by Paige Dearth
Joon’s mouth dropped open. “Me?”
The nurse nodded. “You need a shower, right? I understand you’ve been here all night. So go on and do your thing. I can help you rebandage your arms and face when you come out.”
Later on, cleaned and feeling better, Joon settled on the bed next to Lulu, and the girls curled up together.
Lulu grabbed Joon’s hand. “What happened to the others?”
“Everyone got out. We all got burned and breathed in a lot of smoke, but you’re the only one they admitted.” Joon paused. “I met Dr. Becker in the emergency room.”
Lulu brightened. “What did he say?”
“Only that he wanted to admit you.”
“I love Dr. Becker,” Lulu said.
Molly used the button to raise the bed. “Dr. Becker is my doctor too.”
Lulu looked over at the young girl and gave her a smile. “Oh yeah? Then you’re as lucky as I am.”
Molly smiled and nodded. “I’m Molly and you’re Lulu.”
“I am,” Lulu said. “How long have you been here?”
Molly counted on her fingers. “Six days so far. I usually stay for at least a week or two.”
Joon sat up and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. “That sucks. How often are you here?”
“Whenever I get so sick that Mama doesn’t know what to do. She tries to take care of me at home ’cause she thinks I hate being in the hospital, but I don’t mind it so much.”
Joon looked at Lulu and raised her eyebrows, then turned back to Molly. “I don’t get that. Being sick is annoying.”
Molly raised the back of her bed a little more and leaned toward Joon. “Being sick is awful. But in the hospital, I get to eat things that I can’t have at home. When Mama isn’t around, the nurses give me things like water ice and ice cream. Mama thinks that stuff is bad for me, so I almost never get sweets or anything that she doesn’t make from scratch.”
Joon lay back next to Lulu, who was drifting off to sleep. “Yeah, that makes sense. Although having home-cooked food sounds really good to me.”
Molly leaned back into her pillows. “That’s because you never ate Mama’s cooking.”
As the morning melted into the afternoon, Joon dozed on and off, exhausted from the night before. Around dinnertime, Skinner showed up.
“Hey,” he sang as he walked into the room.
Joon stood and gave him a hug. “She’s sleeping. Let’s get going. I don’t want to bother her. Did you find us a place?”
Skinner looked down at the floor. “I found us a way to get through the night.”
Joon’s belly swirled. She could see the concern in Skinner’s eyes and hoped wherever they were going would be safe.
Chapter Seventy-Three
When they left the hospital, Joon followed Skinner to Suburban Station.
Joon grabbed Skinner’s arm. “What are we doing here?”
“The station never closes. It’s warm, and I spent most of the day inside and nobody bothered me. There are a lot of homeless spread throughout the place. It ain’t the greatest thing, but its way better than being outside. And,” he said, taking a bow, “there are bathrooms in there, thank you very much.”
Joon slipped her arm through his. “I’m impressed. You did real good for a clueless newbie.”
“Who are you calling clueless? I’m becoming a real veteran in living this shitty life.”
Once inside the station, Joon and Skinner walked until they found an empty bench. Joon sat down with a thud. “I just realized we don’t have shit. No blankets, no clothes—we are the most pathetic homeless people I’ve ever seen.”
Skinner gave her a sheepish smile. “I thought about that too. Tomorrow, we’ll go into the parking garage at the hospital and take a look around in those cars. We can break into a few and get some of the stuff we need.”
Joon lay down on the bench and put her head in Skinner’s lap. “That’s brilliant. What are we gonna do about tonight though?”
“We’re gonna curl up on this bench together and keep each other warm. So get up and let me lie down too, Queen Joon,” he said, brushing his hand softly over the top of her head. When the two were spooning on the bench, Skinner cleared his throat. “When will Lulu get released?”
Joon shrugged. “Don’t know yet. The doctor didn’t come in today. He’ll probably stop and see her tonight.”
“All right. Good. You know, we gotta get some money together,” Skinner said.
