“I’m serious, Elijah. I don’t want to go home.”
“Salem, we can handle this.”
“Can’t I come stay with you?” I begged.
“Salem, you graduate next month. We need to wait.”
I pushed out of his arms and took a step back away from him. I shook my head at him.
“Then this is goodbye, Elijah, because I’m not going home.”
“Salem, you’re upset, and understandably so. You can’t come live with me yet, but I have a friend who has a place that I can take you. I don’t want you on the streets. Okay?”
I stared at him and wiped my eyes with the back of my sweatshirt-covered hand.
“I don’t have to go home?”
“No, Miss Peace. I have a place for you until you graduate. Are you sure you don’t want to go home?”
“I’m sure. Take me to your friend’s place, please.”
“Okay. We’ll go now, Salem.”
We walked to his SUV, and Elijah opened the passenger door for me. I put on the seat belt and leaned against the seat until Elijah got in. He started the engine, and before pulling out of the spot, Elijah opened the center console and retrieved an orange plastic pill bottle. He poured a pill into his hand and held it out to me.
“This is a muscle relaxer. It’ll calm your nerves,” Elijah explained.
I put the pill on my tongue and took my bottle of water out of my backpack. I swallowed the pill and leaned back in the seat.
“Will things be okay, Elijah?”
“They will. Trust me.”
“I do. Will we still talk?”
“Of course. I’ll come over, and we’ll continue our talks. I’ll come get you on Saturdays, and we’ll go to the Heritage Library and work on our ancestry projects.”
“Okay, I brought my genealogy notebook.”
“Good. I’ll keep it with me.”
As we drove, I could feel the pill working its magic and felt that I was calmer. I actually felt incredibly tired, and Elijah noticed.
“Are you starting to feel a little tired?”
“I am. Do you think your friend would mind if I took a little nap?”
“Not at all. He has a home with a handful of other kids who are a little older than you. He provides shelter and food for young adults who aren’t able to go home or flat out don’t want to.”
“Are you sure he won’t mind another one?”
“Oh, I’m sure. You’re very quiet and well mannered. He won’t mind at all.”
At this point, anywhere would be better than going home. I never wanted to see Thomas again. On our drive, Elijah told me that chances were that my mom had known what was going to happen and that was why she’d left with her friends. Sadly, I thought he was probably right. After all, she didn’t seem to care that I was going to be at last night’s party. All of the other parties she’d complained and was adamant about me not attending, but last night’s gathering she’d disappeared and made sure she wasn’t around.
“We’re here. Come on, Miss Peace,” Elijah encouraged.
“I’m so tired. I think I could sleep in your car,” I joked as I got out of the car.
