Strangely Normal

chapter 22


Miraculously, I found a taxi without much effort, and I paid for a ride back to the mansion. I told Tilly that Finley was all right but that I’d returned to pick her up a few things. I looked in on Some Pig. He had curled up on her bed. He lifted his snout as I kissed him on the head and then I went to my room to pack my few belongings into my broken duffle. The only place I could think of going was our old apartment. I still had a key, and technically, it belonged to my parents for a few more days. I had no idea how to find my family, but I was a big girl and I would figure things out once I got there. I was still sick and numb with heartbreak, but I would get over it. The survival instincts I’d developed through my tumultuous childhood years had kicked in.

The taxi dropped me at the bus stop, and I pulled my sweatshirt hood up onto my head and slumped onto the bench to wait for the next bus. Unbidden, my thoughts went back to the day that Jude had gone with me to see my parents. We’d spent the entire day together, and it was that day when I’d seen him outside of his world of luxury and privilege that I knew he was worth falling for. I’d been horrified at the thought of him seeing our shabby apartment, but he’d never shown even an ounce of shock or pity at the way we lived. And we’d ended that day with his second failed attempt at painting me, a failed attempt that made my skin warm just thinking about it.

A burst of air pushed my hood back. The bus had arrived. Once again, my limbs felt filled with lead as I picked up my duffle and climbed aboard. This time I avoided the back seats. My only fear was that the sleazy landlord had taken advantage and overlapped the lease on the apartment. Then I’d have to find a cheap hotel to live in. I had some money in the bank from my first paycheck, but motel rent would eat it up quickly.

The bus ride seemed interminably long, and I sighed with relief as it finally pulled to a stop near the all too familiar mini mart. I stepped inside the small store. The store manager looked surprised to see me.

“You didn’t leave with your family?” he asked.

I put the milk and a newspaper on the counter and shook my head. I paid him and wandered down the sidewalk past the quiet, dark construction site. I doubted that Cole would be showing to work any time soon, but I would avoid walking past it just in case. I was fairly certain that Jude never told him that my family lived nearby.

Televisions flickered through the thin, worn curtains covering the apartment windows, and I could hear the Spencers in one of their usual yell fests. I plodded up the stairs and was happy to see that our apartment was completely dark.

The smell of stale smoke wafted through the air of the cold, empty room. I reached for the light and was relieved to see that the electricity had not been turned off. It looked bleak and vacant without Sophie and Janie scurrying around with their giggles and fluffy socks. My disgusting, lumpy sofa bed was still sitting in the center of the room, and it couldn’t have looked more inviting. Mom had packed all the sheets and blankets, so I stayed in my jeans and sweatshirt.

I drank a cup of milk to soothe the pain that burned a hole in my stomach and then I yanked out the lumpy mattress and sank into the giant hole. I pulled the hood up over my head, curled up into a ball, and cried myself to sleep.

It could not have been much past six in the morning when a loud knock startled me from a deep sleep.

“Eden,” Jude’s deep voice echoed along the second story balcony. He pounded the door again. “Eden, please let me in. I need to know you’re all right.” A long pause followed but I hadn’t heard his footsteps recede. “Please, Eden, let me in. Finley’s asking for you.” His voice had dropped low, and there was enough sorrow in his tone to nearly propel me from the bed to the door.

But I stayed quiet as a statue in the center of the worn mattress, not even daring to breathe. I worried that if I let myself breathe, it would break my resolve and I would go to him. I would have given anything to throw myself into his solid, comforting arms, but he’d torn my heart in two pieces the night before and there was no way to repair the damage. Finally his heavy footsteps pounded the balcony and the staircase. His bike fired up, and he tore out of the driveway and out of my life for good.

I had no time to allow myself the luxury of wallowing in heartbreak and self-pity. I needed a job and a place to live. I had no way to contact my parents, but in a way, it seemed like a good thing. Being on my own had been freeing, and for once in my life, I felt like I could shape my future in the way I wanted it to go. Besides, it had to be much easier on my parents to have one less mouth to feed.

I spread the classifieds out on the mattress and perused them for a long time before I found a promising job as a diner waitress that offered free room and board over the business if I was willing to open the place at six in the morning. It was all the way across town in a rather unpleasant section of Los Angeles, but I couldn’t be choosy. I had worked at a diner during my junior year, and while the work was hard it wasn’t entirely awful.

I picked up the phone. It hadn’t been disconnected yet. I called and got an interview with the owner, a man named Billy, who had a southern accent and who liked to use the contraction y’all.

My biggest problem was a lack of wardrobe. I walked into my parent’s room for the first time since I’d gotten back. The few clothes I’d left behind in Mom’s closet were gone. Aside from the bed and dresser, they’d stripped the room bare. I decided to take a walk down to the thrift shop and pick up a few items.

The landlord was just coming up the stairs with two guys. His eyes opened wide when he saw me at the top. “Eden, your parents told me you were away at a summer job.”

“I was, Mr. Deeter.”

“Uh, I was planning on renting the place out. If you’re staying, I’ll need a deposit.”

“I’m not staying, but according to my calculations, my parents still have this place until Saturday.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but he really had nothing to say. “You need to be out on Saturday then. Is it all right if I show these two the apartment?”

“Yes.” I headed downstairs, and as I passed them, Mr. Deeter stopped me.

“I nearly forgot. Your parents gave me a phone number in case I saw you.” He fished into his pocket and pulled out several pieces of crumpled papers. He sorted through them until he found the one he needed. A phone number was scrawled on it.

“Thank you so much.” I had to hurry and find a dress, so I could catch a bus ride across town. The construction site was already in full swing, but as expected, I didn’t see Cole’s truck. I nearly ran past the site as I headed to the thrift store. I had my parent’s number now, and I would call them as soon as I got back to the apartment. If the diner job didn’t pan out, at least I had a place to go.