Joon adjusted on the bench. “I have some money. It’s the only thing I didn’t lose ’cause I keep it on me at all times.”
“How much you got?”
Joon closed her eyes. “Thirty-seven bucks. I’ve been saving it for a while. It ain’t enough to help us much, but it’ll get us started. Maybe we can find some temporary work tomorrow.”
Skinner laughed. “Yeah, like selling my body on the streets.”
“Maybe,” Joon remarked.
Skinner pulled her shoulder down so he can look into her face. “What do you mean, maybe? We can’t do that. I can’t do that, and you certainly can’t either. I was joking.”
Joon pulled her shoulder out of his grip and refused to look at him. “I wasn’t. It’s not like I never had to do it before.”
“What are you saying, Joon? You were a hooker?”
“Yeah, I was a hooker. It wasn’t by choice…I mean, they wouldn’t let me leave.”
Skinner ran his hand through his hair. “Who wouldn’t let you leave?”
“It doesn’t matter. The point is, we gotta do what we gotta do. It’s freezing cold, we don’t have anything left, and we gotta get through this winter.”
“I’m not comfortable with you doing that.”
“I never asked you to be,” she said. “My body, my choice. We’ll see how things go. All right? Now, can we get some sleep? I have a feeling there’ll be a lot more people here as it gets later, so we should sleep now, while we can.”
Several minutes later, Joon’s breathing became steady as she fell asleep and dreamed of a life where she had all the things she wanted.
Skinner stayed awake, too stunned by what Joon had said. He’d never imagined that she had gone through something so dreadful, and his heart ached with images of her being forced to have sex.
Chapter Seventy-Four
Lulu stayed in the hospital for three more nights, and Joon remained by her side during the day while Skinner begged for money. He managed to get two manual labor jobs at a small hardware store; the owner paid him twenty dollars a job to move a wood pile and stock shelves. With almost fifty dollars in his pocket, Skinner felt like the threesome could get a fresh start. Skinner had broken into five cars, and they now had three blankets, a box of tissues, two sweatshirts, a pair of sunglasses, and a few hand tools. He had also taken a large canvas bag from one of the cars to carry it all in. One night, back in Suburban Station, Skinner showed Joon the things he’d acquired and the two shared a sense of comfort.
“I feel like we lose all of our humanity living on the streets. It’s weird how having a few things makes me feel like I’m human again,” Joon shared. “When I lived at Aron’s house, I didn’t have anything, not even food or water when I wanted it. It makes these things feel more important.” She picked up a blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. “See? Like this. To be able to wrap myself in this blanket is a treat, you know? People who have things probably don’t appreciate these little things, things that make us comfortable…things that make us feel like we exist.”
“I know,” Skinner agreed. “I know it isn’t right to steal from people, but I’m glad I did it. At least it makes us both feel better.”
On the morning of Lulu’s release, Joon went to her hospital room.
“Can you leave now?” she asked Lulu.
“Nah. I have to wait for Dr. Becker to come see me. Then he’ll let me go,” she explained.
“I wish you weren’t leaving,” Molly said. “I like having you two around.
”
Joon walked over to the young girl’s bed. “Yeah, it was fun being around you too. Your mom is kinda weird, but you’re a cool kid.”
“My mama is a helicopter—she hovers.” Molly thought for a moment. “I need to ask you a favor.”
Joon looked at her questioningly. “Sure. What do you need?”
Molly reached under her pillow. “I want you to keep this for me,” she said, producing a small diary and thrusting it at Joon. “If anything happens to me, I need you to give it to my dad. It has all of my last wishes.”
Joon gave her a curious look.
“I can’t give it to my mama because she won’t talk about me dying. My daddy’s a real nice person, and he works really hard so that me, my mom, and my little sister are taken care of. He would want to know my wishes. You know, like who should have my stuff.”
Joon took the small diary from Molly. “How will I know if anything happens to you? We’ll probably never see each other again once Lulu gets out today.”
