My Soul For You

by Morgana Phoenix

  Her aunt shrugged. “I just thought it was an option.”

  Katie frowned. “Options for what? Aren’t you happy here anymore? Do you want to sell?”

  Exhausted eyes rose up and met hers. “I’ve thought about it. I only hung on this long because it was a good outlet for you. Maybe a little too good.”

  “Why did you never tell me?” she asked.

  “Because you loved it so much.” She offered Katie a weary smile. “The moment I brought you home, you took to this place like a fish in water. The life returned to your eyes and you started being a normal kid again. That’s the only reason I didn’t sell sooner.”

  Katie didn’t know what to say. For several moments, she studied her aunt with a deep gnawing sensation in the pit of her stomach. Finally, she shook herself enough to speak.

  “Can we talk about this later?” she mumbled, already turning away. “I have friends waiting.”

  “Katie—”

  Katie ignored her as she turned on her heels and hurried upstairs. The movie had already started when she slipped into her spot next to Kaleb.

  He turned his face into the side of her head. His warm lips brushed her ear. “Okay?”

  Rather than answer, and have to lie, she pressed into his side and was awarded by his arm curling around her shoulders. She was dragged into his chest where she stayed for the remainder of the movie.

  By the end, she had no idea what actually transpired on screen and she couldn’t bring herself to care.

  Her aunt had shuffled upstairs and gone to bed hours before it was actually time. Katie hadn’t stopped her, or asked her to stay. Ashlee had, but Aunt Hannah had smiled and declined, proclaiming a headache.

  The coffee table was a mess of pop cans, broken pieces of chips, popcorn and an empty pizza box. The bag of cookies was somewhere on the floor next to Ashlee’s chair, torn and robbed of its contents. Larson and Kaleb rose to assist in the cleaning.

  Ashlee bounded to her feet, grabbed her coat off the back of the armchair and sprinted around the coffee table to grab Larson.

  “We have to go,” she decided. “Larson has to walk me home.”

  Larson frowned at her. “We should at least help clean—”

  “Katie’s got it covered!” Ashlee hissed through her teeth. “She has help. Come on.”

  She snatched his coat off his chair and tossed it to him. He caught it against his chest and stared at her.

  “Come on,” she said again when he just stood there.

  Larson looked to Katie, visibly conflicted.

  Katie chuckled. “It’s fine, Larson. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

  After rubbing an anxious hand over his shaven scalp, Larson turned towards the stairs with Ashlee hot on his heels.

  “You’re so dense!” They heard Ashlee hiss.

  “What…”

  “Just keep moving!”

  Katie shook her head, smiling as she turned back to Kaleb. “She’s not exactly subtle.”

  Pushing to his feet, Kaleb grinned. “Yeah, I noticed that.”

  Together, they cleaned up and straightened the room. It was a fifteen minute task, but it seemed far less with two people doing it.

  When finished, Kaleb grabbed his own jacket and led the way downstairs to the dark shop. Aunt Hannah had left the lights over the counter on so it lit up the front area and them when they stepped under the dim glow.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow?” she said, leaning back against the counter with her arms folded across her abdomen.

  He crossed his own arms, jacket still clutched in his hand. “Yeah, but I want to know what’s bothering you first.”

  Katie sighed and shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

  He closed the distance between them and lightly touched her arm. “You know I don’t believe that.”

  She forced herself to raise her head and meet his gaze. “Haven’t you had enough of my problems?”

  He tipped his head to the side. “Tell me.”

  It didn’t take a whole lot of coaxing. Maybe because she was brimming with the need to tell someone, to share the burden, or at least to vent, that it all spilled out in a rush of annoyance, betrayal and anger.

  “My aunt wants to sell the shop,” she said. “She says she’s been thinking about it for years, but didn’t want to because of me. Now, some guy has been coming around, asking to buy and she’s…” she broke off, her anger mounting.

  “Considering it,” Kaleb finished for her.

