Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
We reach the corner and turn it and I see the girl was right. A Travel Lodge sits on the corner of the next block. “What’s your name?” I ask.
“Gemma,” she answers. “What’s yours?”
“Finn,” I reply. “How long have you been on the streets?”
“Only about three months, but it already feels like too long.”
“A day is too long.”
“Yeah,” she sadly replies.
“It’s going to be okay, Gemma. Ashley... she’s good at this stuff. She’ll find a way to help you. I promise.”
I know it’s a promise Ashley might not be able to come through on, but there’s something about this kid. She’s seen too much, been through too much, but I get the feeling there’s still hope for her. She’s a little cynical, who wouldn’t be at this point, but she doesn’t seem like she’s beaten. I admire her fighting spirit and I decide in that moment, if this foster thing doesn’t work out, I’ll make sure this kid is okay. If I have to pay for a little apartment for her while she finishes school and sorts herself out, then I will do it.
We reach the Travel Lodge.
Gemma hangs back a little watching me.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I guess I still hadn’t let myself believe this was for real. I was waiting for you to laugh and walk away from me,” she admits.
“That’s not going to happen,” I reassure her.
I want to say more, but I don’t have the words to explain to someone like Gemma that not everyone who offers their help is a total dick. How can I convince her through words when every action she’s seen up until this point argues against the idea? Actions speak louder than words and maybe by actually going through with this, she’ll see that not everyone in the world is bad.
I pull the door to the Travel Lodge open and we go inside.
“Hi,” I say to the woman at the reception desk. “I need to book a room. I don’t want to know the number of the room, I just want to pay for it for the next month and add breakfast and dinner too.”
The desk clerk stares at me like I’ve gone insane.
I have no way to explain this without humiliating Gemma.
Gemma, it seems, has no such qualms. “Don’t look at him like that, he’s trying to be nice. I’m homeless and he’s getting me this room because… well because I think he’s trying to impress a girl. And he doesn’t want to know the room number, so I don’t think he’s a creep.”
“Okay,” the clerk says.
Gemma grins at me.
The desk clerk types into her screen for a moment and I hand her my card. I finish the transaction and nod to the couches at the back of the hotel lobby. “Get the key to your room. I’ll be over here,” I say and go sit down.
Gemma joins me a couple of minutes later with a key card in her hands. “Thank you,” she says with tears shining in her eyes. She blinks quickly and recovers herself, grinning at me. “I hope Ashley is worth it.”
“She is,” I assert. “But this isn’t just about impressing her. You know that, right?”
“Sure.” Gemma shrugs.
I’m not convinced she does but I can live with her thinking I have an ulterior motive when it’s only something as innocent as impressing Ashley. At least, I think Gemma has realized I don’t have any intentions of hurting her in any way and that’s enough for me. I want her to feel safe here. “I’m going to tell Ashley where you’re staying so she can contact you, okay?”
Gemma nods.
“Do you need anything else? Clothes or anything?”
“No. You’ve done more than enough for me already. I have clothes in my backpack and now I have somewhere to wash them. And the room will have toiletries and everything. I can even wash my hair.” She smiles at the thought of such a simple pleasure, one that I completely take for granted.
I nod and stand up. “It was nice to meet you, Gemma. And I really hope everything works out for you.” I start to walk away.
“Two-seventy-nine,” Gemma shouts.
I turn back. “Huh?”
“My room number. Just so you know I don’t think you’re like those others,” She beams at me.
I smile back at her, touched by the gesture. Her trust is all she has to give and she’s given it to me. “Good luck, Gemma.”
Suddenly, she runs towards me and throws her arms around me.
I hug her back awkwardly for a moment.
She clings to me, holding me so tightly it almost hurts then she releases me and steps back. “And good luck to you too. Go get your girl.” She turns and heads for the stairs.
I walk back to my car, satisfied that if nothing else, at least I’ve made a small difference to Gemma’s life. I check my phone when I get back into my car and see I have three missed calls from Tyson. Helping Gemma is the first time in three days I haven’t been thinking constantly of Ashley. The irony of that isn’t lost on me.