Page 2 of Home With You

Asshole. I've never been anything but nice to him, and then he does stuff like hit me in the face with his cane. What if he'd broken my jaw? I don't have insurance. I can't get medical help. But Levi doesn't even consider that, or the pain he caused me. He has this damn chip on his shoulder because of his past and he chooses to take his anger out on whoever's around him.

Levi was kicked out of his house when he was 16 after telling his parents he liked boys instead of girls. He's been on the streets ever since. He never finished high school and couldn't find a job but he can sing well enough to draw a crowd. That's how he makes a living. He sits on the corner two blocks over next to a high-rise office building and sings songs people know or ones he makes up. He sets out a can for money, and although he won't tell me how much he makes, I know it's more than he'd make working some minimum wage job. I've seen men in suits drop twenty dollar bills in the can and one time this lady left him a fifty.

Levi makes enough money to buy his food at an actual restaurant. It's usually fast food or a food truck but still, it's fresh and hot and didn't come from a trash can. He sleeps in the same spot where he sings and collects his money, but sometimes I've gone by there in the morning and he's not there and neither is his stuff. Gladys said he has friends he stays with, but the way she says friends with a disapproving tone tells me these "friends" are guys seeking sexual favors in exchange for money. Levi doesn't talk about his little side business but doesn't try to hide it either. A few weeks ago I asked him where he got the new jeans he was wearing and he said his latest boy toy bought them for him.

Gladys tells Levi what he’s doing is a sin, which just makes him laugh. I really don't care what he does. I'm not one to judge, especially since survival often means doing things you wouldn't normally do, like eating food from a trash can. But unlike Levi, I'm never going to sell my body to get stuff. I'd rather starve than do that. I'd never even let it get to that point because my situation is temporary. I don't know how yet, but I'm going to get a job and get off the streets. And it's not going to be years from now, but months.

"Hey." Levi catches up to me.

"Go away!" I yell at him. "You broke my damn chin, asshole!"

He grabs my arm, yanking me back, and leans down to inspect my chin. "It ain't broken. Don't be such a baby. You gotta toughen up."

"I AM tough but that doesn't mean you should hit me with your cane. What the hell's wrong with you?"

He shrugs. "I thought it was funny. And you should've seen all the guys checking out your ass when you were bent over that trash can."

"Great." I roll my eyes. "Just what I need." I adjust my backpack and continue down the busy street.

It's almost one and the office crowd is heading back to work after their lunch hour. Noon to one is the best time to scavenge for food. People buy too much and never have time to finish it. On most days, I fish out enough leftovers from the trash to cover lunch and dinner for both Gladys and me. Well, it's not always enough for me but it's enough for Gladys.

"You need to get yourself a boyfriend," Levi says, swinging his cane. "Some little rich boy who'll buy you pretty things."

"I don't want pretty things," I snap. "And if I did, I wouldn't sell my body to get them."

He shoves my shoulder, pushing me into the lady beside me. The lady's wearing a black suit and sunglasses, her blond hair freshly highlighted and smelling like flowers. She turns and gives me a disgusted look. She'll probably go sanitize her suit jacket now that it’s contaminated by the brief touch of my arm.

"Stop shoving me," I say to Levi in a hushed tone.

He holds his head up, making his long lean body seem even taller. "You deserved it."

I shake my head, having no clue what he's talking about.

He grabs my arm, stopping me. "You think you're better than me?"

"What?" I glance around at all the suits going by. They see our ratty clothes and dirty appearance and veer away from us, as far as they possibly can, then rejoin the crowd once they're past us.

"I do what I gotta do," Levi says. "And how do you know I don't got something going on with one of them boys?"

I sigh. "Levi, I really don't care what you do, but just because you do it doesn't mean it's right for me."

"You don't get what I'm saying. I'm not talking about a night. I'm talking about forever." He looks me up and down. "Pretty girl like you? You could get yourself a man. A man who'd take care of you. Get you out of here."

"I don't want to be taken care of," I say, trying to free my arm from his grasp. "Let go of me."

He releases his grip on my arm and his hand moves to my shoulder as he turns me toward the crowd. "Guy in the navy suit. The one with the red hipster glasses."

"What about him?"

"That's the kind of guy you need. That designer suit says he comes from money and the glasses say he's got a rebel side."

I turn back to Levi. "And by rebel you mean he'd date a homeless girl to piss off his parents."

"Exactly!" He smiles. "You're finally getting it."

"Not interested." I start walking, hoping Levi will go back to his begging corner and leave me alone. But he doesn't.

"So what?" he says. "You just want to live out here forever?"

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