  Katie shook her head. Her eyes sparked when they shot to his face. She bit her lip and hugged herself tighter. “I don’t understand why she’s even thinking it. The shop is doing great!”

  “Maybe she thinks it’s time to move on,” he mused gently.

  “Why?” she blurted. “To what? What’s out there better than this? This is the only thing I know how to do.”

  “I don’t believe that.”

  “It’s true,” she protested. “I’m a crappy student, okay? Let’s just face it. I’m barely passing my classes. The only ones I actually force myself to pay attention in, the ones that I had always considered the most important were my business classes, my law classes, and math; and that’s only because I knew those would come in handy with the shop. I’ve put everything into making this place work and she … she…” Katie huffed out a breath, hating that she was on the verge of crying. “This is the only home I’ve known. When my parents died, this place made me feel like I belonged with all the other lost and abandoned things and now…”

  His jacket was tossed onto the counter behind her and his arms were around her. She mashed her face into his chest.

  “Losing it would be like losing them all over again,” she murmured into the soft material of his shirt. “Like losing myself.”

  “Do you want me to stay?” he said after what felt like eons.

  Katie shook her head. “No. You should go home.”

  He smoothed the pad of his thumb along her cheek. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.” She offered him a teasing grin. “Besides, I don’t think I’d let you get much sleep if you stayed.”

  Something dark flashed behind his eyes. “Who needs sleep anyway?” he said, making her laugh.

  “Go!” She gave him a playful push. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  With a last search of her face, he grabbed his jacket, swung it on and headed for the door.

  “Don’t think too hard on it,” he said with one hand on the door handle. “Things like this, if it was meant to happen, will find a way of sorting itself out.”

  Katie said nothing as a blast of winter night blew through the store. Then he was gone and she was left alone with her memories.

  Chapter Fourteen

  It was purely intentional on Katie’s part not to think about her parents. It wasn’t that she didn’t miss them, or love them, because she did every day. But thinking about them always opened a hole inside her that felt like it would swallow her whole if she didn’t turn away quickly. It was the same hole that had stolen a year of her life. It was endless, bottomless and booming with so much pain she hadn’t been sure she’d ever survive.

  At eight, to have witnessed such horror, such violence, and then left abandoned by people who claimed to be family was a trauma she didn’t wish on anyone. It had been the darkest part of her life. It was a time she swore she would never feel again.

  She studied the flyers in her hands. The corners flapped with the vicious wind, but she only tightened her grip. Moving quickly, she stapled the promise of fifty present off to every pole, window and wall she came across. She passed them out to every person that crossed her path. She walked into other stores and offered trades, the promise of cross promoting if she could put her flyers up. She didn’t return home until every flyer had been distributed.

  When she kicked snow off her boots and walked into the shop, there were people in the store, their baskets filled with things. No one paid her any mind as she started deepe
r into the shop.

  “Katie!” Her aunt smiled at her from the other side of the counter. “How was your day?”

  Unwinding her scarf, Katie shrugged. “Okay.” She glanced at all the people there for the fifty percent off deal. “It’s working, eh?”

  Her aunt nodded. “It was a great idea.” She gave Katie a hesitant smile.

  Katie gave a slight nod and hurried away.

  She wasn’t ready to forgive. Even if she knew her aunt was only doing what she thought was best, there was something almost unforgivable about how easily she was ready to toss away something so special. It felt like a betrayal. Giving up wasn’t in Katie’s blood.

  In her room, she kicked the door shut and stalked to her computer. Moving the mouse, she shook away the screen saver and logged into her email.

  All the items she’d ordered had been shipped. Their confirmation emails stood out bold across her screen.

  Satisfied, she pitched her things onto the bed and turned to leave when something gold caught her eye.

  She stopped and twisted her neck to peer around the back of the computer where several of her books had toppled over. From amongst them, she could just see light slicing off the curve of a gold loop.

  Curious, she reached for it and drew it out.

