Page 85 of Home With You

Miles runs his hand through his hair. "I don't know what to say."

I turn and open the fridge. "I don't want you to say anything. I don't want to talk about it. I told you the story because I needed you to understand why we can't be anything more than friends." I shut the fridge. "I'm not the girl for you, Miles. You need to accept that and find someone else." I walk around him to the front door and pick up my backpack.

"Wait." He races up to me. "You can't just leave after that."

I sling my backpack over my shoulder. "There's nothing else to say. And I need to get back to the tent. I don't want anyone stealing my stuff."

"Nobody's going to steal it. And if they did, I'd buy you more."

"Miles, that's one of the reasons I can't trust you. Because you buy me stuff. You can't keep doing that." I unlock the door. "I have to go."

He moves in front of the door, blocking it. "I'm not him. I get why you don't trust people, but I'm not him. I didn't buy you that stuff to control you or make you stay with me. I bought it because I truly am worried about you living on the streets. It's cold. It's dangerous. And it's not where you should be."

"Which is why I'm trying to get back on my feet. But I want to do it on my own. I have to prove to myself that I can. Now get out of my way so I can go."

He steps aside. "Why do you have to be so damn stubborn?"

"If you don't understand that, after all that I told you, then you'll never understand me."

"I DO understand but if you keep doing what you're doing, how is that going to get you off the streets?"

"I don't know but I'll figure it out." I open the door. "I'm sorry, Miles, but I need to do this on my own."

He sighs. "Would you at least talk to someone? I don't know if she'd want to. She doesn't like talking about it but she might do it if I explained what's going on."

"Who are you talking about?"

His eyes shift to the side. "My mom."

"Why would I talk to your mom?"

"She was homeless," he mutters. "It wasn't for very long but long enough that she knows what it's like."

"Your mom was homeless?" I ask, coming back inside and closing the door. "When?"

"Back when she was pregnant with me. Her parents disowned her when they found out she was pregnant with no plans to get married."

"They kicked her out?"

"Yeah. She had nowhere to go so she ended up on the streets. She was there less than a week but in that week she was almost raped, had what few possessions she owned stolen from her, and had nothing to eat. This woman saw her sleeping on a bench and asked if she could help. If my mom hadn't accepted the woman's help, she probably would've died out there and I never would've been born."

I stare at him, my arms crossed. "So is that why you did this?"

"Did what?"

"Is that why you got so involved in my life after you found out I was homeless? Is that why you bought me all that stuff? Because you're trying to make up for what happened to your mom?"

"No!" He walks away from me, shaking his head. "Why the hell do people keep saying that? This has nothing to do with my mom! I wasn't even born when she was going through all that."

"What people?" I walk up to him. "Who have you told about me?"

Miles turns to face me. "Greg. My friend from back home. He kept telling me to find a girl. I told him I'd already found someone. I mentioned you live on the streets and he gave me this speech about how I'm trying to make up for what happened to my mom. But I swear to you, Raine, that's not what I'm doing. I'm helping you because it's the right thing to do. I'm sure that's why that lady helped my mom, but just like you, my mom told her no at first. She had too much pride to accept help."

"What changed her mind?"

"Me. She knew it was dangerous for her to be out there, not able to eat or sleep. She realized she had to accept help if she wanted her baby to survive."

"I don't need to worry about that."

---