Mothers Mercy

4.

I walked for days to get as far away from Julie and Henry as possible. Some nights I slept with other homeless people, some nights I slept alone when I found a quiet spot, but those nights I didn’t gat any deep sleep, as I was more aware of what happened around me. For food I had to dumpster dive. I had no money, no home, no family.

I got the occasional offer - food or a bed to sleep in for a blowjob or s*x. Although I was tempted at times I always said no. I remembered what my mom had told me, when I came home and told her I had gotten a boyfriend.

“Honey, the most valuable thing you own is your virginity. You only have one, and once it’s gone, no money can buy you a new one. Do not give it away to someone who doesn’t deserve it.”

And then the most tragicomic meeting in my entire life happened.

I was walking along a road that seemed to continue forever and I thought that it was a possibility that I wouldn’t get any sleep that night, cause I wasn’t sleeping out here in the open without any protection. I had no idea what animals might roam these places in the night. There were no trees, bushes, no water - just sun and endless miles of road.

That was when I saw the car in the horizon. I instantly got scared that it was Julie or Henry looking for me, but how would they know where to look almost 3 weeks after they had thrown me out? I followed the car with my eyes and when it came close to me it slowed down. I panicked inside but quickly saw that it was neither Julie or Henry. A friendly older woman was driving, no one else was in the car. She rolled down her window when she was right beside me.

“Hello Darling. Where are you going out here in the middle of nowhere?” she asked me with frowned brows, almost like she was suspicious of something.

“Nowhere. I don’t know where I’m going, I just know I’m not going back.”

“You don’t have a place in mind?”

“No, not really.”

“You have any family? You wanna borrow a phone?”

“No, thank you. I don’t have any family anymore. Mom dead, dad in jail, shitty foster care.”

“I can give you a place to stay. You must work for me, but other than that, it will be free.”

“I can’t. I don’t want to trouble you.”

“Oh Darling, you are most certainly not. I have 10 girls back home, who are like you. I’m Mother to them. Hop in, I can show you my place, and if you want to leave, you can do that.”

And then I got in Mothers car.