Chapter 4: Starting from scratch
1054 Words
Tiana found herself standing in front of a rundown motel hours later.
The money he had left was enough to rent a room for a few nights and maybe buy food.
The bus driver had been of great help.
A few miles away from her hometown will guarantee her father won't find her.
Now her only hope is to start over.
Work. A place of her own. And recovery.
That was the plan.
She slowly walked into the building.
Clean, smells nice. She could see herself living there for a while.
"Welcome Miss. How many nights do you want?" a girl behind the counter asked.
Tiana stared.
She was beautiful, young, and happy.
Just the way her father liked them.
She shook her head.
"Five...five nights, please. " Tiana whispered silently.
That was enough time to think.
Enough time to ensure that her plans would work.
Enough time for her wounds to heal.
The girl smiled at her, punched something on the computer and gave her a key.
Room 12.
Tiana swallowed.
She quickly removed a few notes from the envelope.
"The last room down the corridor. Have a nice stay. "
She nodded at the girl before walking slowly to her room.
The girl wasn't as chatty as Tiana had thought.
Good.
She was too tired for questions she had no answer to.
The room was small, clean and bright.
Too bright for Tiana.
She shut her eyes tightly before sliding down to the floor.
It felt cold. Just like the room she was running away from.
She shivered.
But in this room she was safe.
She had the right to dictate who came in and who didn't. A choice.
Something she hadn't had since she was young.
She dropped the small bag she carried from the hospital.
Clothes were another thing she had to consider.
But her mind was on it.
The letter.
His letter to her.
The only connection she had with him.
She ran her shaky fingers on the words again. Just like the first time in the hospital.
"You are safe now. Use this to start over"
She read the words over and over again.
She was safe. She just had to convince her body that she was safe so it would stop shaking.
She just had to start over. A fresh. On her own terms this time.
She slowly got up, wincing at the pain in her ribs.
She should be used to pain by now. As long as she could remember that was all she had known. All the world had given her.
She walked to the small double door cupboard, opening the lower drawer. She folded the letter carefully as the precious thing that it was before placing it inside.
Then the envelope. Then the bag.
She sighed.
Now she needed food and maybe sleep if her demons allowed.
She slowly walked back down to the cafeteria she had seen.
"The school has been looking for a library cleaner but no one wants to apply. They say the pay is low. " The woman in the line ahead of her complained to her friend.
That seemed to be an opportunity for Tiana.
She didn't care about the pay.
She just wanted to have something to sustain her until she got on her feet again.
That night Tiana didn't sleep. She spent the whole night planning.
The next morning she woke up early.
Cleaned herself and was on her way to school.
Turns out the cleaning wasn't that much.
She just had to arrange the books every morning before the students arrived.
She took the job and by the following week, she was able to rent a small apartment near the school.
Work was quiet just the way she wanted.
She arrived early cleaned the shelves, arranged the books and was on her way back home.
Her pay was every week which allowed her to buy some more clothes.
Weeks passed. Months passed. Years went by.
Tiana spent most of her time in her apartment if she didn't have a job at Mrs Finns.
The last couple of years she had worked as a cleaner, a waitress at the small restaurant near the school, she babysat and now she worked as a baker at Mrs Finn's.
Mrs Finn was an old lady in her 60s.
Tiana had stumbled at the place on one of her walks Months ago.
Though the woman talked too much Tiana had liked her.
Her pay was decent.
Baking was fun and she was learning.
That was until her nose bled.
Mrs Finn had been worried thinking she was sick.
"You have to go to the hospital. Things like this cannot be taken lightly. "
Tiana had brushed her off. She was okay.
She had come too far to be scared of a nosebleed.
But the headaches came.
Fatigue followed.
One time she nearly collapsed and had to promise Mrs Finn she would go to the hospital.
"You have a brain tumour." the doctor said once the results were out.
"We could remove it as it's still early and you will survive but it will be costly. "
Tiana nearly collapsed.
She had escaped death three years ago now it turns out she was still dying.
She didn't have money.
Mrs Finn's shop was only making enough for them to survive.
How the hell was she supposed to raise that kind of money?
"How much time do I have?" She asked softly.
"If the tumour is not removed then not much. Five to six months."
Tiana didn't let him add anything.
She left the room. Walked dazedly along the corridor.
She was dying and the only thing she could think about was him.
Jake.
Her stranger.
Her saviour.
She had thought about him every day for the last three years.
Thought of seeing him again.
Thanking him.
Asking why he was so nice to her.
But now she was dying. Dying without meeting him again.
Her tears flowed.
She wanted to see him even if it was the last thing life granted her.
Tiana didn't know when she walked out onto the road.
Before she knew it, a cloth was on her nose and her mind turned wozzy.
"We got her. "
That was the last thing she heard before she passed out.
- Writer