  It was two cards. The first one was the invitation for the gala. The second one was the thank you card she’d gotten the morning after. She vaguely remembered tossing them onto her desk after the gala was over, no longer seeing a reason for them, but not wanting to throw them away. But now, was she stared at them, stared at the thank you note, she felt her gut coil.

  “Can’t be…”

  Cards in hand, she darted to the bed and her jacket. She tore through the pockets in search of her phone. She located Kaleb’s number.

  “Do you still have those photos and notes?” she texted, then waited for him to respond by staring at the elaborate curving in her name across the envelope.

  “Yes. Why? Did you get another one?”

  Setting the card down on her nightstand, she took the phone up in both hands. “I need to see you, and the notes. Do you have time?”

  “I’m across town at a job site, but I have them in the car. I can meet you in about an hour.”

  “Where?”

  He texted her an address.

  “I’ll be there in an hour,” she told him and stuffed her phone into her pocket.

  There were a couple of girls her age wandering the store front when Katie hurried downstairs with her coat and scarf in hand. The earlier crowd had thinned to three women, but with the two teenagers, it was still five.

  She ducked into the kitchen and hunted down a giant, neon green cardboard paper. With a black magic marker, she scribbled a sale sign for the front window while bidding her time until she could meet Kaleb.

  Her aunt was helping ring up a sale, saving Katie from having to confront her a second time as she slipped the sign into place. She checked her watch, swung on her coat, and stomped from the shop without a word.

  The address was in a part of town Katie wouldn’t have normally gone, especially alone. The homes were dilapidated, the people angry and mean, and the streets were strewn with litter and abandoned drug paraphernalia. Even the bus driver eyed her curiously when Katie climbed down the stairs.

  “Are you sure you want to be here?” he asked her. “The next bus won’t be for another twenty minutes.”

  Katie touched her phone in her pocket. “I think so. I’m meeting someone, so … I think it’s okay.”

  The driver shrugged. “Okay. Be careful.”

  With that, he shut the doors behind her and rumbled off, leaving her alone.

  Curling her fingers and stuffing them into her pockets, Katie hunched her shoulders and started off in the direction Kaleb had instructed.

  Shops merged into homes, abandoned parks and destroyed fields. There were children playing in gray snow. Dogs were chained to front porches, vicious and snarling. A group of rough looking men stood crowded around a bright red Ford Probe. They looked up when Katie walked by them.

  “Eh, hermosa!” one called, making Katie cringe and quicken her pace.

  “Katie!”

  She nearly slid on slush when she skidded to a stop and whirled around at the sound of her name. Kaleb waved at her from the other side of the street.

  Casting a quick glance up and down the road, he jogged over to her. Several of the men by the car, Katie noted, called out to him … by name. He even grinned back at them as he passed.

  He was still smiling when he reached Katie.

  “You made it,” he observed.

  “Yeah … so, are you a drug dealer in your spare time?” she asked, only half kidding.

  Kaleb chuckled. “No, but you would think so with how much time I spend here. Come on.”

  She let him take her hand and guide her back to where the men stood. Involuntarily, she stiffened. Pure reflexes.

  “This your girl, hombre?” the one that had called out to her asked.

  “This is Katie,” Kaleb replied. “And yes, she’s with me.”

  “Look at you,” another man said, punching Kaleb in the shoulder. “White boy’s got himself a fine piece of—”

  “Jamal.” Kaleb shook his head. “No.”

  The others laughed. Katie said nothing. She was ready to leave.

  “This the chica that’s got you all twisted?” the one with the red bandana asked, eyeing Katie from beneath bushy eyebrows.

  Kaleb cleared his throat. He shifted uncomfortably. “Shouldn’t you guys be at work?”

  “Got ya good, eh?” the first guy teased.

  There was laughter, a few crude words, and a few hisses, but none of it was harsh or malicious. It was how she’d seen boys act in the halls of her school, shoving each other into lockers, and kicking each other in the ass. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but it wasn’t this. This was strange.

