Golden POV – Thinking About How Her Mom Kicked Her Out and She Was Living in an Abandoned House, Then Maddox Came to Talk to Her
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKkKyblq5gP
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRrdb3J3Gx
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ioEdoi4Vj
I didn’t eat lunch that day. Couldn’t.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSkWYviLW2H
The tray in front of me sat untouched as I sat by myself at the back of the school near the rusted gate—where nobody ever came unless they were trying to skip class or hide. I wasn’t hiding though. Not really. I just needed somewhere I could breathe without pretending.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡernuMICVTO
My hands were freezing, even though it was warm out. I guess cold floors and cracked windows’ll do that to you after a few nights.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkd6Usuezm
Mom kicked me out again.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡge1vQG836D
It wasn’t the first time. Probably wouldn’t be the last.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDS9Kkt4zA
All because I had something to say about that man she was with. Another no-good dude who talked down to her, and tried it with me. When I stood up for myself, she chose him. Again. Like always. Like I was the extra in her life and not her daughter.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡln3oU4WHpP
So I grabbed my backpack and didn’t look back. Found my way into one of those old, boarded-up houses two streets down. Nobody bothered me there. Just dust, old memories, and the sound of silence.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtToj3Q5YT
I blinked hard, swallowing the lump in my throat. I didn’t cry. Not anymore.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfkTgblofP
“Yo, Golden.”
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQyxESGGPM
His voice broke through the wall I’d built around my thoughts.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeIniBnKQyZ
Maddox.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVO4EoqmxVi
I didn’t even look up at first. Just rolled my eyes to myself. The last thing I needed was some boy with a pretty face and hood fame coming over to make me feel seen when I was trying not to be.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1y638MPcHS
But he didn’t leave.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOdiYwEc9rw
“You been ghost lately,” he said, his tone lower now. Like he wasn’t just making conversation—like he noticed. “What’s up with you?”
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4x7ggi4FbH
I finally looked up at him, my jaw tight. “Nothing. I’m good.”
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDSux7TuPQ
He didn’t believe me. I could see it in the way his eyes didn’t move. Just locked on me like he could hear everything I wasn’t saying.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUNBLaihab
“You don’t look good,” he said honestly, but not unkind. “You look like you sleepin’ somewhere you ain’t supposed to.”
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhRKEUiaEMp
That made my stomach twist.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgxyAv5yLk
I shifted on the concrete step, hugging my arms around myself. “Why you care, Maddox? I’m not your problem.”
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3h5DII38t
He leaned against the fence next to me, quiet for a second. “I care ‘cause I see you. Even when you think nobody does.”
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADAKN9mloE
I stared down at my scuffed-up shoes, heart thudding way too loud in my chest.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vAf7d6xzX
“You ever need anything,” he added, voice low like a secret, “you say the word. For real.”
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡviJhiTllIK
I didn’t respond.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySneS6hs3b
But something about the way he said it—steady, no pressure—settled in my chest. Like maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t completely alone out here.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiTQzMjFqy5
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOafFcjyOx5
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSaWwNTNyN
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbFMaw1eqr
