“I think so, it’s dark though. Chuck us your phone,” he said.
The phone made a slapping sound as it landed in his hands, and I scrunched my body up tighter, squeezing my eyes shut tightly – it was as if I thought it would make me disappear.
“Hello?” he called out quietly.
“What if it’s an axe murderer?” the girl asked in a hushed tone.
“Why would an axe murderer be hiding in a playground? I might be a lost kid or something,” another voice responded.
I felt trapped and started to make my way out the other side, hoping that I could make a run for it. The only way I could go was toward an area that was a makeshift lookout point, with one of those pretend telescopes and metal steering wheels. It led to a yellow plastic side, which would be my sole chance of escape.
Moving as quietly as I could, I crab walked toward the slide and placed my hands on the safety bars beside it. Feeling slightly panicked, I leapt off the side, with the plan to run until my legs gave out.
My plans were short lived however, because my first step led into the chest of another person. Arms grabbed hold of me, and I started screaming, thrashing my body to try to make them let me go.
A hand clamped over my mouth, my eyes opened wide, suddenly terrified that all my worst nightmares were about to come true.
“Calm down. We’re not going to hurt you,” he told me. It was too dark to properly make out his features, but his voice was calm and kind.
As my eyes darted from side to side, the others gathered around to see what was going on.
“Were you sleeping in there?” the girl asked.
My eyes moved from her to the guy covering my mouth, and I nodded. “Are you going to scream if I take my hand away?”
I shook my head ‘no’. I was starting to calm down. They all seemed to be around the same age as me, and I didn’t feel as though I was in danger anymore.
Slowly, he took his hand away. “No one’s going to hurt you,” he repeated. “We were just here to hang out for a bit.”
Nodding, I scanned the faces of the group huddled around me. One guy took a drag from what smelled like a joint, and passed it to the person next to him. As he blew out the smoke, he asked, “Did you take a bad trip or something?”
“No. I just don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“Well that sucks,” he commented.
I was still a little concerned by them. But, they were more inquisitive than anything. We sat around the play equipment, passing the joint around, while they asked me a lot of questions about who I was, and what I was doing curled up in a tunnel.
With nothing left to lose, I told them all about my situation. The girl who had been speaking earlier, named Tahlia, ended up offering me the couch in her garage.
“You can crash there as long as you like. My parents won't give a shit,” she told me. I don’t know if it was the wisest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I found myself nodding and thanking her.
So that’s where I am now - living in a garage that smells like oil and car fumes, sleeping on an old couch with scratchy material and broken springs. I, at least, have a comfortable pillow and blanket to keep me warm. So, I can’t really complain. It’s better than the park. Anything is better than the park.
Chapter Eight
Tahlia is probably the most outlandish person I’ve ever met. She’s a little older than me at seventeen, with long straight blonde hair that ends in the middle of her back. She’s taller than me, has blue eyes and is as curvaceous as a cartoon character.
She has this great confidence about her that I can’t imagine I’ll ever have. Her hips sway from side to side when she walks, and everything she says seems bold and untethered.