Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 31838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
The problem is: how?
2
Ellen
I check the times at the bus stop and sigh. There isn’t a vehicle out of here for at least another hour, so I’m stuck. Besides, where would I go? How far will my money take me? I have no idea, and as a result, I start walking in no particular direction. It’s not going to make a difference, anyways.
Stop thinking like that, the voice in my head chides fiercely. Being negative never got anyone anywhere, and you have responsibilities now.
The reminder only makes me more depressed, and my feet slow to a trudge. I walk for a while, each step becoming slower and increasingly filled with dread. What can I do? Where should I go? Maybe I should head back to campus and throw myself at the mercy of the Housing Office. But are they even around during summers? I have no idea.
The heat starts rising as I trudge down the street, weighted down with bags on both shoulders. Angela’s neighborhood is decent, although I’ve only visited once, for winter break a couple months back. I didn’t see much then because I spent most of my time locked in the bedroom, hoping to avoid Angela and her boyfriend-of-the-moment, Barry. He was as thin as a whip with a tobacco-stained mustache that grossed me out. But despite his unattractive appearance, Barry and Angela were always going at it in the master bedroom. There was so much moaning and pounding that I started wearing ear plugs while counting the days until I could return to campus.
It’s funny, but I spent my time during that Christmas break fantasizing about the frat boys Kimber and I’d recently met, wondering what it would be like to have sex with one of them. Little did I know, of course, that I’d end up having sex with several of them, and getting pregnant without knowing who the father is. But such is life, and I don’t regret it.
I pause for a moment on my trek and consider calling Kimber. But then I shake my head because I know Kimber’s at home with her mom and stepdad for the summer, and she told me that her stepdad is a piece of work. He’s very controlling, not to mention devious, and she’s got her hands full.
Then I consider calling Cleo, another friend of mine, but she’s pregnant and about to give birth. I don’t want to bother her right now, not when she and Brody are expecting a baby any minute.
Sweat starts to trickle down my neck and into my cleavage, pooling there. A groan of irritation escapes my lips because having such huge breasts has always come with the discomfort of boob sweat. But now that they’re ginormous and swollen because of my pregnancy, it’s extra uncomfortable.
And it’s only getting hotter. The sidewalk practically steams with visible heat, and I swear, you could fry an egg on the cement surface. Clearly, I need to find a place to go, and fast. Even a coffee shop with some AC would do for now, but this neighborhood is so suburban that there doesn’t seem to be anything like that around.
Fuck. Homeless shelter it is, then. Shifting my bags awkwardly into one hand, I whip out my phone and begin a search. Hopefully, there’s one within a reasonable distance, although I might have to go back to the bus stop to catch a ride.
Blinking the hot sting of sweat out of my eyes, I focus on the task at hand, and scroll through a list of local homeless shelters nearby. Oh shit, the closest one is almost five miles away, which means that it’s back to the bus stop for me. I definitely can’t afford a taxi, and an Uber is even more out of the picture. This is going to be a difficult trek, seeing that my legs feel like lead and sweat’s already making the back of my top stick like second skin.
But then, a car comes barreling out of nowhere, headed right towards me. Hey, what are they doing? I jump out of the way just in time before it comes to a screeching halt mere inches away. Shocked, I clutch my belly as my heart races because that was close, and now that it's not just me anymore, I need to be more careful! My pulse thrums from the near miss, and I try to catch my breath.
The door to the vehicle clicks open, and I expect to see the driver rush out to apologize. But instead, a very angry man gets out, his face a thundercloud.
“Are you insane?” he rages in the deepest voice I’ve ever heard. “What the hell are you thinking, crossing the street with your head buried in your phone like that?” he continues as he rips his sunglasses off to glare at me. His eyes are a piercing blue, and they flash angrily, making my eyes sting with tears all over again.