“He told me I had disrespected his wife’s household and didn’t appreciate what they did for me. My room was messy, and I was just like my mom, a waste of space.”
I reached out to her and held her hand. Despite everything, my heart broke for her. She was the innocent party in all this mess.
“What happened after that?”
“He would find any excuse to hit me. He always did it in a way the bruises wouldn‘t show. I saw a change in his wife, too. She still ignored me but seemed happier. They even went on vacations together and weekends away. Those were good. I used to spend the whole time cleaning the house to make it reallynice for when they came back. The nicer the house looked, the longer it would take until I did something wrong again. Why weren’t you living with them?” Her change of subject took me by surprise, but I guessed she probably had as many questions about me as I did about her.
“They kicked me out when I was fourteen after I told them I’m gay.”
Her eyes widened in shock, but then there was understanding. She knew they weren’t good people. She’d lived through that. In a way,I was lucky to have been kicked out.
“Do you have a problem with me being gay? With me and Isaac being together?” It didn’t matter what she thought, but morbid curiosity made me ask the question.
“No.” She smiled and then blushed. “I think you’re reallycute together.”
“Aww, baby, see? We’re cute together,” Isaac said in a cutesy voice, so I threw him a piece of bread.
Lucy laughed. It was the first time she’d looked her age since I’d met her yesterday.
“Right, back to serious business. So you found out about me, and then what?”
“I asked Dad. He got reallymad, and this time, he hit me so bad there was a big bruise.” She touched her face where I could see the yellow coloring of the fading bruise.
“I’d already taken pictures of the documents on my phone, so one night when they were out for dinner, I packed a suitcase with some clothes and school stuff and left.”
“How did you find me?”
“I recognized you from some photos dad’s wife had hiding in a drawer. You were the person from a newspaper article she kept with the photos. It was something about volunteering with LGBTQ youth. I used to think you were just a relative, but after I saw the documents, I knew you were their son. I looked you up on the internet and found out where you worked.”
“You followed me home?”
Lucy’s dark skin went a cute shade of pink. “Yes, sorry.”
“That’s okay.”
“The first night I saw you, I didn’t know what to say, so I watched you from across the road,” she said.
“What was different last night?”
“I don’t know...I guess I couldn’t wait any longer.”
Listening to my half-sister telling her story made me feel so proud of how smart and brave she’d been. I still didn’t know what to feel, but I knew I couldn’t leave her to fend for herself. There was just one more question left to ask.
“What were you hoping to find when you were looking for me?”
“At first, I hoped you’d help me with some money so I could take a bus somewhere. The first night I was on my own, I stayed at the train station because it doesn’t close. The second night, I ran whena policewoman came to ask me some questions. That’s when I realized I’d been stupid to think I could get help from you.”
I wanted to interrupt, but Isaac put his hand on top of mine where it was resting on my shaking leg and squeezed it.
“I mean, you didn’t know about me. Why would you help? What if you had your own life and family? I decided I would figure out a way to get a job and earn money so I could leave the city, but then I found you.”
Lucy got up and picked up her rucksack again.
“Lucy, there’s a lot we have to figure out, but I would like it if you would stay with us here for now.”
“Why?”
“Because I know what it’s like to live on the streets. I was very lucky, but not everybody is. There’s enough space here, and I… we…” I said, looking at Isaac who nodded, “we would love it if you stayed.”
She came around the table and gave me a hug before going over to Isaac and doing the same.
“Thank you so much. You’re not going to regret it. I’m going to be really good; you won’t even know I’m here.”
Isaac caught my eye and simplynodded. We could let the idea settle and then talk about the details. Fuck, I hadn’t even discussed it with Isaac before I offered Lucy the spare room.
He mouthed “I love you” as Lucy got busy clearing the table. I mouthed back “I loved you more.”