“You can ask Dr. Becker. He’ll know.”
“What if he doesn’t?” Joon said, feeling uncomfortable with the enormous responsibility.
“If he doesn’t, then you can read it. My address is written on the inside cover.”
Joon held the diary against her heart. “Fine. But I can’t promise that I won’t fuck this up.” She clapped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to curse.”
Molly giggled. “It’s okay. Sometimes I curse in my head, like when I can’t have candy.” She paused for a moment looking at the older girl. “Joon?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks for doing this for me. I don’t have any friends, and there’s no one else I would trust with my diary.”
Joon gave her a dazzling smile. “So you decided to trust someone you’ve known for less than a week.”
“Yeah, I did. I can tell that you do things to help people and that you’ll help me if the time comes.”
Joon felt a warmth spreading in her chest—like Lulu had said, maybe it was clear to people that Joon was a good egg. “Okay. Sure.”
“You promise to keep it safe and not lose it?”
Joon brushed Molly’s arm. “I promise.”
“And, you can’t read it. Okay? It’s for my dad.”
“Yep, got it.”
“Unless you have to read it, like I said before.”
“Yep, I got that too.”
She smiled. “Thank you, Joon.”
“You’re welcome.” Joon leaned over the bed and kissed the girl’s forehead. “You’re gonna get better. I just know it.”
Molly smiled, and her heart filled with hope. “Do you think so?”
“Yeah, I do,” Joon said.
Just as the two were finishing their conversation, Dr. Becker walked into the room.
“I see you’ve enjoyed Joon’s and Lulu’s company,” Dr. Becker said to Molly.
“Yeah, they’re great,” she said.
Dr. Becker made his way to the other side of the room, where Lulu was lying with her eyes closed. He put his hand on her foot. “How are you doing today?”
Lulu opened her eyes and gave him a faint smile. “I’m okay. I’m tired, but ready to get outta here. You know how much I hate hospitals.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I wanted to talk to you about your test results,” he said, pulling a chair next to her bed.
Joon was already sitting in the other chair across from him, and Dr. Becker looked at Lulu, then at Joon.
“It’s fine. You can say whatever in front of her. She’ll get it outta me anyway,” Lulu joked.
“Okay. Well, your results show that your remaining kidney is failing. We’ll need to increase your dialysis treatments, and I’d like to keep you overnight for observation each time.”
“Aw, man. Come on, Dr. Becker. You made me get on insurance from the state and you talked me into coming for dialysis every three months, now this?”
Dr. Becker nodded. “Your condition has worsened. You’re on the organ donor list, and I’d feel better if we took more aggressive steps to keep you stable.”
“What does that mean? She’s on the organ donor list?” Joon interrupted.
Dr. Becker looked into Joon’s eyes. “We put Lulu on the list for a kidney donation several months ago. The kidney she has left is failing. We are hoping to find a donor that will be a match for her soon.”
Joon came out of her chair and grasped the bed rail tightly. “I’ll give her one of my kidneys,” she said firmly.
“We’d have to see if you’re a match. How old are you, Joon?”
Joon pushed hair away from her face. “Eighteen,” she lied.
“You’d have to be able to prove you’re eighteen. Can you do that?”
Joon shook her head. “I left home without anything. Just test me, okay? Please.” She stared at the doctor without blinking. “I’m not fucking around. You’re a doctor. We need you to figure something out.”
“Okay,” he conceded. “I’ll order a blood test. I’ll see if I can get the kidney organization to pay for it. If not, I’ll figure out how to get it taken care of.”
“Thank you,” Joon said.
He stood and patted Joon’s shoulder. “Go on and sit back down.” The doctor turned back to Lulu. “You’re in end-stage kidney failure. It’s serious this time, Lulu.”
Lulu glanced at Joon but diverted her eyes quickly.
Joon took Lulu’s hand. “You knew. You knew that you were getting worse. That’s why you’ve been so tired and cold all the time. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I want to live as normally as I can. I didn’t want you to worry about me.”