  Kaleb rolled his tongue over his lip. “We’re leaving.” He reached out with his free hand and shoved the guy closest to him. “Assholes.”

  The guy staggered, but laughed as did the others.

  Shaking his head, Kaleb led her across the street.

  “Be good!” one called after them. “Cover up!”

  “My backseat is open if you need it!” said another.

  Then there was just a whole lot of shouting and cat calls.

  “You have interesting friends,” Katie decided.

  Kaleb chuckled. “They’re insane, but good guys.”

  None of them had looked good. They had looked dangerous. The kind of men women were warned to stay away from. Katie didn’t say so.

  “Where are we going?”

  “My car’s at the site,” he explained. “It’s not far from here. Just behind the daycare.”

  The daycare was a squat building with mold growing boldly across stucco walls that had once been white. The windows were grimy and looked into a single dingy room. The screen door was torn and hung off one hinge. It was not like any daycare Katie had ever seen.

  “You said site, what are you doing here?” she asked, having to practically jog to keep up with his long strides.

  “I, uh…” That’s all he said before he broke off and they rounded the corner.

  Behind the daycare was the frame to what looked like a two story home. Men were clambering all around and over it, hammering nails, cutting wood and measuring.

  Katie stared. “You’re building a house?”

  Kaleb scrunched his face. “Kind of. See the owner of the daycare, Dorothea was given a citation, either she get the place up to code, or she shut down shop. Well, the people of this community all rely on her to watch their kids while they work. She doesn’t even ask half of them for money. Without her, they would be in an even worse situation.”

  “Oh!” she said. “Okay. I get it.”

  He motioned her over to a makeshift parking area where his Sedan was parked between a beat up truck that had once bee
n orange and a rusty Camaro.

  “So why did you need to see the notes?” he asked as he started towards the trunk.

  Katie dug into her pocket for the cards she’d stuffed there. “I found these and—”

  “Hey, Kal!” A large, bear of a man waved Kaleb over. “Got a minute?”

  Kaleb put up a finger. “I’ll be right there.”

  “Go,” Katie said. “I don’t want you to get in trouble. I can wait.”

  He looked about to argue, but she waved him away.

  “I’ll be right back,” he promised as he jogged over to the man.

  No sooner had he and the man moved into the hollow center of the structure when a blue truck rolled up and parked. The rumbling engine died. The door flew open and a slim woman hopped out. She reached back inside and pulled out a giant picnic basket.

  She was beautiful. Not exactly a super model, but definitely exotic with her caramel features, enormous dark eyes, and hair the color of spilled ink. It fluttered around her as she hurried to the plastic fold up table set up a short distance away containing a giant, yellow water cooler and several covered dishes.

  She looked up and caught Katie watching. She smiled.

  “Hi!”

  Katie returned the smile. “Hello.”

  The woman swept a strand of sleek hair off her face. “Are you here to see someone?”

  Katie pointed even though Kaleb was nowhere in sight. “I’m just waiting for Kaleb.”

  The woman’s eyes widened. “Katie?” she ventured cautiously.

  It was Katie’s turn to be surprised. “Yes?”

  If smiles could be blinding, Katie would have been blinded by the one she received.

  “Hi!” she said again as she hurried over, dusting her hands on her jeans before extending it to Katie. “I’m Dorothea. Kaleb has told me so much about you.”

  Stunned, Katie’s jaw dropped. “You’re Dorothea?”

  A thin brow arched. “Were you expecting someone taller? The name always gives off that impression.”

  Katie laughed. “No. I’m sorry. Kaleb was just telling me about you and your daycare.”

  Dorothea sighed and turned to face the structure. “Yeah.” She shook her head, her face a mask of awe. “I’ll be honest, when Kaleb came to me, offering to rebuild my home, I was skeptical. But it’s really starting to look like something, isn’t it?” She grinned at Katie. “My own fault for doubting that boy.”