Free Phoenix: The Beauty in Between (A Beautiful Series Companion Novel) by Lilliana Anderson Page B

house that had come to be my home, breathing heavily as
I fight to keep my emotions in check.
    I want to go to
the door and ask him to reconsider. But I don’t. I don’t bother
fighting this. I don’t bother trying to get back in. I’ve been
through this all before. Instead, I hitch my bag up on my shoulder
and start walking, trying my best to hold it together so I can
figure out what to do.
    I reach my hand
into my pocket and pull out the wad of cash I have from the night
of selling and count it. There’s over a thousand dollars.
    “Well, at least
I have some cash this time,” I say to myself, pushing it back
inside my pocket. I also have a decent amount of ecstasy tablets
left too, so at least I have a bit of happiness left in my life.
Even if it is only chemical.

Chapter
Fifteen

    I realise that
I have nowhere to go. I can’t go and stay with Tahlia again because
if I’m there, Jeff will find me. It won’t be because he wants me
back. He’ll come looking for the drugs and the money. God only
knows what he’ll do to me when he realises I took them. I’ll have
to get out of town.
    I make my way
to the train station and head toward the city. There are more
people there, and I should be able to lose myself easily in the
crowds.
    It’s getting
close to one in the morning, and the rocking of the train is
attempting to lull me off to sleep. I would be stupid to sleep on
the train on my own, so I force my eyes to stay open.
    It’s stupid to
even be on the train on my own at this time of night. But I
don’t have much of a choice.
    I think my face
must be bruising, because I get a few funny looks from some of the
other passengers. I touch it gently and wince as my tender flesh
cries out in pain. He obviously hit me harder than I thought.
    I bow my head
and let my hair fall over that side of my face in an attempt to
hide it. That will have to do for now.
    Watching the
dark scenery as it travels by outside the train, I see a lit up
sign advertising motel rooms from $55 a night. I figure that’s as
good a place as any and rise from my seat to disembark as the train
slows down to pull into the station.
    The motel is a
short walk from the station, and I move fast and confidently,
praying silently that no one stops me.
    Thankfully, the
worst I get is a few cat calls from party goers loitering outside a
nearby club before I make it to the reception area and ask the
exhausted and very disinterested looking clerk if I can have a
room.
    “You got ID?”
he asks, sitting forward and eyeing me up and down, sucking his
teeth as he takes in my appearance.
    I hand him my
ID and get ready to count out the money to pay for my room.”
    “Can’t rent to
minors,” he says immediately, and pushes my card across the counter
back towards me.
    “But… I need
somewhere to sleep. I have cash. I can pay. Don’t send me back out
there,” I plead, moving my hair a little so the side of my face is
more visible to him, hoping it might sway his decision in my
favour.
    His eyes skim
over my face, and he sits back in his chair, the back of it
creaking under the strain of his weight.
    “It’ll cost you
double.”
    I blink my eyes
rapidly as I realise that at double the price, I can only stay here
for ten days, without eating, based on what I have on me.
    “Fine,” I say,
pulling the money from my pocket and putting it on the counter in
front of him.
    He hands me a
form to fill out as he takes the money and places a passkey on the
counter next to the clipboard.
    “You’ll be in
room 25. It’s just down the end of the row to your left.”
    “Thanks,” I
tell him, handing over the form and taking the plastic card.
    “Check out is
at 10:30.”
    I nod and walk
out into the dark of the early hours of the morning. The room isn’t
far from reception, but anywhere, alone in the dark is scary as
fuck. I hate being out on my own at night. I’ve hated it ever since
I was forced to sleep out in the park. Every noise and every shadow
puts me