Joon looked back at the doctor. “What do we do now?”
“We make sure that Ms. Lulu comes in for every treatment and stays overnight for observation. In the meantime, I’ll contact the National Kidney Foundation and we’ll have your blood tested.” He turned back to Lulu. “Given how young you are and that your condition has worsened, I’ll request to have you moved up on the list.”
Tears slid down Joon’s face. She looked at Lulu. “Please. You have to do everything he says. You will, right?”
Lulu leaned forward and hugged Joon. “Sure. I’ll do it. You don’t need to worry. I’m gonna be fine.”
Joon let her head fall back and she closed her eyes. “Yeah, you have to be and I’m gonna take good care of you.”
Later in the day, when Lulu was released from the hospital, Skinner joined them.
“I was thinking that we could rent something for the night,” he said, looking at the other two for approval. “I mean, Lulu just got outta the hospital, and I have fifty bucks in my pocket. What do you say?”
Joon and Lulu stared at him for a moment.
Finally, Joon threw her hands up in the air. “Hell yeah.”
Chapter Seventy-Five
“Where are we gonna get a room though?” Joon asked.
Skinner waved his hands through the air above his head. “Abracadabra, give us a room.”
Joon stopped and put her hands on her hips. “I’m serious, Skinner. If we don’t know where we’re going, we should head to Suburban Station. I’m worried about Lulu getting too cold.”
“Helloooo?” Lulu said. “I’m standing right here. I can hear you and I don’t need you worrying about me. I’ll be fine. Don’t be so serious all the time.”
“Ha! I have to worry about you ’cause you don’t tell me everything,” Joon huffed. She turned back to Skinner. “Well?”
“Well, I met this guy today, and he told me about a woman who rents rooms in her house. I went over there and paid for tonight.”
“Who is this woman?” Joon asked.
“Don’t know. Just some woman who wants to make money. She charges twenty bucks a night. She doesn’t keep the heat real high, so it’s sorta cold in there, but we won’t freeze. Plus, there’s a bed we can all cram into. It even has nasty sheets and an old quilt on top.”
“You sure know how to impress the girls,” Joon teased.
“Girls? Let me tell you about the guy who told me about this place. He’s so damn hot. He has thick, black hair and dreamy, green eyes. His name is Gunther,” he said, grinning.
“Gunther?” Joon laughed.
“Yeah, his name’s Gunther. Now shut up and listen. Gunther is real tall and lean, and he’s got a small waist and broad shoulders, and wait until you get a look at his ass. And I think he’s got a crush on me.”
Joon laughed. “Oh really? How do you know he’s gay?”
Skinner lifted his chin and shrugged his shoulders. “The same way you know when a guy is coming on to you. It’s something you just feel. Anyway, he’s really good-looking. Oh. My. God. He was so nice to me. He shared his soft pretzel and soda. Now if that ain’t a crush, I don’t know what is.”
Lulu laced her arm through Joon’s. “I think it’s great you met someone. Just be careful you don’t get hurt.”
Joon tilted her head and her eyes were twinkling with mischief. “Did you tell him about us?”
“Um, duh. I told him everything—that you can be bitches and you both smell.”
Joon smacked Skinner’s arm. “Very funny. How did he end up out here?”
“He lived with his mom and sister. One day when he wasn’t home, someone broke into their apartment and murdered them. He didn’t have anybody or anywhere else to go. He’s been living on the streets since he was fifteen.”
Lulu gasped. “That’s really messed up.”
Skinner nodded. “At first, I was nervous when he told me his family story. But then as we got to talking, I realized he’s just a normal dude. I told him all about what happened to me and how I ended up on the streets. When I finished, he was actually crying.”
Joon wrapped her arms around herself as the wind whipped through her clothing. “We’re really happy for you, but its freezing. How far is this place?”
“Just a few more blocks.”
When they arrived at the three-story row home, they rang the doorbell and anxiously waited to be let in from the cold.
