Page 12 of Brazen Being It

“That’s not an answer. You don’t even know me.”

He looks away for a moment, then back. “I know what it feels like to be stuck. To feel like no one gives a shit if you disappear.”

I lower my eyes. The vulnerability is too much.

“Figured maybe you didn’t want to feel that way anymore.”

I nod slowly. “I don’t.”

We sit in comfortable silence for a while, the only sound the wind rustling the trees. It’s the kind of quiet that doesn’t feel empty. It feels safe.

“Tell me about you,” he says after a while.

I take a deep breath. “Not much for me to tell.”

“How about your name?”

I smile, “Guess I left that out, huh?” He nods. “My name is Cambria Tracy. I’m eighteen years old.”

He gives a low whistle. “You really legal?”

I nod, “you need to see my ID? I have one.” Because I do and I can imagine he is worried about getting caught with me if I was a minor. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-six,” he answers content I am giving him the truth about my age, “And your parents?”

“Dad is unknown, momma,” I pause, “she is sick. It’s why we live in the hotel right now. We’re gonna get a new place. I have a job now and can help. Her medicine it just costs a lot so we got kicked out of our last place.”

While the words aren’t exactly the truth, it isn’t like I’m giving him complete lies.

He listens to every word. Really listens. No interruptions. No judgment.

When I’m done, he says, “You ever think about leaving?”

“All the time.”

“So what’s stopping you?”

“My mom.”

He nods. “You love her.”

“I do.”

“And she loves you?”

That is a hard question to answer. I pause. “Sometimes I think she does. Sometimes I think she just needs me.”

“That’s not the same thing.”

“I know.”

We don’t say much after that.

When we get back to the motel, the sun’s already setting.

I expect him to drop me off and ride off into the dark like something out of a dream. But he doesn’t. Instead, he kisses me on the cheek leaving me in shock.

“I’m in Arkansas for one more day. I’ll take you to dinner tomorrow night. Then I gotta go back to North Carolina. You need me, call. Even if it’s to talk.”

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