Tears of the Wings

Chapter 1:

It was another gloomy day. The gray clouds loomed overhead threatening to break and release the tension that filled them. It had been windy earlier, but now everything was still. It was the calm that rested before the storm. I couldn't go anywhere until I found some new clothes. The clothes I wore now were starting to attract attention. I also hadn't taken a bath in a week, so I had to figure that out too. A lady walking her dogs spotted me, and looked me over. I knew the expression well. I got it a lot, but it never left me without some type of fear or anxiety. I quickly dodged into a random department store, to escape her look of suspicion. It was not a clothing store, but clearly not a store a person like me would be shopping in. An employee looked at me skeptically. I blushed and stepped back outside.

It was raining now and I had lost my last umbrella to some little boy at the park. It was raining really hard, and the wind was blowing sideways. It was cold too, like ice slapping me in the face. I looked around and ran into another store, which looked more like my style. I wandered through the aisles looking only for what I needed. All the clothes seemed the same to me. Well, almost the same. They were categorized into different categories. There were arm clothes, protective clothes, clothes for the summer, and clothes for the winter. They were clothes that would give me just what I needed, warmth. The gray walls in the store made me think of a jail cell, and endless waves of guilt and fear flowed through me. This was the only way I could continue to live without winding up at a children's shelter, with a hundred other kids. All the kids are like I had been when I was their age.

I quickly made my selection and went to the changing rooms. I waited until the camera shifted and then got my number from the girl at the counter. She was about my age, and she had black hair, eye shadow, lips, nails, black everything. The stud in her nose definitely cost her some money. I looked up at the clock and saw I'd only haveto wait about five minutes until another person would start at the counter. A couple of Abercrombie and Hollister girls looked at me and laughed. I blushed again, and tripped over myself on the way to a room. They had laughed because of the way I looked after a few years on the street and a week with no bath. When I was all cleaned up, which was rare for me, I looked very pretty, I think. That was the only good thing my sister ever said to me. A couple of the homeless groups I've stayed with asked my why I don't use my looks for advantage, but I wouldn't do that. I'm not for sale.

I looked in the mirror at just how bad I had gotten. I had dirt smudged all over my face and arms. I had also lost some weight. I realized I'm really skinny, too skinny. If I didn't start eating more, soon, I could get really sick. My hair looked all matted and stuck to my head. I needed a bath. I disabled the alarm on my clothes and took it off in less than thirty seconds. Then, I put my new clothes on and went out as if I was admiring myself in the mirror. I was actually making sure the first girl had been replaced. Sure enough, a woman with red hair was standing at the counter now. I gave the number back and went to leave, but a shampoo aisle caught my eye and I stopped. I had run out two weeks ago, and people were starting to notice. I couldn't go much longer without it. I really felt bad, but I didn't have a choice. I reached out and put the smallest bottle in the pocket of my new jacket. Of course I should've noticed the security guard looking at me. I've been doing this too long not to notice it. When I walked towards the exit, trying to looks as innocent as possible, and a beefy man wearing blue stopped me and said,

"Miss, could you please empty your pockets?"

I stopped where I was, my feet suddenly glued to the floor.

"Miss?" He repeated. It was over. I had been caught. The walls were closing in and moving in different directions. The posters of random kids on the walls all seemed to be laughing at me, enjoying my pain. I'd go to juvy for a few months, then be put back in a shelter with a hundred kids, each a reminder of how alone I am.

The security guard grabbed my wrist and cuffed it, butting it behind my back and attached it to the other wrist. He read my rights, like they do on TV, so he was probably new at this. I wasn't paying attention though. I was trying to focus on my breathing. Of course the Hollister girls stopped on their way out, and decided to watch the show. I closed my eyes and I broke my rule. I felt my eyes water, and a tear ran down my cheek.

"Excuse me? Officer?" Someone said. I opened my eyes to see a boy walking towards. Well, he wasn't technically a boy; he looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, a year or two older than me. He had long, blonde hair in a pony tail. His eye colour looked to be silver, but I knew that was impossible. Wasn't it? He was beautiful.

"Yes?" The security guard said, a little angrily. This guy had interrupted his speech, which had probably taken a while to learn.

"Could you please release my sister?" said the beautiful boy.

Well, I obviously wasn't his sister, but the security guard couldn't tell. The fact that my hair wasn't washed made it look the same as his. In reality, it was perfectly straight and platinum blonde. It has a little bit of a pink tint to it, kind of strange actually.

"Your sister, huh?" asked the security guard looking like he believed it. Why else would this perfectly beautiful stranger help me? "Yes sir. I told her I was waiting outside, but then I decided to come in so there wouldn't be a misunderstanding like this. I guess we just missed each other." He said, pulling out a five dollar bill. I glanced at the security guard and saw him contemplating what he should do. He just shrugged and let me go. The boy who saved me held out his hand and I took it. He pulled me close to him and looked at me. "Thank you officer, I'm truly sorry for the misunderstanding." He said, flashing a smile that could make any girls heart melt. He was still holding my hand as the officer walked away, eying me as if I had a bomb, ready to set it off. The guy turned around to a counter. A boy with orange hair had been watching the scene. I'm guessing they got shoplifters often, but not ones that steal shampoo when there's a jewelry section not two feet away from it.

