet. You're the one who landed us here after mom and dad died. If you refuse to listen, I'll be at the great cathedral on First Street until you can." Jenny brushed past her brother with me and tow and slammed the door to her small, whitewashed room. She quietly went to the closet, pulled out a large, worn travel bag and began to throw clothes and the small figurines from the closet shelf in.
  "Thank you. I'm sorry to have caused so much trouble between the two of you." I stood in the corner quietly, attempting to stay our of the way as she stormed through her room, taking only the most important belongings with her. 
  "I knew it was coming. Brandon has wrecked my life from day one. I knew it was only a matter of time before I was back on the streets." I stared at her in amazement.
"You lived on the streets?" Tears formed in her eyes as she gritted her teeth.
 "Yes. I swore to myself that I would never return. I swore to myself that I would go to school to make a better life for myself. Father Constantine won't be very happy that I've come back to the cathedral, but I think he'll understand." She zipped up the bag and slung it over her shoulders. She looked up at me with tears still streaming down her face. The determination and rage in her eyes shocked me.She's stronger than I thought, but not strong enough for this.  I leaned over to cup her cheeks with my hands, wiping away the tears from her eyes with my thumbs. 
  "I'll find a way to get you off the streets. I'll make sure you're taken care of." I leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I won't let you do this alone. Not again." She smiled and placed her hands over mine.
"Let's go before the sisters lock up for the night." Jenny took my hand, but not before I took the bag from her shoulders and placed it  onto mine. She smiled and laced her fingers through mine as she strode out the bedroom door and through the front door, never glancing back once.