Rain came pouring down, like the clouds were dumping buckets after buckets of water. Wiping her face, she turns her gaze towards the gray sky. It seemed so inviting, and she couldn’t help but feel as if she could spread her arms out, and fly away.

Because if she could do that, then she would be free.

-

Sitting on the curb with a void expression, she stares at her hands. Dirt decided to make a home in her fingernails, and in a whole, her hands have seen better days. Her hair, she knew, was a mess. No tangles, seeing how she brought a brush with her, but she hadn’t taken a shower in...how many days had it been since she decided that leaving was the only way she could survive?

Thinking back on it, she can’t believe she ever thought that. She rather take the harsh words her parents threw at her then deal with the bitter, cold winds of December. Christmas was around the corner, and she wouldn’t be home. Her first christmas alone.

But she didn’t mind, she decided. No, not at all.

Because she was wrong to regret her decision to leave. Living on the streets was better than hiding in her closet and hoping her father wouldn’t find her while he was on one of his drunken rampages.

-

Christmas brought her standing in front of the public pool. It wasn’t open, because who would be crazy enough to swim during winter? But it wasn’t necessarily the pool that brought her here, it was the showers that lay within.

Checking her surroundings, she holds her breath. If she were to get caught now, then everything would be ruined. They would either arrest her for trespassing, or bring her back to the people she was running from.

Scrambling up the trunk of the tree closest to the fence, she gazes at the barbed wire. It would be a pain in the ass to get over, but she could practically hear the showers screaming at her to hurry the hell up. So, without really thinking, she launches herself off of the sturdy branch she was clinging to. She passes the barbed wire, but does not escape without a scratch. She misjudged what her actual plan was, and hit the concrete with a painful smack.

It wasn’t too far of a fall, but it was enough to make her vision go black for a moment. Standing on shaky legs, she checks herself for any injuries. Her left leg had a scratch down the end of it, and the side she landed on was bruised.

No broken bones, and not too much blood. It went better than she thought.

Deciding that her bleeding leg could wait till after a warm shower, she enters the woman’s restroom. She had soap from the convenience store she passed on the way here. She wasn’t proud of stealing, but she still found it surprising how easy it was to snatch something every now and again and stuff it into her bag.

Stepping out of her shoes, she takes a deep breath. Her side hurt like a b****, but she has had worse. Much, much worse. This was nothing compared to what her father would do while drunk.

Deciding not to think of that, she steps into the shower.

-

When she exits the shower, clean for the first time in weeks, she steps out into the cold winter air. Her plan was to shower, get her stuff, patch up her injury, and exit the place.

What wasn’t part of her plan, was seeing another girl sitting by the pools edge. She hadn’t spoken to anyone since she left the house, and she didn’t want to start talking now. But curiosity got the best of her. Who was this girl, and why was she here? Did she have the same idea she had? To shower?

But if that was the case, then she should be nice and inform her that the showers were free for her to use now.

Letting her feet think for her, she finds herself walking across the concrete. She reaches the edge of the pool, blinking slowly. This girl seemed around her age, with short, dyed blonde hair. Her eyes were narrowed, staring into the water.

“It’s rude to stare.” The stranger speaks up, causing her to jump back in surprise.

“S-Sorry. I just- uh, who are you?” She blurts out, momentarily forgetting how talking actually worked.

The girl smiles slightly, tilting her head to the side. “Jade. And, you are?” She introduces herself, but the question catches her off guard.

No one has asked her her name in weeks. She hadn’t uttered the syllables in days.

“I’m...I’m Lillian.” She croaks out, hanging her head.

“Well, Lillian, it’s nice to meet you. What brought you here?” She questioned, raising an eyebrow.
“Uh...to shower.” She answers, slowly moving to sit beside the girl.

“Before you ask, I just like the peace and quiet. It’s peaceful, looking into the water.” Jade mumbles, gazing into the water. She then jerks her head up, her wide eyes meeting Lillian’s tired ones.

“Let’s go fix up your leg.”

“What?”

“Your leg. It’s bleeding.”

“Huh? Oh- oh! Right, yeah, wait no. You don’t need to help-”

“Nonsense, we’re friends now, right?”

“Um..yeah. Right.”

Without another word, Jade gently grabs her wrist, and drags her away to patch up her leg.

-

They stayed at the pool for another week, huddling inside the showers on most days. It was too cold out to just stand around outside.

With Jade around, Lillian found that she wasn’t bored all the time. She had someone to talk and laugh with, someone to distract her from all of the thoughts swimming in her head. She had someone who she could call a friend, something she had never actually had back home.

What the two of them didn’t expect, was for someone to come to the pool. They didn’t know who he was, but by the uniform he was wearing, they both concluded he was a cop. They stayed in the girls restroom, not really thinking that a guy would wander in here so aimlessly.

But that was exactly what happened. He pushed open the door, causing both girls to freeze in fear. Both faces went pale, their eyes blown wide.

“Ah, so that’s who they saw.” The cop mumbles under his breath, placing his hands on his hips. “Alright, ladies. This isn’t some shelter for runaways. At the moment, you’re trespassing.” He informs, motioning for them to exit the restroom.

Lillian glances at Jade, gulping. Instead of letting the cop intimidate her, Jade leads the way out. They stand shivering in the cold air, looking at the cop with irritation.

“Okay, let’s get you guys home.” He sighs, running a hand through his hair.

“I don’t have a home.” Lillian blurts out, her cheeks dusting pink. She just lied to a cop- but hopefully he would just think the cold was getting to her.

“I don’t either.” Jade mumbles, shoving her hands into her pockets.

The cop sighs deeply, shaking his head. “Alright, alright, but you can’t stay here. Let’s get going.” He orders, gently hoarding them out of the area.

-

The cop stayed silent for the most part, just speaking up to ask their names and ages. They both easily informed him that they were sixteen, but quickly lied about their identities.

The long car ride came to a stop thirty minutes later. He parked in front of an old looking building that looked like it could use some remodeling.

“Go on. I called ahead to inform them that you two were coming.”

“What is this place?” Jade asks, giving a disgusted look towards the run down place.

“It’s a shelter, okay? I have a really busy schedule, so if you could hurry up, that would be great.” He says as kindly as he could manage, resisting the urge to yell.

Jade opens her mouth to argue, but Lillian gently pulls on her sleeve, pulling her out of the car. She gives a small ‘thank you’ to the cop, glad that there were no charges against them for trespassing. After saying her goodbye, she turns towards the building.

It didn’t look like much, but she had a feeling it would be better than her old home and the pool.

Lillian knew that it could be worse, but with a new home and a new friend by her, she felt as if things were finally looking up for her. She felt as if she was finally starting to become free.