Cherished

10

Eva went back to ignoring and avoiding everyone but Kenzie, Bri and Rosetta.

She had let Miles and Pierce get way too close, and she had a suspicion about them that put her on edge.

"Flip that chicken over for me, honey," Rosetta said, powering up a blender. She was working on dinner.

"Hi, Rosetta," Graham greeted as he stepped into the kitchen. "Hi, Eva."

He went to the fridge, pulling out some juice. It wasn't orange this week. It was grape or something like it.

Eva hadn't seen him for awhile, and she didn't want to. Eva looked at Rosetta pleadingly, hoping she would understand her message.

"Graham, I need help in the pantry for a moment. Do you mind?"

Graham agreed, stepping into the massive walk-in pantry with Rosetta. Eva took that as her cue to get out of there.

She took the long way to avoid people. She was exiting the garage, intending to go back up to her room, when she noticed something strange.

Kenzie was kissing who Eva assumed was her boyfriend. His car was pulled up right in front of the house, and one of the back doors were open.

Eva didn't let herself think about it too much, she just got in the backseat. This car was huge, with three rows. She sat on the floor of the very back row between the two seats on the driver side, hoping this worked.

She listened as Logan talked to Kenzie.

"I'm working the night shift at the shelter, so I don't expect you to wait up for me, baby. I don't get done until about 7 o'clock." he said. "Francis called in sick, so I told Graham I would fill in."

"I packed you some snacks in that bag," Kenzie said, shutting the door Eva had just snuck in through. She couldn't really hear what else they were saying.

Eva stayed curled up for the ride to wherever the shelter was. She had a lot to think about. For one, it was going to be dark in just a little bit. She was better off staying in the car until morning, even if it were cold.

The other thing was money. She couldn't go anywhere without it. She would have to look around in Logan's car for something.

Logan pulled into the shelter that was at the heart of town. He took the bag from the backseat, and disappeared inside.

Eva finally stretched out with a sigh of relief. What was she even thinking? Did she really expect the world out there to be any better? She didn't know how the world worked.

The car grew cold quickly, but Eva didn't mind. She looked around the car for some money, finding five dollars in the console between the front seats.

She wasn't stealing. She told herself she was just borrowing the money, and she would send it back to Logan as soon as she got more.

She dozed for a bit, until the sun started to break way through the sky. She unlocked the car to get out.

It was colder outside than it was in. The wind nipped at her ears, burning her cheeks. She shivered as she walked down the street.

She didn't know what she was doing. No one had hurt her in weeks. She had a warm bed, and hot meals, and she had Kenzie and Bri and Rosetta. Maybe she should just go back to Logan and explain everything.

She turned around to walk back to the shelter, but Logan's car was gone. It was too late.

There was a familiar fear that wound itself throughout her entire body, making her legs tremble. It was the same type of fear she felt at the many auctions. It was the fear of the unknown. This time, it was her own doing.

Not much was open this early, so Eva found a bench to sit on. The sun broke out into a beautiful pink and orange that scattered across the whole sky, reflecting off of the clouds.

It wasn't long before the streets filled with people going about there Saturday, and there seemed to be a bunch of people gathering at the end of the street. Eva stood up to go see what was going on. 

It was a market with all kinds of homemade goods. There were wool gloves and hats, fresh bread, jams and jellies. She had never seen anything like it.

For a moment, she imagined herself as a different person, a person who was spending their Saturday morning with their family, walking up and down the rows of vendors, finding treats to bring home to enjoy.

She wished she could just spend the five dollars on whatever she wanted, but she knew she needed to put it towards better use.

She was admiring a booth with different spices when she was grabbed roughly from behind.

"I know you," her old master growled, still yanking on her shoulder.