Close Your Eyes: Book Four

Chapter Eight

I'm posting this while my sister waits for me to hurry up and finish it so we can watch the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy lol

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Liam

I raise my fist and knock on the window of the crappy Toyota Camry.

I can hear movement inside the car, but she doesn't open the door.

I knock harder, and finally I hear the lock click.

She pushes open the door.

"What?" she snaps. Her eyes widen when they land on me. "Liam?"

"Lindsay," I say sadly.

She stumbles out of the small car, walking into my arms.

She's so skinny. I can feel her spine.

"What are you doing here?" she pulls away to look at me. "How did you find me? How did you know where I go to college? Oh god, Liam! Did you call Mom? Did she ask you to come check on me? You can't tell her where I am, Liam. You just can't, okay? I'm trying to-to better myself! To get away from her and my dead father! I don't want to go back to Hawaii, Liam! You can't tell her you found me!"

I sigh slowly and open the door to her car wider, peeking inside.

She has a grocery bag of half eaten sandwiches and a blanket on each window.

She has no pillow, nothing.

And those half eaten sandwiches...they have to be from the trash.

"This is not better, Lindsay," I say to her.

"Liam, you can't call her!" she grabs my arm. "You can't tell her! Please!"

I reach into the car and grab the grocery bag.

"Lindsay, there are bugs in here. Do you even have a job?"

"I've been trying to find one but-but I don't have an address and I'm not sure how to apply without an address! And everything is online but I don't have a phone and since I don't go to school here anymore I can't use the computers-"

"How much money do you have in your bank account?" I ask her sharply. "When is the last time you ate food that you didn't get from the garbage?"

"I-" she looks like she's going to start crying. "I'm in the negatives right now but I'm trying to make some money, Liam, I swear!"

"How are you making money?" I demand. "What are you selling? Drugs?"

"No!" she exclaims. "I told my computer and, and some other stuff like some clothes-"

"You're selling your clothes?" I ask her. "Winter is coming! How are you planning to survive?!"

"I'll figure it out!"

"And what about this car? Do you have insurance?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Do you have health insurance? If you're planning to live out in the cold, you're going to get sick. How do you plan to survive that?"

"No, I don't have health insurance because Mom cancelled it but I-I can go to the free clinic!"

"And how do you plan to get there, huh? While you're sick, with a car that you can't drive? You can't take uber because you don't have a phone to call one, or any money to pay for one!"