Page 14 of Love and Other Lost Things

Over Duane’s shoulder, out the window, a homeless man wrapped in a grimy gray blanket slept on a bench next to a bus stop sign. His meager belongings were tucked into a blue plastic bag under his head like a pillow.

“You’re a distraction,” Duane muttered. “Too pretty. People look at you instead of the sign.”

Jane held back an incredulous laugh. She’d never been less attractive in her life. Thanks to the constant noise in the motel, she hadn’t slept in days, and permanent dark circles hung beneath her eyes. She was sunburned from standing on the corner in the hot sun all day, and though she’d managed to cover the bruises on her face with thick make-up, her left cheek was still a little swollen, giving her face a lopsided look.

“I can wear a hat. And sunglasses. And a heavy sweatshirt.” She’d roast out there in the California sun, but at least she wouldn’t get sunburned. “People won’t even be able to see what I look like.”

Duane stroked his goatee, considering her proposal.

“Please?”

“Well. I would take you up on that. But there’s the matter that you were late.” He smirked. “So. Sorry. No go.”

“Sir, please—” Jane could hear the desperation in her voice.

Duane hitched his chin toward the car wash garage. “Door’s that way.”

Jane limped slowly back to the motel, her body growing heavier with each step. How was she so naive to think that she could do this on her own? That her money would last more than two weeks in a city like LA? That she would be able to find a job without any experience?

And what was she going to do now?

Every part of her longed to call Mom and ask for plane fare home. But would Dad let Mom send it? Or would he refuse so he could punish her? And if he did let Jane come home, what would the punishment look like then? Her stomach lurched. Jane had defied Dad in every way possible. She’d taken away his control. And she had no doubt her disappearance had humiliated him in front of the entire town. He would never let her get away with it.

And even worse, what would he do to Nik?

If she went back to Linden Falls, Nik would throw his whole life away before he’d accept that Jane couldn’t see him again. She couldn’t do that to him, which meant she could never go back.

Jane was halfway down the block in front of her motel when she noticed a commotion in front of the building. Two police cars and an ambulance both blocked the entrance to the parking lot, their lights flashing.

Jane picked up her pace, ducking between the cars to survey the scene. She spotted a toddler in the arms of a police officer, wailing at the top of his lungs and flailing to be put down. The police officer gripped the toddler tighter as he lunged sideways, straining toward the woman Jane assumed was his mother.

But the mother ignored the child, reaching for a second police officer instead. Blood poured off her cheek and dripped onto the tight white T-shirt that hugged her enormous breasts, but she didn’t seem to notice. Tears followed the blood as she clutched the other officer’s arm.

“Please,” she pleaded. “Please let him go.”

Are they going to take the toddler away from his mother? But no. Jane froze as she spotted the man in the back of the police car. With a sinking heart, she realized he was the same man she’d seen going in and out of the room down the hall, the one with the screaming and fighting.

The man glared at Jane through the police car window, and she took a startled step backward.

“Please.” The woman shook the police officer’s arm. He was tall, muscular, and probably had a hundred pounds on the woman, but in her desperation, she managed to nearly knock him sideways. “Please let him go. He didn’t mean to do it. I’m fine. Really.”

“Ma’am,” the police officer said, finally managing to wrench his arm away, “you’re fine this time. But what about next time? What about the baby?”

“The baby needs his daddy.”

Jane’s stomach curled and every part of her wanted to scream: This is your chance. Don’t choose him.

But the woman kept ignoring her child to plead for her abuser’s freedom.

Jane couldn’t stand here and watch for another moment. But if she went back in that motel room, the chaos and noise might finally break her. Slowly, Jane turned and limped down the sidewalk with no real destination in mind. About a block away, she passed a terracotta-tiled building with a flashing red sign that said Fernanda’s Tacos. There was only a man sitting at the tables out in front, probably because it wasn’t quite eleven in the morning and the lunch rush wouldn’t start for another hour. On a tray in front of him sat a burrito and a bag with grease stains that probably held tortilla chips.

Jane tried not to think about her empty stomach as she pulled a free neighborhood bulletin from the dispenser on the sidewalk and sat on a bench to flip to the Help Wanted ads. She knew most of the desirable jobs would be advertised on the internet, but apparently Jane wasn’t qualified for the desirable jobs. She scanned a couple of administrative assistant positions at law firms that sounded similar to the one who’d just rejected her. She could swing by and drop off her resume, but at this point, she’d seen her competition, and she didn’t hold out much hope.

Jane kept reading. It seemed that there were a lot of clubs looking for strippers. Duane’s voice echoed in her head. “You’re too pretty.”

Jane’s nausea had nothing to do with her empty stomach. Could she possibly do this? It would be better than ending up on the street. But she shook her head, crushing the corner of the newspaper in her fist. She didn’t know the first thing about being a stripper, and she’d probably stand there shaking and die of embarrassment before she even got her shirt off.

So, she kept looking—a few fast-food jobs looked promising, but they were all the way across town, and the thought of navigating the complicated bus system to a far-away neighborhood was intimidating. And then her finger slid to the next listing. Help Wanted. Server.

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