Page 8 of Doctor Grump

“Hey,” I called out, but the girl didn’t react. Then I saw it—a brief flash of white in her ear that possibly means she's wearing wireless earphones. Even though she was not at all looking in my direction, a gust of wind blew her hair and hoodie, which revealed the flash of white I saw. No matter how much I waved or threw myself around to get her attention, she did not hear me, and I had no choice.

I broke out into a run, going as fast as I could. I was never much of an athlete, but I pushed myself farther than I thought I could go, adrenaline making me fly. I quickly grabbed the girl by the arm, throwing her back just in time for the car to speed past both of us.

“Hey,” I heard the girl scream in indignation as she ripped out her earphone.

“Hey yourself,” I practically growled. “You could take two seconds to notice that I just saved your little butt.” I pointed in the distance at the car that had not even slowed down or stopped on the way. She glanced at me and back at the car.

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” I said, telling myself to calm down and not antagonize her. “Where are you going in such a hurry that you weren’t watching where you were going, sweetheart?”

Her face set in a mulish expression as she hiked her backpack over her shoulder. “Nowhere.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “That backpack looks pretty heavy.”

She gave me a suspicious look and just said, “Yeah.”

Then, she turned around and began walking away. Undeterred, I followed her.

“You going on a trip?” I probed.

“None of your business.”

“It is, though. Because you look far too young to be going somewhere on your own. Does your dad or mom know where you are?”

“Leave me alone.”

“You know what can happen to pretty little girls like you, traveling alone? Things that are way worse than accidents, I can tell you that.”

She continued walking, ignoring me, and I followed her until she reached the bus stop. It was currently empty, and she sat on the bench, crossing her hands over her chest and glaring at me.

With an internal sigh, I sat next to her. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on, sweetie? No judgment.”

She didn’t say anything for the longest time but finally admitted, “I’m going home to my mom.”

“Alright.” We were getting somewhere. “Home where?”

“New York.”

“There are no buses that go directly to New York from here.”

“Yes, but I know how to get there. I mapped it out with my phone, see.” She showed me her phone, where she had indeed traced out the path and written down a list of bus stops.

“Mhmm, but that map isn’t updated, hon,” I lied. “A few of those buses don’t even run anymore. Trust me. I go to New York all the time.”

Her face showed her disappointment. “Really?”

I nodded, then patted her shoulder. “Yeah, but tell you what? Since I go all the time, why don’t I take you to see your mom this weekend? Alright? That way, you don’t have to go alone and get lost somewhere. That would suck, wouldn’t it?”

Her eyes widened, and she said again, “Really?”

I nodded. “Sure.” I would do just about anything to get this young girl home and safe. “It’s not like I have anything better to do right now except maybe looking for a job. And I love hanging out with kids. But I’ve got to get you home soon, okay? It’s getting pretty late.”

She looked doubtful. “But I’m not sure what’s my mom’s new address, though.”

“No worries,” I said cheerily. “We can ask around. It’ll be easy. I know tons of people in New York. I’ll help you find your mom, I promise.”

“Over my dead body,” came a deep growl, and for the second time in as many days, I spun around to find myself staring up at Ian Graham.

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