Free Believe Like a Child by Paige Dearth Page A

reservation for Zoe.”
    The woman grunted and blew her nose. Then she slowly moved down the counter to where the keys and paper work were kept. Reaching for a key, she turned to Alessa again. “You look a bit young. I’d like to make it clear that we don’t tolerate parties or prostitution at this lodge. You understand?”
    “I understand. You don’t have to worry about me.”
    The woman handed Alessa a key and pointed to a room only ten feet from where she was standing. Alessa unlocked the door and stepped inside. It wasn’t the greatest room she had seen, but it did look like it had been cleaned. The tub in the bathroom had mold around the edges, but overall, there was nothing about the place that Alessa couldn’t handle.
    She put her duffle bag on the dresser and lay down on the bed, stretching her thin frame across it. Her room had a window that peered out into the street, where she could still see the men lined up, waiting to be allowed into the shelter. Even with the window closed, the noise of the city was audible. It seemed as though the walls were made of cardboard. Alessa could hear people passing through the lobby and could clearly decipher their conversations. Still, she reveled in the fact that she was there, in that rundown place, instead of being at home with a bunch of old perverts. She fell asleep on the bed, the noise of people milling about outside her door and window making her feel as if she wasn’t all alone.
    She woke up an hour later, completely disoriented. She could not recall where she was. Her heart pounded in her chest. Soon enough, however, the reality of her situation came flooding back to her and she felt paralyzed with fear. Pushing her apprehensions aside, she stepped out into the lobby and picked up the free copy of a local newspaper that lay on a battered wooden table off to the side of the reception area. She began to look through it and found a small listing of apartments for rent. New to the city, she turned to the woman behind the desk and asked for a map.
    “Here,” the woman said, handing it to her, “that’ll be a dollar fifty.”
    Alessa handed over the money and took the newspaper and the map back to her room.
    She sat in the dimly lit room with its cream walls and scoured the section for apartment rentals. Most of them were well above 600 dollars a month. There was only one she thought she might be able to afford on Dauphin Street in North Philadelphia. The rent was 300 dollars and included utilities. She pulled out Rhonda’s cell phone and dialed the phone number listed.
    A woman with a husky voice answered. “Hello?”
    “Hi, my name is Alessa. I’m calling about the apartment you have for rent.”
    “Yeah, whatta you want to know?”
    “Is the apartment available? Can I come to see it?”
    Clearly unimpressed, the woman asked, “Yeah, when do you want to come?”
    “How about now? I’m on Race Street and I can be there within the hour,” Alessa said excitedly.
    “Okay, I’ll be here. Knock on the front door.”
    Alessa hung up, feeling hopeful. She quickly combed her hair and washed her face. Then she stepped out again. Rushing through the lobby, she noticed a woman in very high heels and a short denim skirt that was ripped to the tops of her thighs. The woman turned to eye Alessa before going back to talking to a short, heavy man who was staring at her almost completely exposed breasts. Alessa heard the woman behind the desk yell out, “What did I tell you? Get the fuck outta here! We don’t want any whores around!”
    Alessa was out the lobby door before she could hear the woman in the mini skirt respond. She hailed a taxi and gave the driver the address.
    He looked at her and asked, “Why do you want to go there?”
    “I am going to see an apartment that I might be able to rent,” she said, full of energy.
    “Whatever, kid.”
    Within fifteen minutes, the taxi had turned onto Dauphin Street and pulled over a block later. The neighborhood was