Free Believe Like a Child by Paige Dearth

safe she had once felt in this very room. Now, it was like looking at a picture in a book. She longed for that same sense of security, but all that she could feel here now was pain.
    Zoe returned before she had finished packing and handed her an envelope. Inside was 2,000 dollars—in cash.
    “A place in the city will be expensive,” Zoe explained. “This should keep you going long enough to find a job. I called and made you a reservation for two nights at the Travelodge Motel in Philadelphia. It’s located on Race Street. Here’s the address. The reservation is under my name—Zoe. I will drop you off at the Norristown train station; you need to take the train to Thirtieth Street station and get a cab from there to the hotel. Tomorrow, you’ll have to find a more permanent place to stay. I only booked the hotel room for two nights. If they come looking for you, I don’t want them finding out that I have a room being charged to my credit card in the city, when I am living right here in my home.” Zoe paused for breath. “Here,” she said, “take Rhonda’s school identification so that you have something with you, in case they ask to see it at the Travelodge.” Zoe thrust the card into Alessa’s palm.
    The two of them carried the large duffle bag Alessa had packed with some of Rhonda’s clothes out to Zoe’s car and placed it in the trunk. Alessa placed the envelope with the 2,000 dollars inside a small purse Rhonda had always used. When they got to the Norristown train station, Zoe helped Alessa up to the platform. The two turned to face each other and clung together in a long, final embrace, neither of them wanting to let go, both feeling, unreasonably, that if they held on long enough, Rhonda might reappear and join them.
    They were both crying as Zoe turned to leave the platform.
    Alessa called out, “I love you, Zoe. Thank you for everything!”
    Zoe turned back and cupped the young girl’s face in her hands. “I love you too, honey. I am so very sorry for all that you have gone through with your uncle. I wish there was a way I could help you heal. You are a very special young woman. Great things are in store for you. I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but some day, you will know just how special you are. Promise me that you will always carry Rhonda in your heart.”
    “I promise, Zoe,” Alessa said. “Rhonda will live in my heart forever.”
    At that moment, the train entered the station and came to a stop. Alessa turned and boarded it, thinking how lucky she was to have known Zoe.

Chapter Eight

     
    A lessa arrived at the Travelodge Motel on Race Street on Saturday afternoon, completely worn out. It had been an exhausting morning and she knew the hardest task still lay ahead: finding a permanent place to live in the next day and a half. Outside the Travelodge, she noticed a crowd of men standing off to the side of the building next door. They all looked lost and lonely. Many wore shabby old clothes and were unshaven. She looked at the sign above the door outside which they waited: St. John’s Hospice. It was a shelter for homeless men and a soup kitchen. Alessa held her small purse closer against her body, worried that those men might try and snatch it from her and take all of her money.
    As she passed them, though, it was evident that her presence hadn’t even registered with them. Relieved that she was invisible to these men, Alessa entered the Travelodge, one door down from the shelter. Once inside the lobby, she felt safe and couldn’t wait to get to her room and rest, before starting her search for an apartment. The woman behind the counter wore black pants, a white blouse and a black vest. The vest had food stains on the front that resembled baby vomit. The dark ring around the open collar of her white blouse turned Alessa’s stomach. The woman’s fingernails were painted, but the polish had begun to chip.
    “What do you want?” she asked Alessa with a sneer.
    “I have a