My savior paid and then led us out the door. It was still raining outside, so he got out his umbrella with a flourish and held me closer so I was under it. I suspected that was about the only reason he got out the umbrella. He led me down the street, never releasing my hand. Maybe he was a pervert…

"Um." I started, but he cut me off. "Just one more minute." He said politely. He pulled me to a little side street that looked deserted. Dirt filled the ground and weeds were growing in the cracks of the cement. I pulled away from him but he didn't let me go.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to you. I simply have a business proposition for you." He said. His eyes had a twinkle in them that never left. Even when he had gotten me out of being arrested, his eyes at least had been happy. "Huh?" I asked.

He laughed and said, "Well, I'm not exactly good at house keeping stuff, especially since I'll be starting my senior year in high school." So he was two years older than me. I'm sixteen, and this would normally be my sophomore year.

"I-I'm sorry, but-" I started walking off. "It would be live-in though, so you'd have to move in an extra bedroom." He continued. I looked in his twinkling eyes and said, "Look, thanks for back there, but I really can't help you."

"Stealing shampoo, having dirt on your face and in your hair. You look under eighteen, isn't there some type of house you should be in?" he asked way too innocently. He had caught me.

"Look, I'm sorry. But living alone with a stranger like you would be too we-" he interrupted me, again. "I have three other siblings that live with me as well, so you don't have to worry about that." He said

"Still though, I don't know you and-" I started to say, but he interrupted me, yet again.

"You won't know people at a children's shelter either, will you?" He asked, grinning evilly. He had me again. He was offering me a place to live, a home, food, or else he'd turn me over. What was the catch? Why was he so desperate? And why me? Of course I had to go back to his house with him. I could always run away later if I had to. We got to what I figured was his house, and I didn't see what the big deal was. It was a big house, but it was perfectly clean. The stone was clean, and the grass mowed. Just when I thought he was going to stop, he kept driving. So that wasn't his house. Oh. I turned around and saw some random girl walk out on the porch of her house. Not his. The road ended and a sign said DEAD END in big letters. He swerved past the sign and took a trail in the woods. This was starting to scare me now. I never said anything, because I was too scared to. My hand never left the door next to me, in case I needed to make a quick escape or something. We went around one last corner and then I finally saw the house. I had to be his, there weren't any around. It was huge. It had three stories, including an attic. The colour was a grayish smoke. Vines weren't growing on it, surprisingly. There were a lot of bugs though.

"Here we are. Oh! They're not back yet. That's good." He seemed to say the last part to himself. As we stepped out of the car, I saw him mumbling to himself, not seeming to notice me anymore. He led me to the door and put the key in. "We'll make you a spare one if you decide to stay with us." He said. He opened the door and it swung open as if on its own. Maybe this house was haunted. It wouldn't surprise me.

When I got inside I noticed two things. The first was how different it was from the outside. Inside it was light, and open. The sun filtered down through the windows. It actually seemed like a normal house, maybe it was. That's when I noticed the second thing about it. It was a mess. I don't know how they were able to walk through the house without falling and killing themselves. There was so much trash everywhere. It's going to take forever to clean it. Didn't the girls in the house care how it looked? I wondered. They had made a path to get through the house. The guy, whose name is still didn't know, walking in front of me, showing me where to step and where not to step. He stopped in front of the bathroom and opened the door. It was surprisingly clean except for all of the towels on the floor. "Okay, you can wash up in here." He said. He closed the door and let me take a bath in an actual bath tub. It was the first time in seven years. He knocked on the door and opened it real quick. "Oh and if you run into anyone other than me and they ask about you, tell them it's because of Romeo, okay?" He said, and walked out laughing to himself. I took off my clothes consciously aware. I always looked behind me to make sure he wasn't peeking or anything. I turned the water on really hot, it was cold outside. I stepped in, and it felt so good. It was nice and warm, and it felt good to know that I was stepping in clean, clear, purified water. I turned the actual shower on and steam filled the bathroom. The hot water made my muscles relax and unwind for the first time in way too long. I took a ten minute shower then got out. I didn't want to use all the water. I put my clothes on and went out into the hallway.

It was so messy! I was amazed by how they could even fit all this trash in here. I went back to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror to really analyzed myself. I looked a lot better now, and you could actually see what colour my hair is. My hair had always been an unusual colour. I didn't use any coloring or dye, despite what many people think. My hair isn't blonde, and it isn't red. It's in between. I know there's strawberry blonde, but my colour is different. It has a pink tint to the blonde. It looks sort of exotic, and I liked it. When I opened the door, I bumped into someone with brown hair and brown eyes. He was really good looking. His mouth turned into an almost snarl, and his eyes were furious. "What are you doing here?" He growled.