Page 121 of Under Her Skin
Too many people I can hear breathing in the room. I sit up and look all around, finding bed after bed with other kids in them. They all sleep under the same type of gray scratchy blanket Ido.
A dim light I see from far away. I wonder if that’s where my mommy is. She came, and we sat in a room then she left me with a lady and now I don’t know where my mommyis.
I get up and walk towards the light. Someone sits up in their bed and looks at me then yells, “Hey! Get back in thatbed!”
I turn and run as fast as my small feet will take me to get back into the hard and scratchy bed. I push my face into the pillow. ‘I cannot cry.’ I tellmyself.
My mommy will be back to get me. She must have had something so important to do and she left me here with some people to take care of me while she takes care ofthat.
I just know she’ll be back soon. The only light that was shining is gone and I’m afraid of the dark. Didn’t she tell them that I’m afraid of the dark and that I need my Scooby Doo night light? The one Grandpa gave me. I need it. I need it rightnow.
The scratchy blanket I pull over my head and try to close my eyes, but they won’t close. I need my mommy. I’ll just lie here under this blanket and wait until she comes to get me. It shouldn’t be much longer. I’ve been here too longalready.
Two times I’ve eaten breakfast here in this place full of kids. She’ll be back soon. I just know shewill.
Sitting up in the bed, I have to look around to see where I’m at. The bed’s notmine!
I look over and see Blake sleeping next tome.
Oh yeah! I told Blake I lovehim!
Oh,God! Why did I dothat?
I don’t know what love is. Why would I tell him such athing?
Slipping silently out of the bed. I find my bathing suit and the cover up I had on and slip them on. My purse and car keys are on the dresser so I quietly take them and leave theroom.
Ihaveto get the hell out ofhere!
Blake
Please let her be in thebathroom!
I opened my eyes all set to see my sweet Rachelle, and all I found was an empty space. I jump out of bed and run to the bathroom, but she’s not here. Going back to the bedroom I look on the dresser where I saw her purse last, and it’sgone.
Shit!
I pull my clothes back on as fast as I can and head out to get into my rental car and go to her apartment. She has to be there. Maybe she just didn’t want to wake me up but wanted to go home and get cleanedup.
As I start my car. I decide to call her before I take off. The phone rings once then goes straight to voice mail. She’s forwarding my calls. That is notgood.
Putting her address into the cars GPS, I try hard not to drive like a crazy man. It’s hard to know exactly what I did wrong this time to send herrunning.
Maybe the way I made love to her was to intense, too kinky. Maybe I fucked up and held her tight again after I fell asleep and that set her off. Maybe she just really doesn’t loveme.
She told me she wanted to only be friends with benefits. She drank some and maybe only wanted to have sex with me and told me what she had to, to make thathappen.
Could she really be thatcallous?
Ipullup to her apartment and her car isn’t here. Probably a good idea to knock anyway so I get out and go pound on the door. No one answers and then the neighbor walksout.
He’s in shorts and a shirt with really messed up brown hair. “Dude, she came and left. You missedher.”
“You sure? I mean I was with her last night and she couldn’t have left that long ago,” I say as I check the guy out. He must be the noisy gamer she talkedabout.
“I’m sure,” he says as he shifts his massive weight from one foot to the other. “I heard her slam into her apartment about an hour ago. Then only like fifteen minutes later she took off. I peeked out the window and saw she had a suitcase withher.”
“She’s left town,” I mumble then turn back. “Thanks,guy.”
